Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Racially Motivated Cross Burning

Montgomery, Alabama — A 24-year-old man from Dothan, Alabama, has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to violate housing rights, a charge stemming from his participation in a racially motivated cross burning at the entrance to an African American community in Ozark on May 8, 2009.

Thomas Windell Smith admitted during his plea that he and a co-conspirator agreed to burn a cross together with the intent to intimidate residents of the predominantly African American neighborhood. The cross was constructed using materials from the co-conspirator’s home, loaded into Smith’s truck, and transported to the designated location where it was set ablaze in view of several houses.

Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, emphasized the impact of hate crimes on communities. “The defendant’s crime illustrates the damage hate crimes can do to entire communities, making people feel unsafe in their own homes,” said Samuels. “We’d like to think these offenses are a thing of the past, but the reality is that they happen here in the 21st century. The Justice Department is committed to stamping them out.”

U.S. Attorney Beck echoed the sentiment, stating, “This defendant not only committed a federal crime but also a contemptible action of hate. Citizens in the Middle District of Alabama should not and will not tolerate such actions. I hope this prosecution sends a clear message that these hateful demonstrations will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Sentencing for Smith is pending. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Dale County Sheriff’s Office and the Ozark Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerusha T. Adams of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

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