#Effigy found hanging from tree in Oakland amid hate crime probe

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An effigy was found hanging from a tree in Oakland, California.
Oakland Police Department

A “fake body” has been found hanging from a tree in Oakland, California, a day after authorities launched a hate crime investigation into several nooses found hanging from trees in the same area, according to a report.

The effigy, which a resident found hanging near Lake Merritt on Thursday morning, has been widely shared on social media, SFGate.com reported.

“Horrified to see that an effigy was hanging from noose at #LakeMerritt this morning with jogging pants and American flag,” Twitter user Christina Hernandez posted. “Disgusting and disgraceful.”

Another user, @BlakeDontCrack, said “these white supremacists sending a message. It is our duty to protect our people by any means necessary.”

The user noted that the horrifying discovery was made the day before Juneteenth celebrations are planned at the location to mark the official end of slavery in the US.

Police confirmed they found “material stuffed in the shape of a human body with a rope tied around the torso and neck, laying on the ground next to a tree with an American flag lying next to it,” SFGate reported.

Mayor Libby Schaaf on Wednesday said the noose sightings would be investigated by the FBI as hate crimes.

On Thursday, she tweeted: “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 added.