Man Gets Prison for Racist Sign in Neighbor's Yard

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) -- A Mason City man who prosecutors say interfered with the housing rights of an African American family has been sentenced to eight months in federal prison.
United States Attorney Matt Dummermuth says 21-year-old Justin Hanson received the sentence Thursday. He says Hanson pleaded guilty in April after admitting to putting a racially offensive sign in the family's yard.
Dummermuth says Hanson also confessed to firing a BB gun into the family's home, breaking a bedroom window. Prosecutors say Hanson said at his plea hearing that he had been attempted to intimidate or interfere with the family's housing rights because of their race and because they were living in his neighborhood.