Convicted Cross-Burner Sentenced on Federal Gun Charges

       Montgomery, Alabama –  Steven Joshua Dinkle, 30, a former Exalted Cyclops of the Ozark, Alabama chapter of the International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), was sentenced to 15 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced George L. Beck, Jr., United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.    

       Dinkle was previously convicted in May of 2014 of several federal felonies surrounding the burning of a cross in a predominantly black neighborhood.  Dinkle served his sentence for the previous convictions and was released in May of 2015.   While on supervised release from May to August 2015, Dinkle was cited for multiple violations of the terms of his probation, including possession of a firearm, and his probation was revoked.    

       Federal law makes it a crime for anyone who has been convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm, unless they have had their gun rights restored.

       This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the United States Probation Office, and the Dale County Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Susan Redmond.