Two white men are charged with battery and intimidation in 'attempted lynching' of black activist at Indiana lake

Two white men were charged this morning in connection with an 'attempted lynching' of a black activist, who said that a group of men assaulted him and threatened to 'get a noose' during a Fourth of July gathering at a southern Indiana lake.
Monroe County prosecutors on Friday charged Sean Purdy with felonies of criminal confinement, battery resulting in moderate bodily injury and intimidation. Jerry Cox II has been charged with felony criminal confinement and battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, as well as two misdemeanors.
Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Erika Oliphant requested warrants for the arrests of Purdy and Cox after reviewing Indiana Department of Natural Resources's investigative reports and digital evidence. 
The charges follow weeks of protests demanding arrests in the assault on Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission.  
In this July 4, 2020, image taken from video provided by Brennan Golightly, a group of people surround Vauhxx Booker, center, as he is bent over leaning against a tree, at Monroe Lake near Bloomington, Ind. Two men are facing charges after Booker said a group of white men assaulted him in Indiana and threatened to "get a noose" after claiming that he and his friends had trespassed on private property. Monroe County prosecutors on Friday, July 17, 2020, charged Sean Purdy, left, with felonies of criminal confinement, battery resulting in moderate bodily injury and intimidation. Jerry Cox II has been charged with felony criminal confinement and battery resulting in moderate bodily injury
Civil rights activist Vauhxx Booker (pictured) claimed he was a victim of an 'attempted lynching' when five white men pinned him against a tree, shouted racial slurs and threatened to 'get a noose' at Monroe Lake near Bloomington over Fourth of July weekend
Sean Purdy, seen left in a red shirt in a video, was charged on Friday along with Jerry Cox in connection to an alleged 'attempted lynching' of black activist Vauhxx Booker (right) 
Booker said he called 911 after the men assaulted him and pinned him to a tree at the lake just south of Booker´s hometown of Bloomington.
David Hennessy, a criminal defense attorney for Purdy, previously said Booker has been 'putting forth a false narrative' about what happened. Hennessy alleged that Booker 'was the instigator and the agitator.' 
Booker said the group of five men accused him of trespassing on private property. After he tried to apologize, the situation got physical. 
Booker said the men threatened to break his arms and said, 'get a noose,' while telling his friends to leave the area. Booker also said one of the men had a hat with a Confederate flag on it and that the men made statements about 'white power.'
Witnesses who were with Booker that day said they heard racial slurs being shouted and that someone said 'get a noose' and 'leave the boy here, we will take care of him.'
Booker and attorney Katherine Liell said they were 'relieved' by the charges but that they believe this is 'just the first step towards justice and change.'
'We will watch closely to ensure that the individuals arrested for perpetrating this disgusting and sickening attack against Mr. Booker are duly punished,' they said in an emailed statement.
Booker planned a news conference for Friday afternoon.
'Let him go': Moment black man is attacked by white men
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Part of the confrontation was captured on video which shows at least three white men pinning Booker to a tree
Booker posted the footage on Facebook along with his version of events
Part of the confrontation was captured on video which shows at least three white men pinning Booker to a tree. Booker posted the footage on Facebook along with his version of events 

Officers with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources who responded to the alleged assault released a 68-page investigatory report to The Associated Press Thursday through a public records request. It indicates that Purdey, Cox, Booker and one of Booker´s acquaintances potentially committed crimes.
Hennessy has said that Booker was on private property on the day of the incident, and that after Purdy and his associates informed Booker of the property line, the situation was assumed to be resolved. Hennessy contends that hours later, however, Booker again approached Purdy and a group of others. 
Booker and his attorney released a statement hours later and doubled down on their previous claims that he was the victim of a 'violent prejudice fueled attack'. 
'Mr Booker did not instigate this encounter; he did not provoke anyone to hold him against his will. He did not yell or shout or lose his temper,' the statement said. 
'This is what repeatedly happens. The victim gets blamed and shamed. He gets re-victimized. Vauhxx Booker is the victim. Black people across the nation have been the victims.' 
