One of the three people accused of allegedly staging a cross burning in front of a Yemi Mobolade campaign sign defaced with a racial slur during the 2023 mayoral runoff election pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

Derrick Bernard Jr., Ashley Blackcloud and Deanna West all face two charges in federal court for their alleged roles in the hate crime hoax.

On Tuesday, West appeared in federal court to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense or to defraud the United States. According to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Gazette, the advisory sentencing range agreed upon by the prosecution and defense is a range between 0-24 months in prison.

Attorneys for Blackcloud and Bernard argued in motions filed last month that both charges against them should be dismissed because the allegations in the case are protected by free speech.

“The basic theory of the indictment is that the defendants hatched a plan to burn a cross in front of a racially defaced campaign sign of a Black mayoral candidate, make a video of the cross burning and then disseminate the video so that it had a “viral” moment in the media, all as a way to help the mayoral candidate, whom they supported,” Blackcloud’s attorney Britt Cobb wrote in the motion last month. “In other words, the indictment lays out a cross-burning hoax done to help a political candidate during a political campaign.”

The motion goes on to argue that both charges against Blackcloud should be dropped because the incident is protected speech and not a hate crime.

West will return to court to be sentenced on June 13, according to court records. A five-day trial for Blackcloud and Bernard in federal court is scheduled for May 19.

Bernard was convicted of first-degree murder last year for orchestrating the killing of William Underwood, a local rap artist who went by the name FYL Jackk. Bernard represented himself at the homicide trial. The jury found him guilty of all charges after deliberating for less than an hour. Bernard was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but he filed a notice of appeal to overturn his conviction in December, according to court records.

Bernard was supposed to begin trial on several attempted homicide charges at the state level in January, but the trial was postponed indefinitely due to the federal government not honoring writs for Bernard to be transported back to state custody to face charges.

Attorneys in Bernard’s open state case expect there is no possibility of a trial until the conclusion of his federal case. Attorneys in the state case are expected to return to court on May 22 for a review hearing.

Mayor Mobolade came under fire following the release of the indictment due to his communication with Bernard before and after the incident, but Mobolade has denied any knowledge of the hate crime hoax and has said that he has cooperated fully with law enforcement during the investigation.

Aee Shawn Mathews, the co-defendant in both the attempted homicide case involving Bernard and the man accused of shooting and killing Underwood, has yet to face trial related to either incident. Mathews is slated to go to trial on April 21 for the alleged killing of Underwood. He remains out of custody on a $800,000 surety bond.