Two men were charged with battery on Friday after an alleged lynching attempt that was captured on video in a lake in southern Indiana over Independence Day weekend, according to The Associated Press.
The video posted on social media by Vauhxx Rush Booker shows white men holding Booker on the ground against a tree, with a man overheard using racial slurs. Booker, who called 911 after the incident, said the “get a rope” order was pronounced but not captured on video.
Monroe County prosecutors charged Sean Purdy with a felony criminal offense and assault that resulted in moderate bodily harm and intimidation, while Jerry Cox II was charged with criminal imprisonment and assault that resulted in moderate bodily injury as well as two felonies. minors.
Monroe County District Attorney Erika Oliphant said arrest warrants have been issued against them.
Local protests have demanded for weeks arrests for those involved in the assault on Booker, who is a civil rights activist and a member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission.
Purdy’s defense attorney, David Hennessy, had no immediate comment on the charges. Hennessy previously said Booker presented “a false narrative” about the attack, claiming that Booker was “an instigator and agitator.”
Booker and his attorney Katherine Liell said they were “relieved” by the charges, which they called the first step “toward justice and change.”
“We will be watching closely to make sure that those arrested for perpetrating this disgusting and disgusting attack on Mr. Booker are duly punished,” they said in a statement emailed to the AP.
The FBI had said it would investigate the incident as a possible hate crime, although no updates have been released on the status of its investigation.
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