A Mississippi man burned a cross in a hate crime, the U.S. Justice Department alleges

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/ [login to see] /mississippi-man-federal-hate-crime-cross-burning
A Mississippi man has been charged with a federal hate crime and arson violations after he burned a cross in his front yard in order to threaten and intimidate a Black family, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Axel C. Cox, 23, is charged with one count of criminal interference with the right to fair housing and one count of using fire to commit a federal felony in connection with the alleged cross burning.

According to court documents obtained by NPR, Cox burned a cross in his front yard on Dec. 3, 2020, and used "threatening and racially derogatory remarks" toward his Black neighbors.

Cox chose to burn the cross in front of his Black neighbors because of their race, according to the Justice Department.

Cox's action of burning the cross, federal prosecutors say, falls under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (sections of which are called the Fair Housing Act), which prohibits discrimination against a person's housing rights based on the individual's race, religion, national origin, sex or family status.