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Tag: Mayor Yemi Mobolade

Mayor Mobolade’s town hall tour met with mixed reviews across Colorado Springs
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Mayor Mobolade’s town hall tour met with mixed reviews across Colorado Springs

By Brennen Kauffman | Denver Gazette Friday marks two years since Yemi Mobolade was sworn in as Colorado Springs' 42nd mayor. His achievements so far have drawn mixed reactions from the city's residents who attended the Report Out Community Tour events this week. Mobolade launched the tour on May 23, holding a meeting in each of the six Colorado Springs City Council districts to hear how residents felt about the progress made on the goals. The largest turnout was Tuesday night, when several dozen people sat in the auditorium of The Classical Academy for the District 2 meeting. The crowd was unhappy to find out that Mobolade would not be appearing. City staff and council members said he had attended Monday's town hall while sick but had begun feeling worse. Mobolade was absent from...
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Hate crime hoax trial continues with Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade on the stand
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Hate crime hoax trial continues with Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade on the stand

By Mackenzie Bodell | Denver Gazette DENVER • The openly emotional mayor of Colorado Springs was asked to testify Tuesday about the details of his 2023 mayoral campaign season before and after a hate crime “hoax.” In November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado announced that three individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury for “maliciously conveying false information about a threat made by means of fire” to draw support for the eventual mayoral race winner, Yemi Mobolade, who is Colorado Springs’ first elected Black mayor. The indictment alleged the crew staged a hate crime by defacing one of Mobolade’s campaign signs with a racial slur and placing a small burning cross in front in the early hours of April 23, 2023. Videos and photographs of the incident were sent in ...
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Mayor testifies in hate crime ‘hoax’ trial tied to 2023 election incident
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Mayor testifies in hate crime ‘hoax’ trial tied to 2023 election incident

By Mackenzie Bodell | Denver Gazette Right after the defense alleged the hate crime “hoax” that made headlines during the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral runoff election was an act of “political theater,” Yemi Mobolade, now the city’s mayor, got emotional during his testimony Monday. With only an hour left in the day’s proceedings, the prosecution called Mobolade to the stand. During his testimony, Mobolade teared up at times when identifying Derrick Bernard Jr., in the courtroom and seeing his defaced campaign sign again. In November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado announced that three individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury for “maliciously conveying false information about a threat made by means of fire” to draw support for the eventual mayoral race winner, Mob...
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A tale of two cities: How two Colorado mayors stand far apart on immigration
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, State

A tale of two cities: How two Colorado mayors stand far apart on immigration

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette Colorado's two most populous cities are separated by fewer than 60 miles, but when it comes to their approach to immigration law enforcement, the mayors of Colorado Springs and Denver stand much farther apart. To some extent, both mayors are merely articulating their respective cities' positions, though the crackdown on illegal immigration by the Trump administration has put the spotlight on their contrasting views. On the one hand, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has repeatedly defended his city's response to the illegal immigration crisis, and, at one point, suggested civil disobedience as a proper action against a federal mass deportation program.  On the other hand, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade welcomed a major ICE ...
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Judge denies motion to dismiss in Colorado Springs ‘hate crime hoax’ case
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Approved, KRDO.COM, Local

Judge denies motion to dismiss in Colorado Springs ‘hate crime hoax’ case

By Celeste Springer | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - It's been six months since three people were indicted after allegedly staging a hate crime to help a Black Colorado Springs candidate, Mayor Yemi Mobolade, win an election. On Friday, a judge denied a motion to dismiss, signalling that the case will move forward and ultimately be heard by a jury. In April 2023, just before the Colorado Springs mayoral election, video of a burning cross in front of then-candidate Yemi Mobolade's campaign sign was sent to media outlets. The sign had also been painted with the "n-word." The event was thought to be a racially motivated attack on Mobolade, who was a Black candidate running against a white opponent. According to court records, investigators believe Derrick Berna...
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Colorado Springs mayor expects more raids, arrests after nightclub bust
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Approved, Colorado Springs Gazette, Local

