Nooses found at a public park in Oakland, Calif., will be removed and investigated as hate crimes, according to Mayor Libby Schaaf.
The news follows the hanging deaths of two black men that were originally ruled suicides, in Palmdale and Victorville. The FBI and the California Department of Justice have launched investigations into the deaths.
"Several nooses found on trees around Lake Merritt were removed and will be investigated as hate crimes," Schaaf said in a statement, "Symbols of racial violence have no place in Oakland and will not be tolerated."
Several nooses found on trees around Lake Merritt were removed and will be investigated as hate crimes. pic.twitter.com/JW8TvY6pi4
— Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) June 17, 2020
Oakland city council member Nikki Fortunato Bas said the nooses were an "anti-black threat of racist violence."
We condemn hate + racism in our town. Hanging a noose at Lake Merritt is an anti-black threat of racist violence. This is intolerable in the wake of the suspected lynchings of #MalcolmHarsch & #RobertFuller in So Cal. #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/m4xYCvNs3F
— Nikki Fortunato Bas, Councilmember (@nikki4oakland) June 17, 2020
The hate crimes probe comes after weeks of protests in Oakland and around the world over police violence and the disproportionate loss of black life.
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