Cross Burning Indictment

The U. S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) issued a Press Release on August 26, 2009 in which DOJ attorneys announced that an Indiana man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for charges stemming from a cross burning in September 2007.  See, http://usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/August/09-crt-871.html .  The man was charged with one count of interfering with the housing rights of another and one count of using fire in the commission of a felony.  According to the DOJ Press Release, the man burned a cross at the home of an African American man and white woman, returning later with a knife and made threats.  As stated in the Press Release, the charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  FBI Special Agents investigated the case and the case will be prosecuted by a trial attorney from the DOJ Civil Rights Division.