A Gulfport man who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors pleaded guilty to a hate crime in federal court, the Justice Department announced Friday.Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act over the December 2020 incident, according to court records.The Justice Department said Cox gathered supplies from his home, put together a wooden cross in his front yard and propped it up so his Black neighbors could see it. He then doused it with motor oil and lit it on fire. He also addressed the family with racially derogatory language, records say.A grand jury indicted him in September. Cox’s attorney, Jim Davis, filed a notice of intent for him to plead guilty to the cross burning on Nov. 22, 2022. Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.Davis told the Biloxi Sun Herald that Cox was reacting to his neighbors allegedly shooting and killing his dog. He added that his client acted “totally inappropriately.”
A Gulfport man who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors pleaded guilty to a hate crime in federal court, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act over the December 2020 incident, according to court records.
The Justice Department said Cox gathered supplies from his home, put together a wooden cross in his front yard and propped it up so his Black neighbors could see it.
He then doused it with motor oil and lit it on fire.
He also addressed the family with racially derogatory language, records say.
A grand jury indicted him in September. Cox’s attorney, Jim Davis, filed a notice of intent for him to plead guilty to the cross burning on Nov. 22, 2022.
Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Davis told the Biloxi Sun Herald that Cox was reacting to his neighbors allegedly shooting and killing his dog.
He added that his client acted “totally inappropriately.”