Colorado Springs mayor expects more raids, arrests after nightclub bust

By Breeanna Jent  | The Gazette After law enforcement officers raided an "underground" nightclub early Sunday morning, Mayor Yemi Mobolade said he expects additional arrests in Colorado Springs' future. "I anticipate that there will be more arrests. I hope to see more raids happen in my city. This is not the first one," Mobolade told national media outlet NewsNation Now. More than 300 law enforcement officers from at least 10 agencies raided the property at 296 S. Academy Blvd., at the northwest corner of Academy Boulevard and Airport Road, on Sunday. They detained 114 people, including active-duty military members and individuals alleged to be in the U.S. illegally, officials said. On Monday, a social media post from the Drug Enforcement Administration showed a busload of 60 peop...
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Woman pleads guilty in Colorado Springs hate crime hoax
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American Faith, Approved, Local

Woman pleads guilty in Colorado Springs hate crime hoax

ByTamira Musgrave | American Faith A Colorado woman has pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to a 2023 hate crime hoax involving a burning cross and a defaced campaign sign. Deanna West, 38, admitted to maliciously conveying false information with a threat, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. The incident, which took place on April 23, 2023, targeted a mayoral campaign sign for then-candidate Yemi Mobolade in Colorado Springs. West conspired with two others, Derrick Bernard Jr. and Ashley Blackcloud, both of whom have been indicted and are awaiting trial. Prosecutors say the three orchestrated the hoax by burning a cross near Mobolade’s campaign sign and later spreading false information about the event. Mobolade, originally f...
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Central to Colorado Springs’ hate crime hoax case, Derrick Bernard had lengthy record in home state
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

Central to Colorado Springs’ hate crime hoax case, Derrick Bernard had lengthy record in home state

By GLENN WALLACE | The Gazette Derrick Patrick Bernard is the figure at the center of a federal indictment and political dust-up involving an alleged hate crime hoax in the closing days of the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral election. But before his complicated career in Colorado Springs, Bernard had already had his share of run-ins with the law in his home state. Born in Florida in 1989, Bernard was 15 when state records indicate he was first arrested for petty theft. Just two months later he would be arrested again, this time for felony burglary and grand theft. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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‘I did not lie to the FBI’: Mayor Mobolade rejects rumors around alleged hate crime hoax
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‘I did not lie to the FBI’: Mayor Mobolade rejects rumors around alleged hate crime hoax

By Brennen Kauffman | The Gazette Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade spoke Friday to address the recent weeks of rumors surrounding his connection to an alleged hate crime hoax that took place during the 2023 election. In a video message on his official Facebook account, Mobolade emphasized his full cooperation with the investigation into the alleged faked hate crime and condemned the "politically motivated attacks" he faced in recent weeks. In November the Department of Justice indicted three individuals for allegedly staging a cross burning in front of a Mobolade campaign sign defaced with a racial slur during the 2023 mayoral runoff election between Mobolade and Wayne Williams. Derrick Bernard Jr., Ashley Blackcloud and Deanna West were charged with "maliciously conveying fal...
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Schumann: Colorado Springs has ‘a hometown Jussie Smollett situation’. A look at a mayor’s alleged deception
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Schumann: Colorado Springs has ‘a hometown Jussie Smollett situation’. A look at a mayor’s alleged deception

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Springs is dealing with “a hometown Jussie Smollett situation.”  That's how Todd Watkins, vice chair of the El Paso County Republican Party, described the hate crime hoax involving Mayor Yemi Mobolade. Watkins, a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection official and U.S. Army analyst, says political violence in El Paso County has risen during the last nine years. His remarks highlight the seriousness of the allegations of an alleged hate crime that may have impacted the outcome of a municipal election. Three individuals have been indicted for their roles in the hoax. But the DOJ has reportedly declined to charge Mobolade despite evidence of false statements. The FBI found that Mobolade allegedly denied contact wi...
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