Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade is now reportedly denying any involvement in a hate crime hoax that led to federal convictions last week and drew national scrutiny.
The incident, which occurred during his 2023 mayoral campaign, involved a burning cross placed in front of a vandalized campaign sign bearing a racial slur.
A federal jury found Ashley Blackcloud and her husband, Derrick Bernard, guilty of staging the event in an effort to influence the outcome of the election. A third conspirator, Deanna West, pleaded guilty earlier and testified for the prosecution.
Prosecutors argued that the act was intended to generate public sympathy for Mobolade, the city’s first Black mayor, by fabricating a racist attack.
During the trial, Bernard testified that Mobolade was aware of and complicit in the scheme, claiming that in return for staging the incident, the mayor had promised to direct city funds to Bernard’s media business.
Blackcloud echoed these accusations, stating that Mobolade knew of the plan and supported it from the start.
The man accused of staging a hate crime to garner support for Yemi Mobolade during his 2023 mayoral campaign shared shocking testimony today, claiming Mobolade not only knew of the plan but that a state representative was also in on it. https://t.co/0kvWf12N7d
— KRDO13 (@KRDO_13) May 23, 2025
Mobolade has repeatedly denied the claims. In a video statement released in December 2024, he said, “I had no knowledge, warning, or involvement in this crime. I did not lie to the FBI.”
He also revealed that he had cooperated fully with federal investigators, voluntarily providing his communications and being identified by the Department of Justice as a victim or potential victim in the case.
However, FBI Special Agent Ethan Doherty testified that Mobolade initially claimed not to know Bernard, despite records showing that the two had communicated multiple times before and after the incident.
Doherty also said that Mobolade appeared “nervous” during interviews and had changed his phone soon after the hoax was staged.
The defense maintained that the act was meant as political theater—a symbolic demonstration to highlight racism and energize voters—not a genuine threat.
Still, the jury concluded that the false flag operation constituted a federal crime, noting that the display of a burning cross, even as a hoax, carried an implicit threat and incited public fear.
Mobolade has continued to insist that he had no part in the crime and emphasized that he fully cooperated with investigators throughout the process.
“I was not involved in any way,” he said. “This entire situation has been painful and disappointing, but I stand by the truth.”
With the convictions now finalized, the case leaves behind a tangle of political fallout and public mistrust in a city still grappling with the impact of a racially charged deception.
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