Man pleads guilty to hate crime for burning cross next to Black family

Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A Mississippi man pleaded guilty on Friday to a federal hate crime for intimidating a Black family by burning a cross in his front yard, the Justice Department said.

Axel Cox, 24, admitted to making threatening remarks toward his Black neighbors and then putting together a wooden cross in his front yard, and lighting it on fire. Cox admitted that he burned the cross because of the victims' race and because they were occupying a home next to his, according to the Justice Department.

"Burning a cross invokes the long and painful history, particularly in Mississippi, of intimidation and impending physical violence against Black people," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who use racially-motivated violence to drive people away from their homes or communities."

Cox faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9.

"Individuals in our communities should be free from threats and intimidation," Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to bring to justice anyone who violates the federal laws designed to ensure civil rights are protected."