A 33-year-old man currently living in Florida was indicted this week for his alleged role in a 2012 cross-burning in Tennessee, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Timothy Flanagan was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate housing rights, one count of criminal interference with the right to fair housing, and one count of using fire to commit a federal felony, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say Flanagan and two other people set fire to a diesel fuel-soaked wooden cross they had placed in the driveway of an interracial couple’s house. The incident took place in Minor Hill, Tenn. on April 30, 2012. (Flanagan previously lived in Tennessee.)
According to the Justice Department, the couple whose house was targeted had a baby not long before the incident, and the baby’s race played a part in the group’s decision to burn the cross.
