The FBI is investigating an incident over the Fourth of July weekend in which an Indiana man says he was the victim of a racist attack involving threats of a noose.
His lawyer, Katharine Liell said it's a hate crime investigation. When CNN reached out to the FBI to confirm that a hate crime investigation has been opened, FBI public affairs officer, Chris Bavender told CNN, "the FBI is investigating, we have no further comment."
"Believe it or not, things are moving, and moving rather rapidly considering it's the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, they did not move rapid enough on Saturday night," said Liell.In a detailed Facebook post Sunday, Booker, a Black man, recounted being harassed and attacked by five white men Saturday evening in an incident he said left him with a minor concussion, bruises, and patches of hair ripped out.
The individuals Booker and his friends tried to speak with were "calm for a moment then quickly became aggressive," Booker described in his post before, he says, he decided to leave the location. CNN has reached out to individuals believed to be captured in videos of the incident restraining Booker or part of that group.On Tuesday, at least three witnesses to the confrontation described the events of Saturday evening.
Brennan Golightly, who said he had only met Booker once before Saturday night, told CNN on Monday that he never heard the word "noose" mentioned during the incident.
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