Witnesses told DNR investigators that Booker threatened them, claiming to be a county commissioner. Then, he said, Booker 'got in the face' Purdy´s girlfriend and punched Purdy three times.
Cox, who is Purdy's friend, said Booker also punched him in the face and that he 'was pretty sure' that he hit Booker twice in the face.
Sean Purdy and Caroline McCord, who was present during the confrontation, stood silently behind their attorney David Hennessy as he presented their version of events at Monday's press conference
Sean Purdy and Caroline McCord, who was present during the confrontation, stood silently behind their attorney David Hennessy as he presented their version of events at Monday's press conference
Hennessy said Booker has been 'putting forth a false narrative' about what happened and accused him of launching a 'smear campaign' against Purdy and McCord
Hennessy said Booker has been 'putting forth a false narrative' about what happened and accused him of launching a 'smear campaign' against Purdy and McCord
Purdy, Cox and Booker all sustained minor injuries, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Hennessy said Purdy did not hear or said 'get a noose,' but that 'some racially insensitive stuff' was said by people known to them. 
'No talk of a noose, no talk of a rope, no talk of a lynching. No white power,' he said. 
When asked, Hennessy said his clients know the people and condemn the language used.
'There is a grand awakening regarding racial injustice happening in all of our communities. This is long overdue. It is deplorable that a person would be targeted because of his or her race,' Hennessy said. 
'It is equally deplorable for a person to use his race as a weapon and to arouse public passion over a false allegation.'
The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, though no additional updates have been provided about the status of its investigation.  
'After a review of the full and complete investigation by INDR Law Enforcement, the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office believes that the above listed charges are supported by probable cause, that admissible evidence will be sufficient to support conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the decision to charge is in the interests of justice,' according to a press release from Oliphant's office.  
Hennessy said that the men restrained Booker after he punched Purdy (pictured) three times
Hennessy said that the men restrained Booker after he punched Purdy (pictured) three times
Attorney says Vauhxx Booker instigated July 4th incident
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Booker has said that he and his friend were on their way to watch the lunar eclipse at an organized event on July 4 when a white man with 'an oversized hat with a confederate flag print on it' began following them in an ATV.
Booker claimed the man informed him and his friend that they were trespassing on private property, so they apologized and continued on their way to the event.   
That's when he said the man and his friends began following him and two of them knocked him to the ground from behind.  
'I tussled with the two and another one joined in, then two more,' he wrote in a viral Facebook post about the incident. 'The five were able to easily overwhelm me and got me to the ground and dragged me pinning my body against a tree as they began pounding on my head and ripped off some of my hair, with several of them still on top of my body holding me down.'
'They held me pinned and continued beating me for several minutes seemingly become more and more enraged as they kept trying to seriously injure me and failing. At one point during the attack one of the men jumped on my neck. I could feel both his feet and his full bodyweight land hard against my neck.'
Booker further claimed that one of the men threatened to break an arms and repeatedly called out: 'Get a noose.'
Only part of the altercation was captured in videos recorded by Booker's acquaintances that he included in his Facebook post. 
One clip shows Booker hunched over as at least two men pinned him against a tree and several other people in their group crowded around, while Booker's friends begged for them to let him go.  
A second clip, filmed after Booker was released, shows a man repeatedly calling someone off-camera a 'nappy-headed b***h'. 
In a third clip the same man yells: 'You invaded us!' and calls someone in Booker's group a 'stupid f**king liberal f**ks.' 
As Booker's group walks away, one of the men follows them shouting: 'Those black boys want to start it all.' 
