Colorado Springs Man Sentenced for Hate Crime Hoax That Probably Flipped the City's Mayoral Race

In 2023, Colorado Springs man Derrick Bernard offered to help Yemi Mobolade, a mayoral candidate, with his campaign. According to reports, Bernard to Mobolade he would do "Black ops style big brother" help that could "guarantee the finish."

That "guarantee" involved Bernard sharing photos of a burned cross next to one of Mobolade's campaign signs, which also had the N-word painted on it.

Both the Colorado Springs Police Department and FBI investigated the incident. The FBI went on to determine the hate crime was staged to help with the election, which Mobolade won with 58 percent of the vote.

A Colorado Springs man who carried out a KKK hate crime hoax to benefit then-mayoral candidate @yemiformayor, who then won over a white Republican, has been sentenced to 46 months in prison. https://t.co/stltsiLB58
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 1, 2026

Now Bernard has been sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Here's more:

Mobolade went on to win the election with 58 percent of the vote, becoming the first black mayor of Colorado Springs. He testified during the trial that he had no knowledge of Bernard’s actions and said the incident caused fear for his family.
“This was not just politics for me; this was personal, Mr. Bernard. What you and others have done has caused real harm, not just to me, but to members of my campaign,” Mobolade said during sentencing.
US District Judge Regina Rodriguez issued the sentence on Wednesday, saying, “This isn’t a case about threats against one person; it was a case about threats against an entire community.”