The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade for orchestrating a racially motivated attack on himself in an attempt to influence his election campaign.
The latest development has prompted the FBI to refer Mobolade for prosecution for making false statements in connection with a hate crime hoax designed to boost his candidacy.
On Tuesday, November 12, the acting United States (US) attorney for the District of Colorado announced that three supporters of Mobolade had been charged with scrawling the n-word on one of his campaign signs and placing a burning cross in front of it.
The supporters were sending videos of the incident to the media in an effort to boost Black voter turnout for Mobolade, an African immigrant.
Their actions were intended to galvanize support for Mobolade during the mayoral runoff election against Wayne Williams.
Mobolade, a left-wing candidate, ultimately defeated a white Republican in a tightly contested election in the conservative-leaning city.
FBI investigators uncovered communications showing that the now-mayor, Mobolade, was in close contact with the lead suspect before, during, and after the incident.
Mobolade was interviewed twice to assess his knowledge of the hoax, during which he vehemently denied having contact with the lead suspect
Following his behavior during the interviews, the FBI referred the now-mayor to the Department of Justice for charges related to making false statements to federal investigators.
FBI officials also stated that there were dozens of messages exchanged between his supporter and the now-mayor.
His supporter, a career criminal, was sentenced to 32 months in prison in 2018.
He attempted to kill two police officers and has since been convicted for the unrelated murder of a rapper who had disrespected him.
During the interviews, officials noted that Mobolade appeared to scroll through his phone for assistance with his memory.
However, they observed that he was literally skipping over text messages, seemingly unaware that the FBI had already obtained them through other means.
An official reportedly commented, “The initial response from the Department of Justice was, ‘We can’t indict the first Black mayor of Colorado Springs.’ In my experience, if anyone else had been in that position, they would have been charged with lying to a federal agent.”
The hate crime took place in 2023, between the April 4 general election and a May runoff election, which was necessitated by the close results of the general election.
