Axel Charles Cox’s jail and prison photos. (Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi Department of Corrections)
A Mississippi man was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison for burning a makeshift cross in his front yard in order to scare his Black neighbors out of their home. Defendant Axel Charles Cox, 24, is already serving an eight-year sentence in Mississippi and has to do his federal sentence concurrent to certain state cases. He must also serve three years of supervised release and pay $7,810 in restitution.
Prosecutors said that on the night of Dec. 3, 2020, he used threatening and racist language toward his Black neighbors and burned a cross to intimidate them. He wedged two pieces of wood to form a cross, placed it in clear view of their home, doused it in oil and set it on fire. Cox admitted he did this because the neighbors were Black and he wanted to scare them out of the neighborhood, authorities said.
Citing the pre-sentencing report (which is sealed in court records), Judge Sul Ozerden said Thursday that Cox’s mother and her boyfriend egged on the defendant during his confrontation with the victim’s family. Cox went onto the victims’ property, took pictures of the property, threatened to shoot or kill the family, and shone bright lights through their windows.
Four adults and two children lived at the victim’s residence, the judge said.
Cox and his family also called the neighboring family slurs, said Ozerden.
The defendant and his mother Wanda Carter said in court that the confrontation was over the neighbor allegedly shooting a dog.
“It just got out of hand,” Cox said. “That’s all it really was, your honor.”
Judge Ozerden said, however, that the investigation began with a call for service after a dog was roaming around and acting in an aggressive manner toward a child.
“This is not about a dog,” prosecutor Andrea C. Jones said. “This is about conduct that occurred that shouldn’t occur in our communities in this situation. The victims were terrified. They were shaken.”
The family moved because of what Cox did, the prosecutor said. They did not appear for court on Thursday, but Jones said they sent victim impact statements. Ozerden noted that at the time of the incident, Cox was on probation for four separate offenses including a prior case of receiving stolen property.
Cox and his mother denied being racist.
“We’ve never been prejudiced in our life,” Carter said.
“I didn’t have hatred toward anybody,” Cox said. “I don’t have hatred toward nobody because of their color.”
The defendant at re-arraignment admitted to burning the cross in a predominantly Black area, and that he did it because he intended to make them angry and fear for their safety, Ozerden noted. Cox knew the meaning of the burning cross.
“This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today. This sentence demonstrates the importance of holding people accountable for threatening the safety and security of Black people in their homes because of the color of their skin or where they are from.”
“Mr. Axel Cox sought to intimidate members of the community through his intimidating threats,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI Jackson Field Office. “The FBI prioritizes the protection of civil rights to ensure citizens remain safe without fear of any harm. We remain committed to tirelessly thwarting the nefarious actions of those, like Mr. Cox, who intended to impact fear upon citizens based on biases.”
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