Pamela Moses, one of the original founders of Black Lives Matter, has been sentenced to 6 years and 1 day in prison.
Moses, 44, was convicted Monday of illegally registering to vote in 2020 despite felony convictions in 2015.
Judge Michael Ward accused Moses of deceiving probation officials by claiming she had completed the terms of her probation. She was sentenced to six years and one day behind bars.
“You tricked the probation department into giving you documents saying you were off probation,” Ward said in open court on Monday, according to the Washington Post.
In 2015, Moses pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and forgery, and to misdemeanor charges of perjury, stalking, theft under $500, and escape. She has 16 prior felonies.
She was placed on probation for seven years and lost her rights to vote as a convicted felon.
Moses insists she didn’t actually vote, she just registered. The former Democratic mayoral candidate in Memphis said she was not aware that her rights to vote in Memphis were not restored.
“I relied on the election commission because those are the people who were supposed to know what you know you’re supposed to do. And I found out that they didn’t know,” Moses told WREG.
Moses accused the judge of abusing his authority under color of law to suppress her rights to vote.
“They want to pick and control who the Black leaders are in the South. And they do it through voter suppression,” she said. “They suppressed my right to vote forever.”
An attorney representing Moses says she will appeal the sentence.
