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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTwo Black Men found hanging in California in the last two weeks
Suspicious deaths of two black men in California, found hanging in public parks. IN both cases families rejected the initial police determinations of suicide.
Police see no foul play yet in both cases the families say there is no way these were suicides.
Robert Fuller, 22 years old
Malcom Harsch 38 years old
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/14/876807835/california-city-residents-demand-answers-after-black-man-found-hanging-from-tree
A growing number of residents and officials in Los Angeles County are demanding answers in the death of a black man whose body was discovered hanging from a tree in a park.
Robert Fuller's body was found early Wednesday in Poncitlán Square in Palmdale, Calif., a commuter city roughly an hour north of Los Angeles. The 24-year-old's death was deemed a likely suicide based on preliminary findings, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
Fuller's family and supporters are pushing back against the department's assessment, saying his death appears to be a lynching.
It came 10 days after another black man was found hanging from a tree about 50 miles away in Victorville.
https://www.thecut.com/2020/06/what-we-know-about-robert-fuller-and-malcolm-harschs-deaths.html
Protesters gathered in Palmdale, California, over the weekend, to call for renewed investigation into the death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old black man whose body was found hanging from a tree outside City Hall last week. Officials initially suggested Fuller died by suicide, but the circumstances bear an eery resemblance to a recent death in nearby Victorville, about 45 miles away: Days earlier, the body of Malcolm Harsch, a 38-year-old black man, was found in a tree outside the citys library. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department says it does not currently suspect foul play, but both Harschs family members and Fullers remain skeptical. In both cases, people who knew the men suspect they were murdered.
snip
Protesters and activists suspect Fuller and Harsch were lynched.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Southern California and San Bernardino County in particular has seen a large spike in white-supremacist activity in recent years. Neo-Nazi groups have been active in Antelope Valley for decades, and in 2007, KKK flyers depicting Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton hanging from trees were distributed in Palmdale, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, elected officials in Palmdale conspired for years with the L.A. Housing Authority to push out low-income black families using harassment and bullying tactics, pointing to a pattern of race-based discrimination in the area.
That Fuller and Harschs deaths came amid weeks of national protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, combined with the location of the bodies both in front of municipal buildings has led many to believe that both men were lynched. On Saturday, thousands gathered in Palmdale to demand a full investigation into Fullers death.
MontanaMama
(23,313 posts)Yeah...right. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the police were responsible for the deaths of these men.
stillcool
(32,626 posts)was weird, jumping right to covid-19.
All indicators point to a suicide, Dean said, but investigators are waiting for full autopsy results and information from the mans next of kin regarding past issues with mental illness.
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Sadly, it is not the first such incident since the COVID-19 pandemic began, city officials said in the statement.
Many people are suffering extreme mental anguish and the city wants everyone to know that help is available, said City Manager JJ Murphy. There are local resources such as Mental Health America of Los Angeles, AV Vet Center, and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
http://theavtimes.com/2020/06/11/suspected-suicide-body-found-hanging-from-tree-in-poncitlan-square-palmdale-issues-statement/#
neohippie
(1,142 posts)The reason that they are going with suicide in both cases is that there is no evidence of a struggle in both cases, but I would think that most suicides are not conducted in public spaces, like one of these was across from a courthouse, sure seems like signs of lynching to hang a black man in a public space
stillcool
(32,626 posts)and it's been updated with a press conference..from today...which I can't watch right now...
http://theavtimes.com/2020/06/11/suspected-suicide-body-found-hanging-from-tree-in-poncitlan-square-palmdale-issues-statement/#
alwaysinasnit
(5,066 posts)neohippie
(1,142 posts)I wanted to post this in LBN but it is more than 12 hours old, I searched for any updated stories
alwaysinasnit
(5,066 posts)but with this second one, and the fact that authorities are pushing the suicide song, I fear for all black males in that area. If you find anything else, please keep us updated. TY
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Move in groups or carry a weapon.
Worth watching where this heads. The situation seems suspicious.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)Wow.
uponit7771
(90,335 posts)electric_blue68
(14,891 posts)It was only a few years ago that l learned that lynching was referring to any unjustified killing/murder of a black person.
I had only associated with literal hanging.
I've been doing my best to pay attention for over 55 yrs to racism and it's results. Back in the 1960's we saw photos of the hangings. Terrifying. It was still somewhat later I found out of the "party atmosphere" of white people gathering to watch. Horrific.
Imagine how shocking it is to walk in on a genuine suicide by hanging. Then add deliberate murder to the equation!
It's hard to pick the most accurate words to what I feel.
It's such a terroristic action. It's nearly a blinding glare of terrifying hatred that beacons outward.
And SOMEONE(S) better find out The Truth!
Day-am!
Horse with no Name
(33,956 posts)Roland99
(53,342 posts)MagickMuffin
(15,937 posts)surveillance tapes. Hopefully the families can request them!