"The victims were attacked and threatened in their own neighborhood and home because of their race," Acting Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights John M. Gore stated in the release on Tuesday. "Such violence and intimidation has no place in our society, the Justice Department is committed to protecting the rights of all citizens, and will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who commit such atrocious acts of hate."
Thomas Sigler and William Dennis, were sentenced to 33 and 21 months respectively for the 2012 Halloween night attack, along with a third defendant, Pascual Pietri, who earlier pled guilty to the same charge and received a 37-month sentence, the release explained.
Sigler and Dennis built the wooden, gasoline-soaked cross, the release noted. Dennis and Pietri then carried the cross to the neighbor’s lawn and set the object ablaze. Planting burning crosses is a hallmark tradition of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
The release made no mention of the Ku Klux Klan. However the Klan became notorious for using burning crosses to terrorize blacks following the Civil War, which was launched by 11 southern states that seceded from the Union in an unsuccessful attempt to preserve slavery.
Prior to the cross burning, Sigler and Dennis had regularly harassed their African-American male neighbor with racial slurs and derogatory statements after the couple moved in, according to the release.
