A Black man in Bloomington, Indiana, says that he was “almost the victim of an attempted lynching.”
Vauhxx Booker, a Black civil rights activist in Bloomington and a member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, decided to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday by visiting Lake Monroe, according to The Bloomingtonian.
While walking to the lake with a friend, who is White, Booker was confronted by a White man driving an ATV and wearing a hat with a Confederate flag symbol. The man driving the ATV approached Booker and his friend and claimed that they were on private property, but it was an untrue claim.
Booker and his friend continued to walk in the direction of the lake. However, the man returned with several other White men in tow who began harassing Booker.
One man hit Booker in the back of the head while four others began punching and grabbing him, eventually forcing Booker to the ground. They threatened to break his arm, and one man jumped on his neck with both feet. Another man reportedly yelled “White power” and threatened to lynch him while asking someone to get a noose.
The alleged racial attack was eventually stopped by several people who stopped to intervene.
“I was almost the victim of an attempted lynching,” Booker, who was diagnosed with a minor concussion, some abrasions, bruising and some ripped out hair patches, tweeted. “I don’t want this to have happened to me or anyone. It hurts my soul and my pride, but there are multiple witnesses and it can’t be hidden or avoided.”
The White individuals who were involved in the attack have yet to be arrested or charged with a hate crime, but an investigation is currently underway by the FBI and Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office.
View the explosive video after the jump. (Warning: NSFW)
