A white Virginia man has been despatched to jail for a racist act he dedicated in opposition to a Black household early final summer time.
The Division of Justice for the Western District of Virginia not too long ago introduced {that a} Marion man was sentenced to 18 months in federal jail for burning a cross within the entrance yard of an African American household again in June 2020. James Brown, 41, pleaded responsible this previous April to prison interference with federally protected housing rights primarily based upon the sufferer’s race.
“When Brown burned a cross within the sufferer’s entrance yard, he carried out a despicable act of intimidation, interfered with a federally protected housing proper, and broke a critical federal regulation,” Performing U.S. Legal professional Bubar stated in a written assertion. “At present’s sentence demonstrates that such threatening acts of hatred might be swiftly investigated and prosecuted. We thank the FBI and state companions for his or her laborious work on this vital case.”
Within the early morning hours of June 14, 2020, Brown burned a cross on the entrance yard of a Black household as a result of one of many relations had organized a civil rights protest the day earlier than in Marion, Virginia. Brown did admit to accessing the entrance yard and setting the cross on hearth to 2 witnesses. He was additionally identified to have used racial epithets when he made references to the Black household. When he pleaded responsible, Brown admitted to the crime of burning the cross to threaten and intimidate the household.
“We’ve got zero tolerance in our communities for these people violating anybody’s civil rights. Investigating allegations of civil rights violations continues to be a prime precedence for the FBI; and thru our group liaison and regulation enforcement partnerships we’ll proceed to analyze and mitigate the undesirable and unwarranted conduct of racially motivated people,” Particular Agent in Cost Stanley M. Meador stated in the present day. “FBI Richmond encourages anybody who could have data or is a sufferer of a hate crime, to report it to regulation enforcement.”
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