Evidence emerging from the federal trial has implicated Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade in a “hate crime” hoax.
A black media personality was convicted last week of faking a hate crime against Mobolade.
The hoax sought to boost votes for Mobolade, the city’s first black mayor.
During the trial, however, the ringleader, Derrick Bernard, testified that Mobolade was in on the hoax.
The FBI also testified that the mayor misled agents about his contact with Bernard.
Mobolade, who is Nigerian, won the election as a left-leaning independent in the traditional Republican stronghold in 2023.
His victory came after the n-word was scrawled on one of his campaign signs.
A cross was also set on fire in front of the sign.
Video of the scene was sent to the media, resulting in a swell of sympathy.
At the five-day trial in federal court for Bernard and his wife, Ashley Blackcloud, FBI agent Ethan Doherty testified that the mayor falsely denied contact with Bernard.
He denied speaking with Bernard, despite records showing the pair was in contact on the day of the hate crime, and before and afterward.
Doherty testified that when the FBI interviewed the mayor, Mobolade said he was “120% sure” he did not have a phone call with Bernard three days after the incident.
FBI agents noted that Mobolade seemed “nervous,” according to KOAA.
Doherty also revealed that Mobolade began using a new cell phone the day after the hoax.
Mobolade told the local paper that “politically motivated websites will weigh in with no regard for accuracy or truth,” and his deputy chief of staff told the city council the article was “unfounded.”
He produced a video in response, saying, “I did not lie to the FBI.”
He also claimed he had paperwork from the Department of Justice (DOJ) showing he was a victim.
However, a DOJ document produced at trial said that Mobolade was at one point under investigation.
The DOJ revealed that the investigation was closed but could be reopened, and that its closure should not be considered an exoneration.
The hoax began after an April 12, 2023, election in which neither Mobolade nor Wayne Williams, a white Republican, received a majority.
The tie triggered a heated runoff election.
According to court papers, the next day Bernard texted Mobolade saying:
“Theirs [sic] a plot amidst.
“I’m mobilizing my squadron in defense and for the final push.
“Black ops style big brother.
“The klan cannot be allowed to run this city again.”
On April 23, Bernard, Blackcloud, and a third conspirator named Deanna West, who previously pleaded guilty, worked together to scrawl the n-word on a campaign sign at 3:00 a.m.
They also erected a cross with twine on it and set the twine on fire.
They photographed the display and sent it to the media.
They suggested that white Republican supporters of Williams were to blame.
That night, Bernard texted Mobolade, “I guarantee the finish.”
The text was referring to a request from Mobolade to help him get across the finish line.
Three days later, the pair spoke on the phone for five minutes.
After Mobolade won the May runoff, Bernard texted him:
“We got you through it all brother…
“Another time though, we’ll handle business.”
Bernard is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for an unrelated killing.
He testified that Mobolade, along with Democrat state Rep. Regina English (D-El Paso), helped plan the hoax, according to KRDO.
He said Mobolade was to have steered city money to Bernard’s radio station in return.
Blackcloud did not testify, but told the Associated Press that the mayor was in on it from the beginning.
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