Mississippi man pleads guilty to burning cross in yard to intimidate Black family

DoJ says Axel Cox admitted he burned cross because of the victims' race and because they were occupying a home next to his'

A Mississippi man pleaded guilty in federal court to burning a cross in his front yard with the intent to intimidate a Black family, the US justice department said.

Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport in south Mississippi, mounted a wooden cross in his front yard on 2 December 2020, officials said. He then doused it with motor oil and lit it within view of his neighbors, who are Black.