Belleville Man Sentenced for Civil Rights Violations

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on March 11, 2010, JOSEPH L. BROWN, age 27, of Belleville, Illinois, was sentenced in the United States District Court in East St. Louis following his convictions for conspiracy to interfere with the federally-protected housing rights of African-American victims; interference with African-American victims because of their occupation of a dwelling through the threatened use of force; and making a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer. BROWN pled guilty to the offenses on October 15, 2008. BROWN was sentenced to a total of 78 months of imprisonment (to be served consecutively to his current state sentence) and three (3) years’ supervised release. BROWN was also ordered to pay a fine of $250, a $225 special assessment, and $140 in restitution to a victim of the offense.

The violations occurred on March 29, 2003, in Collinsville, Illinois, when BROWN and another conspired to frighten and intimidate several individuals, two of whom were African-American, by spray painting racial threats and epithets on the exterior of the individuals’ home. Before the vandalism occurred, the defendant had tried to organize a group of young people into forming a racial group or gang. BROWN told others that he was angry that African-Americans were living on the same street that he lived, and that a white woman lived there with the African-Americans. When interviewed about the incident by the FBI on January 22, 2008, BROWN lied by claiming not to know anything about the racial vandalism committed in March 2003, by claiming that he was not involved in the incident, and by claiming that he did not know anyone who might have been involved in the incident.

U.S. Attorney Cox stated, “It is my hope that this prosecution and sentence will send a clear message that illegal conduct designed to threaten or intimidate members of minority groups or any attempt to interfere with their free exercise of rights guaranteed to all Americans will not be tolerated in the Southern District of Illinois.”

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein and Trial Attorney Kevonne Small of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.