Axel Cox said he chose to burn the cross in front of his Black neighbors because of their race, saying he "intended to scare them into moving out of the neighborhood."

Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, Miss., who burned a cross in his front yard, was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act over the December 2020 incident.

The 23-year-old suspect burned the cross in front of his Black neighbors because of their race, according to the U.S. Justice Department.