Supporters of Colorado Springs’ Black mayor faked burning cross, racist slur during 2023 campaign, feds allege

Three supporters of Colorado Springs’ Black mayor set up a burning cross and spray-painted a racist slur on one of his campaign signs during the 2023 mayoral runoff in an attempt to help then-candidate Yemi Mobolade get elected, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Derrick Bernard Jr., 35, Ashley Blackcloud, 40, and Deanna West, 38 were indicted in early November on federal charges of conveying false information about a threat, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday. The charges were initially kept secret and were unsealed Tuesday, court records show.

Federal prosecutors say all three supporters worked together to spray-paint a racist slur aimed at Black people on a campaign sign for Mobolade on April 23, 2023, during the city’s mayoral runoff election campaign. The trio also set up a white cross, then lit the cross on fire and took a photograph and four-second video of the scene, the federal indictment alleges.

The group set up the fake scene at the intersection of North Union Boulevard and East Fillmore Street between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., according to the indictment.

After staging the scene, the trio created an anonymous email account and used Wi-Fi in public places to email the video and image to local news outlets. Some outlets published news stories based on the material.

After sending the information to media, Bernard monitored the news and messaged Blackcloud a link to a local news story about the racist scene, commenting to her, “We got traction,” the indictment alleges.

Mobolade at the time cautioned that his team did not know whether the photo “is of real events or if (it) was staged/created,” according to reporting at the time by KRDO.

The staged scene prompted an investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department and the FBI.

At least one of the three supporters interacted with Mobolade several times, the federal indictment alleges.

Bernard sent a message to Mobolade on Facebook 10 days before the staged racist event and pledged his support, telling the then-candidate that there was “a plot” underway “for the final push” in the mayoral race, according to the indictment.

“The klan cannot be allowed to run this city again,” Bernard wrote, according to the indictment.

Then, on the day of the cross burning, Bernard texted the mayor at about 7:30 p.m. and said, “I guarantee the finish.” Three days after the staged event, Bernard and the mayor spoke on the phone for five minutes, the indictment says. The document does not say what the two discussed.

In a statement Wednesday, Mobolade said that his interactions with Bernard were in the context of Bernard’s role “as a local media personality.”

“I was not aware at the time that he was suspected of this crime,” Mobolade said in the statement. He said the racist scene “led to a very traumatic time for my family, my campaign team and our community.”

Bernard, Blackcloud and West were all associated with the nonprofit organization Family Flavors the Slide WBN, which “marketed itself as a minority-owned independent broadcasting and multimedia organization,” according to the indictment.

Mobolade won the mayoral runoff election on May 16. His opponent, Wayne Williams, applauded the indictment in a statement Wednesday.

“This event illustrates how far some will go to spread election disinformation,” Williams said. “Too often, such actions are used as a pretext for violence. Hopefully, this indictment will deter others and help set us on a course toward returning to civil discourse.”

On the day Mobolade won the election, Bernard texted Blackcloud and encouraged her to apply for jobs with the city of Colorado Springs, saying, “I want favors quicker than later,” the indictment alleges.