James Brown sentenced 18 months for burning cross on Black family’s lawn

There’s fresh meat coming to the cell block!

Source: Anton Petrus / Getty

2020 was a year of reckoning in terms of race, policing, and public sentiment toward the mistreatment of Black people in Amerikkka. It’s hard to tell whether there were more racist incidents than previous years but one thing’s for sure is that racism was not quarantined due to COVID-19.

During that time, a 41-year-old white man from Marion, Virginia named James Brown took it upon himself to terrorize a Black family by burning a cross on their lawn. According to Atlanta Black Star, on June 13, 2020, the family’s 17-year-old son Travon Brown had organized a protest in the town in opposition to the murder of George Floyd. On June 14, 2020, the very next day, the Brown family found the inflamed symbol on their lawn. Witnesses testified that a “skinny white man” was seen leaving the property.

B-b-b-b-but wait, it gets worse!

After setting the cross ablaze and leaving the scene, James Brown came back to the home playing the role of Good Samaritan to offer his assistance in putting the fire out.

Yeah.

“When Brown burned a cross in the victim’s front yard, he carried out a despicable act of intimidation, interfered with a federally protected housing right, and broke a serious federal law,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bubar said the day of the sentencing. “Today’s sentence demonstrates that such threatening acts of hatred will be swiftly investigated and prosecuted. We thank the FBI and state partners for their hard work on this important case.”

Brown would later go on to admit to the hate crime while talking to a neighbor. The neighbor said that Brown laughed and called the family the n-word. He was arrested 12 days later. Following a guilty plea last week Brown was sentenced to 18 months in prison.