The FBI has arrested Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade for allegedly plotting a racist attack on himself to win the election.
The latest development has also led the FBI to refer Mr Mobolade for prosecution for making false statements related to a hate crime hoax intended to boost his candidacy, The Daily Wire reports.
On November 12, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado announced that three supporters of Mr Mobolade had been charged with writing the n-word on one of his campaign signs and erecting a burning cross in front of it.
The individuals charged are Derrick Bernard Jr., Ashley Blackcloud, and Deanna West.
These supporters were reportedly sending videos of the spectacle to the media to rally Black voter turnout for Mr Mobolade, an African immigrant.
Their actions were allegedly intended to galvanise support for Mr Mobolade during the mayoral runoff election against Wayne Williams.
Mr Mobolade, a left-wing candidate, went on to defeat a white Republican in a closely fought election in the conservative-leaning city.
According to The Daily Wire, FBI investigators obtained communications showing that the now-mayor was in close contact with the lead suspect, Mr Bernard, before, during, and after the incident.
Mr Mobolade was interviewed twice to determine his knowledge of the hoax, during which he strenuously denied having contact with Mr Bernard.
Following his conduct 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 claimed there were dozens of messages exchanged between Mr Bernard and the now-mayor.
Mr Bernard is a career criminal who was sentenced to 32 months in prison in 2018. He allegedly attempted to kill two police officers and has since been convicted of an unrelated murder of a rapper who disrespected him.
During the interviews, officials noted that Mr Mobolade scrolled through his phone as a memory aide. However, they stated that “he was literally skipping over text messages,” apparently unaware that the bureau had already obtained them from other sources.
An official reportedly said, “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 alleged hate crime occurred in 2023, between an April 4 general election and a May runoff election that was scheduled because the general election results were so close.