ALABAMA —A former Alabama Klu Klux Klan leader was sentenced today to two years in prison for his role in a cross-burning incident at a black neighborhood, federal officials said.
U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins sentenced Steven Joshua Dinkle, 28, former Exalted Cyclops of the Ozark, Alabama, chapter of the International Keystone Knights of the KKK.
Watkins said that it was clear that the purpose of Dinkle’s conduct was “to terrorize people in the community” and that his “message was one of intimidation and violence.”
Dinkle plead guilty to hate crimes and obstruction of justice for his role in a 2009 cross burning incident, say federal prosecutor
“It is sad that, in this day and age, people are still filled with such hate,” said U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama. “To act on such hate and burn a cross turns that hate into a crime which should not, and will not, be tolerated. Prosecuting these type crimes will continue to be a priority of my office.”
The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Dale County Sheriff’s Office and the Ozark Police Department.
Court documents indicate that Dinkle and one of his KKK recruits, Thomas Windell Smith, met at Dinkle’s home on May 8, 2009 and decided to burn a cross at the neighborhood.
Around 8:00 p.m., Dinkle and Smith drove to an African-American neighborhood in Ozark. Dinkle unloaded the cross at the entrance to the community and dug a hole in the ground, then poured fuel on the cross, stood it up in the hole in view of several houses and set it on fire. Dinkle and Smith then drove away.
Dinkle’s co-conspirator, Smith, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate housing rights in December 2013, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug.
Dinkle’s mother, Pamela Morris, is charged with two counts of perjury arising out of the investigation into the cross burning. Her trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 4.