NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man has plead guilty to burning a cross in front of an interracial family's home in southern Tennessee.
The U.S. Justice Department says 41-year-old Timothy Stafford entered the plea in federal court in Nashville on Friday for his role in the April 30, 2012, cross burning at a home in Minor Hill, Tenn.
Stafford told the court he and two others built the cross in a workshop behind his house. After taking it to the couple's home, they used diesel fuel to light the fire because he didn't like interracial dating in his community.
In August, 21-year-old Ivan "Rusty" London IV, of Lexington, Ky., plead guilty for his role in the conspiracy, and is currently awaiting sentencing.
Stafford is scheduled for sentencing in April.