Post by The Big PINK One♥ on Sept 21, 2007 13:01:48 GMT -5
A photograph taken by I-Reporter Casanova Love shows a noose hanging from a red pickup.
Are THEY FREAKIN SERIOUS??
ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana (CNN) -- Authorities in Alexandria, Louisiana, arrested two people after nooses were seen hanging from the back of a red pickup Thursday night, the city's mayor told CNN.
Alexandria is less than an hour away from Jena, Louisiana, and was a staging area Thursday for protesters who went to the smaller town to demonstrate against the treatment of six black teens known as the "Jena 6" in racially charged incidents.
Police say the 18-year-old driver of the truck was charged with driving while intoxicated and inciting to riot and also may be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor -- the 16-year-old passenger.
As police were questioning the driver, he said he had an unloaded rifle in the back, which police found. They also found a set of brass knuckles in the cup holder on the dashboard, according to the police report.
The passenger told police he and his family are in the Ku Klux Klan, the police report said. He also said he had tied the nooses and that the brass knuckles belonged to him, the report said. Watch what police found on the truck »
At least one of the nooses was made out of an extension cord, according to the police report.
Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy said those arrested were "from around Jena" and not in the same parish as his city. See where the incident occurred »
The police report says a crowd of about 200 people, mostly African-Americans, watched the arrest take place.
Roy said the incident is "not indicative" of Alexandria and that local authorities will look into the matter "completely, thoroughly and transparently."
A photograph of the truck was sent to CNN by Casanova Love, 26, who said he's in the U.S. Navy. He's visiting his family in Louisiana.
Love said he was standing outside a club with some friends Thursday night when he saw the red pickup drive by slowly with two nooses hanging from it.
He said the truck continued up the street and passed by a large group of Jena 6 protesters standing outside a bus stop. Police then pulled over the vehicle.
Love explained why he sent the photo to CNN: "People need to see this. It's 2007, and we still have fools acting like it's 1960."
State police estimated at least 15,000 people gathered in Jena on Thursday to protest what they consider unequal punishments meted out in recent racially charged cases.
One involved the hanging of nooses from a tree a day after black students sat under what had been an informal gathering place for white students. The students involved were suspended from school for a brief time.
Another was the beating of a white student that resulted in six black teens facing charges that include aggravated second-degree battery.
