Two people were convicted last week of staging a fake hate crime designed to generate sympathy votes for Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, and testimony revealed the Democratic mayor misled FBI agents about his connection to the hoax’s mastermind.
A federal jury found Derrick Bernard and Ashley Blackcloud guilty on two counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States and conveying false information about a threat by using fire.
The convictions concluded a five-day trial that exposed a coordinated effort to influence the 2023 mayoral election through a fabricated racist incident.
The hoax occurred on April 23, 2023, between the primary election and runoff, when the conspirators scrawled the n-word on one of Mobolade’s campaign signs and set a cross ablaze in front of it at 3:00 a.m. They photographed the scene and sent video to media outlets, suggesting white Republican supporters of Mobolade’s opponent Wayne Williams were responsible.
Mobolade, who is Nigerian, won the election as a left-leaning independent in the traditionally Republican stronghold after the incident generated widespread sympathy. The dramatic video of the burning cross and racial slur created a surge of support that helped him secure victory in the May runoff.
FBI Agent Ethan Doherty testified that Mobolade falsely denied contact with Bernard during the investigation, despite phone records showing the pair was in contact before, the day of, and after the hate crime.
When FBI agents interviewed the mayor, Mobolade said he was “120% sure” he did not have a phone call with Bernard three days after the incident. Doherty testified that Mobolade appeared “nervous” during the interview.
The FBI agent also revealed that Mobolade began using a new cell phone the day after the hoax occurred.
Bernard, who is serving life in prison without parole for an unrelated murder, testified that Mobolade helped plan the hoax along with state Representative Regina English. He said Mobolade was to have steered city money to Bernard’s radio station in return for the scheme.
Text messages presented as evidence showed direct coordination between Bernard and Mobolade.
The day after the primary election, Bernard texted Mobolade: “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 the night of the hoax, Bernard texted Mobolade, “I guarantee the finish,” 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 runoff, Bernard texted him: “We got you through it all brother… Another time though, we’ll handle business.”
Blackcloud told The Associated Press that the mayor was “in on it from the beginning.”
During the trial, evidence also emerged that Mobolade did not want a thorough investigation. He waited until Monday after the news broke to contact the local police chief, telling him “I don’t want to make a big deal about this.”
When the FBI identified Bernard as a suspect, Mobolade declined to tell investigators about their contact.
At trial, Mobolade testified that he was waiting for the FBI to take the lead by asking questions. However, when agents did ask him directly about contact with Bernard, he denied it. Mobolade said he didn’t recall denying the phone call until presented with a transcript of his FBI interview.
“At the time I was confident,” Mobolade testified.
The mayor was reportedly flustered during cross-examination about the timeline of events and could not explain what the five-minute phone call with Bernard was about. Bernard testified that the call concerned the “hoax” and that Mobolade “promised to ‘squash’ the story when Bernard expressed concern over backlash.”
The day after their phone call, local media ran a story quoting the Mobolade campaign asking people not to give the incident “any oxygen.” At trial, Mobolade acknowledged that he tried to keep the story under wraps, saying he “didn’t want that to be the story of Colorado Springs.”
Physical evidence quickly revealed the incident was a hoax. Security camera footage showed the fire only burned for 20 seconds, confirming it came from a small amount of twine wrapped around the cross rather than the wooden structure itself. The brief burning time indicated the photographers were likely the same people who set the fire.
Surveillance video showed both defendants’ vehicles at the crime scene, and footage captured Blackcloud at a nearby 7-Eleven and walking across a parking lot near the campaign sign. Traffic cameras recorded video of the flames.
An FBI official told The Daily Wire that the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden refused the bureau’s request to indict Mobolade for false statements, allegedly saying, “we can’t indict the first black mayor of Colorado Springs.” Instead, agents were told to interview him again so he could change his story.
When The Daily Wire first reported on Mobolade’s misleading statements to the FBI in November 2024, the mayor denied the allegations. His deputy chief of staff told the city council the article was “unfounded,” and Mobolade produced a video saying, “I did not lie to the FBI.”
Later, city employees were used to deter local media from covering the story. Mayor’s spokeswoman Vanessa Zink called The Daily Wire a “bizarre far right” outlet whose reporters “don’t actually qualify as journalists.” When the local Gazette asked for comment, Zink wrote: “Use caution in perpetuating gossip and rumors from politically biased outlets.”
During the trial, Mobolade cried on the witness stand and claimed the defaced sign left him living in fear, despite evidence that his campaign suspected a black person was behind the hoax at the time. His wife Abbey testified that she bought a fire ladder and trauma kit after the incident and no longer lets their children go outside alone.
Following the convictions of his colleagues, Mobolade issued a statement casting the hoax as a reminder of the importance of anti-racism.
“This moment brings a sense of closure and relief, not only for our family, but for the Colorado Springs community as a whole,” he said. “Moments like this remind us that hate has no home in our city.”
City Councilman Dave Donelson called the statement unseemly, and said Mobolade should address the allegations of his involvement in the racist hoax directly.
“For this councilman, something doesn’t add up. If I were the mayor, I’d want to clear this up,” Donelson said.
Donelson also questioned whether the Biden Justice Department showed bias toward protecting Mobolade, and called for the Trump administration’s DoJ to examine whether the false-statements case was closed for political reasons.
“The DOJ charges were that this was truly a threat to Mobolade. If he knew about it, then their case falls apart,” he said.
At a city council meeting, Donelson stated: “I call for an investigation into these accusations and actions. The citizens of Colorado Springs deserve answers about the mayor’s involvement.”
Bernard will be sentenced September 11, while Blackcloud’s sentencing is set for September 17. The third conspirator, Deanna West, who pleaded guilty, will be sentenced September 4 and is expected to receive only probation.