Former Ole Miss student pleads guilty to hanging noose around statue honoring the first black student

A former student of the University of Mississippi pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal civil-rights crime, acknowledging that he and another man had tied a noose and a Confederate flag around the neck of a statue honoring the black man who integrated the state’s flagship university.

Austin Reed Edenfield of Kennesaw, Ga., waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of using a threat of force to intimidate African American students and employees because of their race or color, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release. Edenfield admitted that he knew the rope and flag would be threatening and intimidating to black students.

Edenfield will be sentenced on July 21 and faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The government has recommended probation.