City’s First-Ever Black Mayor Implicated In Shocking Hate-Crime Hoax

As blatant acts of racism have thankfully become fewer and farther between in America, a number of prominent minorities have sought to stage such incidents in an effort to capitalize on their victim status.

According to one defendant, that’s exactly what the embattled mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado, sought to do to win his mayoral race.

Per the Daily Wire:

A black media personality was convicted last week of faking a hate crime against Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade to gin up votes for him, with the ringleader Derrick Bernard testifying that Mobolade was in on the hoax, and the FBI testifying that the mayor misled agents about his contact with Bernard.

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Mobolade, who is Nigerian, won the election as a left-leaning independent in the traditional Republican stronghold in 2023 after the n-word was scrawled on one of his campaign signs and a cross set ablaze in front of it. 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, that concluded May 23, FBI agent Ethan Doherty testified that the mayor falsely denied contact with Bernard, despite records showing the pair was in contact before, the day of the hate crime, 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, and that Mobolade seemed “nervous,” according to KOAA. Doherty also revealed that Mobolade began using a new cell phone the day after the hoax.

The FBI’s courtroom testimony corroborated Daily Wire reporting from November 2024, which Mobolade denied at the time. 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,” and claiming he had paperwork from the Department of Justice showing he was a victim.

But a Justice Department document produced at trial said that Mobolade was at one point under investigation, that the investigation was closed but could be reopened, and that its closure should not be considered an exoneration.

The case has gained some attention on social media:

Did Colo. Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade know about the cross-burning hoax leading up to his 2023 election? That's the question in court right now.
Full story: https://t.co/xeF5BoGPkW pic.twitter.com/AUesG4liMU

— Josh Helmuth KRDO13 (@Jhelmuth) May 20, 2025

Another history making "first Black" goes bad.

"Hate" hoaxers behind viral cross burning video are in Federal court pleading "free speech."

Claim Yemi Mobolade, who is now the first Black mayor of Colorado Springs, was in on it.

DOJ declined to charge the mayor last December. pic.twitter.com/b1XFdu0qi7

— National Conservative (@NatCon2022) May 19, 2025

Activists staged a "hate crime" in an effort to stop a white candidate from being elected Mayor of Colorado Springs. During the trial, testimony indicated that the black mayor Yemi Mobolade, who won the race, was in on the scheme.

Headline from Denver's "leading local news": pic.twitter.com/K0DHarM5yq

— Jeff Hunt (@jeffhunt) May 25, 2025

Here’s how Colorado Public Radio covered the recent courtroom developments:

Derrick Bernard, Jr., and Ashley Blackcloud were present when the verdict was read Friday afternoon, convicting them of conspiracy and using the internet and email to convey a false threat.  Bernard was then taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal.

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The video of the cross burning was sent to media outlets ahead of the 2023 mayoral runoff election between Yemi Mobolade and Wayne Williams. Mobolade won the runoff to become the city’s first elected Black mayor. The video featured a small cross burning in front of a Moboblade campaign sign. A racial slur was painted across the sign.

Earlier Friday during closing arguments, the prosecution said that Bernard and Blackcloud were media savvy and used a potent symbol of racism to carry out false information of a threat. They said the defendants felt it’s illegal when the Ku Klux Klan used the symbol, but not when they used it.

“They could’ve done a number of things. They could’ve used their radio station or a podcast,” prosecutor Bryan Fields said. “What they chose to do is send a threat out to the world.”

Here’s how the mayor addressed the controversy several months ago: