Oakland Democrat Mayor Libby Schaaf said on Wednesday that “several nooses” found in a park this week have been removed and that a hate crime investigation has been launched and the FBI is now involved in the matter.
However, The Associated Press reported that Victor Sengbe, who is black, has come forward and said that he and his friends put the ropes there months ago for the purpose of creating a swing system for exercising.
“Out of the dozen and hundreds and thousands of people that walked by, no one has thought that it looked anywhere close to a noose. Folks have used it for exercise. It was really a fun addition to the park that we tried to create,” Sengbe said. “It’s unfortunate that a genuine gesture of just wanting to have a good time got misinterpreted into something so heinous.”
Victor Sengbe of #Oakland says the nooses found in #LakeMerritt were not a symbol of hate. He says the nooses were used to attach a makeshift swing. “It’s unfortunate that a genuine gesture of just wanting to create a good time got misinterpreted.” @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/7vutrZYDHu
— Melissa Colorado (@melissacolorado) June 17, 2020
That apparently did not matter to Schaaf, who said in a statement that it does not matter if the ropes were part of exercise equipment because that does “not remove nor excuse their torturous and terrorizing effects.”
In a statement, Schaaf said:
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. Reports that these were part of exercise equipment do not remove nor excuse their torturous and terrorizing effects.
We are all responsible for knowing the history and present day reality of lynchings, hate crimes and racial violence. Objects that invoke such terror will not be tolerated in Oakland’s public spaces.
Schaaf, who has been accused of obstructing justice by tipping off illegal aliens to raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, made similar statements at a news conference. She later posted a video to her Twitter account that spliced together different parts of remarks that she gave at the press conference.
“The Oakland Police Department has turned over the evidence to the FBI. We have to start with the assumption that these are hate crimes,” Schaaf said. “We cannot take these actions lightly. These symbols are symbols of racial violence and it’s incumbent on all of us to have that sensitivity, to have that knowledge and that is why I have directed our staff to remove any such symbol of hatred, regardless of the intention of what put it there.”
“What a privilege for those of us that don’t feel complete fear and terror when we see a rope in a tree, that is a privilege that so many of our African American residents do not enjoy,” Schaff continued. “You see an overwhelming amount of, of anguish, of rage, of fatigue, of grief, and yes, the fact that we had an extremist charged with the murder of Patrick Underwood, an extremist group, the Boogaloos, that is trying to foment a race war, we have to see this moment for what it is: a reckoning.”
“And in Oakland, we cannot further terrorize or traumatize our black residents and yes, the incidents of the last few weeks, but frankly of the last few centuries, is the backdrop upon which we have to make these decisions today. Enough is enough. And again, the intentions do not matter, because the harm is real,” Schaff concluded. “They will matter with regard to whether or not this is in fact charged as a hate crime, but they do not matter about whether or not we should tolerate symbols of hate and violence and torture in our public spaces. They do not have a place here in Oakland.”
WATCH:
Intentions do not matter. We will not tolerate symbols of hate in our city. The nooses found at Lake Merritt will be investigated as hate crimes. pic.twitter.com/B1f1SwZ4tK
— Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) June 18, 2020
On Thursday, in what appeared to be a separate incident altogether, Schaaf wrote in a statement that “a human effigy hung from a tree at Lake Merritt” was removed by officials.
“Earlier this morning, we removed a human effigy hung from a tree at Lake Merritt – a deliberate and vile attempt to traumatize and divide Oaklanders. We immediately engaged the FBI to investigate this heinous act for what it clearly is – a hate crime,” Schaaf wrote. “We are in a raw and outraged moment as a city and a country right now. I ask Oaklanders to be vigilant and build your own conscious of the trauma caused by symbols of racial violence.”
Earlier this morning, we removed a human effigy hung from a tree at Lake Merritt — a deliberate and vile attempt to traumatize and divide Oaklanders. We immediately engaged the FBI to investigate this heinous act for what it clearly is — a hate crime. pic.twitter.com/rsGk9zeSd9
— Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) June 18, 2020
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