White man pleads guilty to burning cross in Mississippi town

A white man has admitted in federal court that he burned a wooden cross in an effort to frighten black families in a small Mississippi town.

Graham Williamson pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg to interfering with housing rights and conspiring to use fire to commit a felony. Williamson admitted that he and another man burned the cross to frighten and intimidate African American residents in Seminary, Mississippi, in October 2017, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

"These types of hateful actions have no place in our communities, and we will continue to fight for and uphold the civil rights of all throughout our State," Mike Hurst, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, said in a statement.

Williamson faces up to 30 years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 5.

An accomplice, Louie Bernard Revette, pleaded guilty to similar charges in April and is to be sentenced next month.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/national/story/2019/aug/07/white-man-pleads-guilty-burning-cross-mississippi-town/789624/