Booker said the attack unfolded after a group of white people confronted him and his friend as they made their way to a Fourth of July event on Saturday afternoon. Three of the people in the group are shown above in a video believed to have been recorded by Booker's friend
Booker said the attack unfolded after a group of white people confronted him and his friend as they made their way to a Fourth of July event on Saturday afternoon. Three of the people in the group are shown above in a video believed to have been recorded by Booker's friend
Booker said he and his friend were trying to walk away from the aggressors when two of them knocked him to the ground. Video shows at least three men holding him up against a tree
Booker said he and his friend were trying to walk away from the aggressors when two of them knocked him to the ground. Video shows at least three men holding him up against a tree
Many of Booker's descriptions, including the lead-up to the confrontation, the call to 'get a noose', the threat to break his arms and a man stomping on his neck, are not visible in the videos. The videos do, however, show several of the men cursing and using racially-charged language at him after he said onlookers were able to pull him out of harm's way
In one clip a man (pictured) is heard calling someone off-camera a 'nappy headed b***h'
Many of Booker's descriptions, including the lead-up to the confrontation, the call to 'get a noose', the threat to break his arms and a man stomping on his neck, are not visible in the videos. The videos do, however, show several of the men cursing and using racially-charged language at him after he said onlookers were able to pull him out of harm's way
Booker said he suffered a minor concussion, cuts, bruises and had patches of his hair pulled out during the attack.  
Many of Booker's descriptions, including the lead-up to the confrontation, the call to 'get a noose', the threat to break his arms and a man stomping on his neck, are not visible in the videos. 
Hennessy said there is more video that the public has not seen that will provide proper context but that neither he nor his clients possess the footage.
The attorney also accused Booker of 'race baiting' and encouraging one of the men involved to use racist language. 
Hundreds of members of the Bloomington community turned out for a protest demanding arrests in Booker's attack on the night of July 6
Hundreds of members of the Bloomington community turned out for a protest demanding arrests in Booker's attack on the night of July 6 
Booker broke down in tears as he addressed the crowd gathered at the protest
Booker broke down in tears as he addressed the crowd gathered at the protest
Booker recounted his version of the incident in an interview with ABC News last week after he and hundreds of members of the Bloomington community staged a protest calling for his alleged attackers to be arrested. 
'They were literally referring to me as a boy,' Booker said. 'They didn't even see me as human. They just saw me as something they could abuse and get away with.'  
'Looking back now, it's apparent that these individuals began targeting our group the moment they saw myself, a black man, and were looking to provoke a conflict,' he said.  
Booker said he called 911 after the altercation, but responding officers from the IDNR refused to make any arrests despite seeing the videos filmed by his friends.
'They didn't seem overly concerned that I might need medical attention or anything else,' Booker said of the officers. 'I didn't even feel like they were going to do an investigation.'
He said the officers didn't even take down the names of the attackers until one of the white people who intervened demanded that the officers conduct a thorough investigation. 
'I was heartbroken when the supervising officer, the major, showed up. I felt re-traumatized as I recounted to him how I was afraid for my life,' Booker said. 
He said the supervising officer told him: 'Well I could go arrest these guys but they would tell me: 'Hey, what about our property rights. We have a right to defend our property.''
'It was earth shattering,' Booker added. 
Booker recounted his version of the incident in an interview with ABC News last week
Booker recounted his version of the incident in an interview with ABC News last week
The FBI joined the case last Tuesday and is now questioning witnesses to determine whether charges will be brought, according to Booker's attorney, Katherine Liell.  
'We want this investigated as a hate crime. It was clearly racially motivated,' Liell told the Associated Press. 
'We will continue our quest every day until some justice is served.' 
Liell also complained that the IDNR officers 'did not move rapidly enough' in response to reports of the attack. 
She said their failure to make arrests at the scene warrants further investigation from other law enforcement agencies.
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton and Bloomington City Clerk Nicole Bolden issued a statement on July 6 expressing their 'outrage and grief' over what they said was a racially motivated attack.
State Sen Mark Stoops, a Bloomington Democrat, said he was 'horrified by the racist attack' and called on Republican  Eric Holcomb to suspend and investigate the Department of Natural Resources officers who responded to the scene for failing to make any arrests.
'This is not just an issue of violence,' Stoops said in a statement. 'This is clearly a hate crime and must be treated as such.'   
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