HATE HOAX: DOJ indicts 3 suspects for defacing black Colorado mayoral candidate’s sign then claiming it was hate crime

The trio allegedly staged a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) style cross burning in front of a black candidate's campaign sign and defaced the sign with a racial slur. West has been listed as a fugitive on the run, while the other two defendants have either appeared in court or are in custody waiting to appear, according to the USACO press release.

The indictment alleges that the three defendants were involved in a conspiracy to disseminate false information regarding a hate crime they had allegedly staged amid the mayoral run-off between Yemi Mobolade, who is black, and Wayne Williams, who is white. Mobolade went on to win the election, The Gazette reported.

Defendant Derrick Bernard Jr. Courtesy: El Paso County Sheriff's Office

After the initial election but before the run-off, Bernard, a convicted murderer, sent a message to the other defendants explaining that he was "mobilizing my squad in defense. Black ops style big brother." He sent additional text messages stating his desire to prevent "the klan" from taking political control of the city. Bernard then solicited help from Blackcloud and West to stage a hate crime hoax on April 23, 2023. The defendants set a cross on fire in front of a Mobolade campaign sign at an intersection and defaced it with the word, "N*gger."

The three defendants documented the staged attack and then spread false information about the event to various news organizations and civic organizations through an anonymous email, the US Attorney's Office for Colorado said. Bernard reportedly spoke with Mobolade for roughly five minutes on the telephone three days after the hate crime hoax occurred, according to the indictment.

According to KOAA, the indictment stated that the trio was affiliated with "Family Flavors the Slide WBN," a local nonprofit that "marketed itself as a minority-owned independent broadcasting and multi-media organization."

The three defendants have been accused of staging a hate crime hoax amid the Colorado Springs 2023 mayoral run-off race

Blackcloud made her first court appearance on Nov. 12 in Denver before Magistrate Judge Timothy P. O'Hara. Bernard Jr. is in state custody and will make a court appearance following a transfer into federal custody. Authorities are still searching for West.

Bernard was recently convicted in El Paso County of three counts of murder for ordering Aee Shawn Matthews, 26, to shoot and kill William Underwood, a rapper who went by the moniker "FYL Jackk," in 2019. A judge sentenced Bernard to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"It's a shame what lengths the system will go in order to misdirect and slander those whom bring the criminality of public servants to the attention of the people," Bernard said in a statement issued from prison, according to the Gazette. "The truth is still the truth even when you try to discredit the sources," he continued, claiming that his former online radio station never lied in its reports on the hate crime.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with assistance from the Colorado Springs Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bryan Fields and Rebecca Weber.