A man in Virginia was sentenced to 18 months in prison after burning a cross on the front lawn of an African-American family in June 2020.
On Friday, James Brown, 41, of Marion, Virginia, was sentenced in federal court for his crimes.Acting U.S. Attorney Bubar thanks FBI Thank them for all their hard work in prosecuting Brown.
“When Brown burned a cross in the victim’s front yard, he carried out a despicable act of intimidation, interfered with federally protected housing rights, and violated serious federal laws,” Bubar said in court. “Today’s judgment shows that this threat of hatred will be quickly investigated and prosecuted. We thank the FBI and state partners for their hard work in this important case.”
The agent in charge of the case, Stanley M. Meador, stated that the ultimate goal of the case is to set a precedent for anyone who might want to commit racial discrimination.
“We have zero tolerance for those who violate anyone’s civil rights in our community,” Midor said. “Investigating allegations of civil rights violations remains the FBI’s top priority; through our community liaison and law enforcement partnerships, we will continue to investigate and mitigate the unwelcome and unreasonable behavior of racially motivated individuals.”
Midor finally encouraged anyone who became a victim of a hate crime to report it to law enforcement.
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On June 12, 2020, the victim called Marion police Report that a man burned a cross in her front yard. When the police arrived, they found a cross-shaped piece of wood on a burning barrel in her yard with hot coals on it.
FBI agent Chad Porter said in the court affidavit: “When the FBI agent was interviewed, Victim No. 1 burst into tears while describing the incident.” “I learned from my training and experience. Know that cross-burning has historically been used to specifically target and intimidate African Americans.”
“The agent observed that the wood was screwed into a cross shape,” Potter continued. “Attached to the wood is a woven cloth fixed with staples. The wood and the cloth have a sweet smell, which indicates the use of propellant.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, Brown was arrested shortly after the crime was committed and accused of lying to federal agents and criminal intervention in fair housing based on the race of the victim.
At Brown’s plea hearing, he admitted that he burned the cross to threaten and intimidate African-American families.
