Couple found guilty of threatening Yemi Mobolade with hate crime hoax during 2023 mayoral race

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -  After multiple hours of deliberations and a week-long trial, a federal jury found two suspects guilty of planning and staging a hate crime to threaten now-Colorado Springs Mayor, Yemi Mobolade, during his 2023 bid for mayor. The defendants said they staged the hate crime to influence votes in Mobolade's favor.

Both were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the government, and guilty of using interstate commerce to maliciously convey false information concerning an attempt being made to kill, injure, or threaten by means of fire.

The Crime

The trial at the federal courthouse in Denver explored the complex saga of an alleged hate crime that involved a cross burning in front of a "Mobolade for Mayor" campaign sign in 2023.

It was eventually determined by the FBI that the act was a hoax, designed to influence the 2023 run-off mayoral race between Mobolade (a Black candidate) and Wayne Williams (a white candidate). Subsequently, three people, Derrick Bernard, Ashley "Trinity" Blackcloud, and Deanna West, were charged in a late-2024 indictment for their involvement in the hoax.

Ultimately, Deanna West pleaded guilty in December 2024 to being part of the conspiracy.

The indictment included evidence that now-Mayor Mobolade communicated via Facebook messages and text messages with Bernard, which raised questions about the mayor's knowledge of the staged crime. Mayor Mobolade has consistently denied any knowledge or involvement.

The Defense

What was being debated throughout the couple's trial this past week was whether Bernard and Blackcloud's cross burning with the "n-word" slur was a meaningful or "true" threat to him.

The defense noted that burning a cross is protected under the First Amendment, however, those protections fade away if the act encourages violence.

The other part of the question for the two charges was whether the two deliberately planned the act, and then maliciously spread false information using the internet and media, in order to sell that hoax as a real threat.

The defense attorney for Ashley Blackcloud put the focus on whether Mobolade had actually felt threatened by the act. They cited the fact that it took him over a day to call police, and that his campaign staff assured him it was 99% a hoax, which should indicate that he was not taking the hoax as seriously as it is believed to be.

Blackcloud's attorney, essentially arguing on behalf of both defendants, contended that there's even more evidence clouding the situation by noting that the FBI still hasn't concluded to this day whether Mobolade lied to them about texts and phone calls with Bernard.

The attorney then submitted to the jury that if they had any reasonable doubt about Mobolade being truly threatened, then they would have to label the couple not guilty.

The Prosecution

On Friday, during closing argument's the prosecution claimed that it is irrelevant if the couple claims the stunt was a hoax, and had no intent of making a threat, but rather what matters is how the victim, Mobolade, perceived the act.

The mayor gave extremely emotional testimony about the impact the incident had on him and his family, including testimony by his wife sharing similar sentiments about the compromised feeling of their safety.

Mobolade emphasized that this act was not political theater or a joke to him, but a real, fearful threat.

The U.S Attorney's Office argued that the couple used the wifi, social media, and email to maliciously spread the false narrative of the hoax being a legitimate threat, to convince the public to buy into Mobolade's campaign to become the first elected Black mayor of Colorado Springs.

Scathing allegations toward Mayor Mobolade

The trial was shrouded in controversy after Bernard surprisingly testified on Thursday, after the defense dismissed their seven remaining witnesses.

There, Bernard alleged that Mayor Mobolade, as well as Colorado State Representative Regina English, not only knew that the video was a hoax, but that they were a part of the initial planning process as well.

KRDO13 reached out to the City of Colorado Springs for comment about the accusations, however, a spokesperson redirected us to the mayor's testimony earlier this week.

We also reached out to Representative English about those accusations both Thursday evening and Friday morning. English's camp has told us they are working on a statement.

Sentencing for Blackcloud and Bernard are separately scheduled in September.

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