Guilty Plea In Noose Related Assault

In an April 24, 2009 Press Release, the Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced that a fifty-year-old truck driver from Maryland pleaded guilty to assault and violating the civil rights of an African American man he encountered while he delivered construction materials to the Pentagon.  According to the DOJ Press Release, the man admitted he made a noose and displayed the noose to the victim in an attempt to intimidate the victim who was a pipefitter also working at the Pentagon.  The Press Release stated as well that the United States also alleged that the man placed the noose around the victim’s neck, and pulled the victim into a large, metal storage container during the 2006 incident.  An attorney quoted in the DOJ Press Release was quoted as saying that “A noose is a very powerful symbol of hate and racially motivated violence [and the DOJ] is committed to ensuring that those who use racially motivated threats and violence in the workplace are prosecuted and brought to justice.” 

See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/April/09-crt-388.html .