Man admits hate crime after cross burning in black neighbourhood

Graham Williamson intended 'to threaten, frighten, and intimidate', prosecutors say

Cross-burning is historically associated with the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan (File photo) ((AP Photo/Scott Perry, File))

A man has pleaded guilty to a hate crime after burning a cross in a black neighbourhood in Mississippi.

Graham Williamson admitted performing the act “to threaten, frighten, and intimidate [a child] and other African-American residents because of their race”, prosecutors said.

Cross-burning has been associated historically with the Ku Klux Klan.

Williamson admitted his actions were racially motivated and that he had set up the cross with a co-conspirator near the homes of black residents in Keys Hill, an area of the small town of Seminary, on 24 October 2017.

He knew that burning crosses had been used for decades to intimidate black people, prosecutors said.

The 38-year-old faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of interference with housing rights – a civil rights violation – and one count of conspiring to use fire to commit a federal felony, the Justice Department said in a statement.

He is due to be sentenced in November.

Michelle Sutphin, an FBI special agent, said: “Crimes motivated by hate are intended to intimidate their victims and spread fear in the community, undermining societal values.

“The FBI will continue its aggressive investigations of acts like these in pursuit of justice for the victims and the integrity of civil rights for all.”

Williamson’s plea came several months after another man, 37-year-old Louie Bernard Revette, admitted guilt in the same case.

He had scouted the neighbourhood before constructing the cross with materials near his home, the Justice Department said in April.

“While wounds are still healing from Mississippi’s past, incidents such as this only serve as setbacks and should be fully condemned in every community,” the FBI said at the time.