On Thursday evening, the death of 24-year-old Robert Fuller was officially ruled a suicide, following weeks of social media outcry and protesting demanding “justice” for Fuller, who was rumored to have been the victim of a racist lynching.
Fuller was tragically found hanging from a tree in a Southern California park on June 10. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Cmdr. Chris Marks, the young man had a history of mental illness.
“There were no signs of a struggle. No defensive wounds observed, and no other signs of trauma visible to Mr. Fuller,” said Marks during a press conference, adding, “The DNA results were returned from the ligatures and the fingernails of Mr. Fuller. The quantitative results for each tested sample indicated that the predominant contributor for each sample belonged to Mr. Fuller.”
Marks also outlined three hospitalizations of Fuller since 2017 in which the young man “told doctors he was considering taking his life,” the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
Last November, Marks said, Fuller “disclosed that he did have a plan to kill himself” while he was being treated for depression. Additionally, Fuller “allegedly tried to light himself on fire” during a February incident, which was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The #LosAngeles county sheriff’s office and medical examiner made a official statement on the death of #RobertFuller. He was found hanging from a tree June 10, in Palmdale, CA. Authorities officially rule the death a suicide. RIP Robert Fuller 🙏 pic.twitter.com/LqyUpUJsMp
— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) July 10, 2020
In the wake of Fuller’s death, protests against racism erupted and accusations of foul play were suggested.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) posted a report on Fuller’s death and demanded further investigation. “Robert Fuller’s family and the entire Palmdale community deserve answers,” she wrote. “There must be further investigation.”
Robert Fuller's family and the entire Palmdale community deserve answers. There must be further investigation. https://t.co/G6kyAKMOyt
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 13, 2020
Musical talent Jaden Smith posted, “JUSTICE FOR ROBERT FULLER!!!”
JUSTICE FOR ROBERT FULLER!!!
— Jaden (@jaden) June 13, 2020
The incident also sparked protests in the area.
“Palmdale residents have been grappling with the death of 24-year-old Robert Fuller, a Black man found hanging from a tree in the California city earlier this month,” a Morning Edition report said. “The community’s decades of entrenched racism have fueled the outcry.”
Palmdale residents have been grappling with the death of 24-year-old Robert Fuller, a Black man found hanging from a tree in the California city earlier this month.
The community's decades of entrenched racism have fueled the outcry: https://t.co/ktAtH0q7p2 pic.twitter.com/vrhjlKvCyP
— Morning Edition (@MorningEdition) July 3, 2020
City officials in Palmdale, California, said they support calls for an independent investigation into the death of Robert Fuller, a black man whose death was deemed a suicide after he was found hanging from a tree in a public square this week https://t.co/df9fHu4SNH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 14, 2020
Actor Damon Gupton suggested Fuller was the victim of a racism lynching, invoking the term “strange fruit.”
“While people ‘celebrate’ America today with the rah rah cis boom bah, I find myself remembering Robert Fuller found hanging from a tree 51 minutes from where I live three weeks ago,” he wrote on Independence Day. “Strange fruit.”
While people “celebrate” America today with the rah rah cis boom bah, I find myself remembering Robert Fuller found hanging from a tree 51 minutes from where I live three weeks ago. Strange fruit. #america #independenceday2020 #unsolvedmysteries #BlackLivesStillMatter
— Damon Gupton (@DamonGupton) July 4, 2020
American rapper Russ seemingly promoted racial ties to Fuller’s death, as did government-subsidized NPR.
RIP ROBERT FULLER https://t.co/Ku7VwuV07J
— RUSS (@russdiemon) June 13, 2020
Robert Fuller was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, Calif., this month. Many are skeptical his death was a suicide.
For decades, neo-Nazis and skinheads have been a threat in the area—linked to hate crimes including the firebombing of a Black church.https://t.co/PYTHG8vnYk
— NPR (@NPR) June 30, 2020
A Change.org petition signed by nearly 900,000 people calling for “justice for Robert Fuller” said the 24-year-old might have been the victim of a lynching.
On Friday, Daily Wire columnist and podcast host Matt Walsh highlighted how the tragedy of Fuller’s death was exploited by some on the Left.
“The sad case of Robert Fuller is instructive,” Walsh wrote in a series of posts. “He was a depressed and suicidal man who had been hospitalized three times for suicidal thoughts and had attempted suicide at least once recently. But when he was found hanging his family insisted that he wouldn’t have killed himself.”
“The media and Democrats jumped in, grotesquely exploiting his death by openly speculating that he might have been lynched. He wasn’t. It was an obvious case of suicide. No signs of struggle. No sign that anything happened against his will. He used his EBT card to buy the rope,” he continued. “The very idea that a man might have been lynched in public with no witnesses, nothing on video, no evidence left behind, was always patently ridiculous. Some people in the mob might have been dumb enough to really believe it, but the media and elected Dems knew better.”
Still, Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media, argued Walsh, “were happy to exploit this tragic situation for their own ends. They are so desperate to support their narrative of America as a racist and oppressive country that they will even swoop down like vultures on the dead body of a suicidal man. These are truly evil people.”
The media and Democrats jumped in, grotesquely exploiting his death by openly speculating that he might have been lynched. He wasn't. It was an obvious case of suicide. No signs of struggle. No sign that anything happened against his will. He used his EBT card to buy the rope.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 10, 2020
They were happy to exploit this tragic situation for their own ends. They are so desperate to support their narrative of America as a racist and oppressive country that they will even swoop down like vultures on the dead body of a suicidal man. These are truly evil people.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 10, 2020