A 38-year-old man was sentenced by a federal judge Tuesday to three years in prison for pleading guilty to participating in a cross burning in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Seminary.
Graham Williamson
Graham Williamson pleaded guilty to interference with housing rights, a federal civil rights violation, and conspiring to use fire to commit a felony on August 5, 2019.
Prosecutors said Williamson conspired with Louie Bernard Revette to build and burn a wooden cross near the home of an African American juvenile on October 24, 2017.
The pair burned the cross in the Keys Hill community in an attempt to threaten, frighten and intimidate the juvenile and other residents in the area because of their race, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Revette pleaded guilty to interference with housing rights and using fire to commit a felony on April 12, 2019. He was sentenced to serve 11 years in prison on September 10, 2019.
“Those who terrorize our people and commit crimes based on the color of someone’s skin will receive swift and certain prosecution from this office,” said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst of the Southern District of Mississippi. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to do all that we can to prevent such racist crimes so that all our people can live in peace and without fear.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, including the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Jackson Public Corruption Task Force.
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