by WorldTribune Staff, May 29, 2025 Real World News
A radio host convicted of staging a cross burning to help sway the Colorado Springs mayoral election in favor of Yemi Mobolade has testified that the mayor was in on the hoax, reports say.
Mobolade, a left-leaning independent in the traditional Republican city, won the 2023 election after gaining a groundswell of sympathy following news that a campaign sign was scrawled with the n-word and a cross was set ablaze in front of it. Mobolade, a native of Nigeria, is the first black mayor in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade / Video ImageThe radio host, Derrick Bernard, testified in federal court that Mobolade was in on the hoax. The FBI testified that the mayor misled agents about his contact with Bernard.
In the April 12, 2023 election, neither Mobolade nor Wayne Williams, a white Republican, received a majority, triggering a runoff. According to court papers, the next day 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 April 23, 2023, Bernard, his wife Trinity 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., erect a cross with twine on it, and set the twine on fire. They photographed the display and sent it to the media, suggesting that white Republican supporters of Williams were to blame, The Daily Caller reported on May 29.
Later that night, 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 May runoff, Bernard texted him: “We got you through it all brother… Another time though, we’ll handle business.”
Bernard, who is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for an unrelated killing, testified that Mobolade, along with Democrat Colorado state Rep. Regina English, helped plan the hoax, according to KRDO. Bernard 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 the hoax from the beginning.
Bernard also testified that that Mobolade promised to “squash” the story when Bernard expressed concern over backlash, the Gazette reported.
Mobolade testified at trial that “he tried to keep the story under wraps at the time, saying he ‘didn’t want that to be the story of Colorado Springs,’ ” the Gazette reported.
Emails obtained by The Daily Wire show that, after he became mayor, Mobolade used city employees to deter the local media from picking up The Daily Wire’s report that Mobolade had given false information to the FBI.
An FBI official told The Daily Wire in November 2024 that Mobolade repeatedly concealed his contacts with Bernard from the FBI, despite scrolling through his phone in the interview room. The official said the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden refused the bureau’s request to indict the mayor for false statements because “we can’t indict the first black mayor of Colorado Springs,” instead telling agents to interview him again so he could change his story.
Following a five-day trial, a jury found Bernard, 35, and Blackcloud, 40, each guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and one count of interstate intimidation using fire. Combined, the crimes carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing is set for September.
West, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy in March but has yet to be sentenced.
Mobolade, who has not been charged, continues to insist that he was not involved in the hoax and, during the trial, testified to the strain the incident had put on his family.
In a statement following the trial, Mobolade said: “This moment brings a sense of closure and relief, not only for our family, but for the Colorado Springs community as a whole. We deeply appreciate the work of the judicial system, federal prosecutors, law enforcement, and everyone who worked diligently to bring this case to justice. Moments like this remind us that hate has no home in our city. As we move forward, we do so with gratitude, healing, and a commitment to the values that make Colorado Springs a safe, just, and united community.”
Colorado Springs City Councilman Dave Donelson told The Daily Wire that the statement painting Mobolade as the victim was unseemly. He said now that the trial is over, Mobolade is out of excuses to stay mum. “For this councilman, something doesn’t add up. If I were the mayor, I’d want to clear this up,” he said.
Donelson said Trump Justice Department leadership should examine whether the false-statements case into Mobolade was closed for political reasons, and whether it should be reopened. He questioned whether the Biden DOJ’s strategy showed a bias towards protecting Mobelade. “The DOJ charges were that this was truly a threat to Mobelade. If he knew about it, then their case falls apart,” he said.
Donelson said at a recent city council meeting: “I call for an investigation into these accusations and actions. The citizens of Colorado Springs deserve answers about the mayor’s involvement.”
Colorado Springs mayor implicated in hate crime hoax that helped get him elected added by Editor Two on May 29, 2025
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