ALEXANDRIA, La., Sept. 21, 2007

Cops: Nooses Dangled In Front Of Marchers

Two Teens Arrested For Hanging Nooses From Truck Near Jena Civil Rights Demonstration

  •  (CBS/AP)

(AP)  A teenager was arrested Thursday when police allegedly found hangman's nooses dangling from the rear of his pickup truck after he drove past a crowd of people who had attended a civil rights march earlier in the day.

The incident took place only hours after tens of thousands of civil rights marchers demonstrated in Jena, about an hour's drive from Alexandria, on behalf of six teens charged with beating a white schoolmate at Jena High School.

Jeremiah Munsen, 18, of Colfax, La., and a 16-year-old passenger in his truck were arrested Thursday night near a bus station where a group of people who had marched in Jena were waiting for buses to take them home.

Munsen, who is white, was booked on charges of inciting a riot, driving while intoxicated and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. A city attorney will decide whether charges against the 16-year-old boy from Dry Prong, La., are warranted, said Alexandria Police Sgt. Clifford Gatlin.

"I wish we had a charge in Louisiana for aggravated ignorance, because this is a classic case," Gatlin said.

Gatlin said the crowd of about 200 people at the bus station remained calm throughout the episode.

"They were just offended and appalled that somebody would be that stupid to do that," Gatlin added.

The 16-year-old, who was being held in a juvenile detention facility Friday, told police he had a "KKK" tattoo on his chest and said some of his relatives were involved in the Ku Klux Klan, according to a police report.

Officers found an unloaded rifle and a set of brass knuckles in Munsen's truck, police said.

Nooses figured into the controversy that drew tens of thousands of people to Jena on Thursday.

Last year, a black Jena High School student asked whether blacks could sit under a shade tree that was a frequent gathering place for whites. He was told yes, but nooses appeared in the tree the next day. Three white students were suspended but not criminally prosecuted.

Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy, who met with many of the demonstrators at the bus station before they departed, said the visitors assured him they wouldn't let the incident taint their otherwise positive impression of the city.

"The citizens of Alexandria know who we are," Roy said. "I think we demonstrated that with great moral force" by hosting thousands of march participants this week.

© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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by dawn_dempsey September 24, 2007 12:15 PM EDT
it is sad when hear some people say if people mind their own business then this incident would not have happen. but until it happen to your own that when people make a big deal...and the kkk who who post the victims numbers on the website i truly believe you all are cowards because everytime you do something you always do it secrectly trying to get away with it, but remember we all are judge by the same GOD so whether you get caught now or later you still will pay for the hate crimes you have done so cowardly
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by ninerman168 September 23, 2007 4:37 PM EDT
kemetorigin
The problem that most people have with Jackson and Sharpton is that they''re sensationalists.I don''t know what they do when they''re not trying for TV time.I never hear about them helping out on a daily basis.Where are they all the rest of the time?
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by kemetorigin September 23, 2007 2:35 PM EDT
By the way ninnerman,

I''ve been saying that all along. Why so reactive? Why not be proactive? Why not march against ignorance? Why not march against vulgarity, sagging pants, lack of respect, lack of decency? These are problems in all communities.

And yes,
ABC News did present a story on crime in America which found that each race has baseless fears when it comes to murder. Most whites are killed by whites, most blacks are killed by blacks. So why the fear of the other?
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by kemetorigin September 23, 2007 2:27 PM EDT
What is odd is that the judge released a statement just days ago saying that there are no LA statutes that would have allowed the original noose hangers to be charged with a crime, but somehow, within a few days it seems legislation of some sort has been passed which allowed this teenager to be charged...hmmm. .

Ninnerman168

Hundreds of thousands of blacks are incensed by black crime, however, Sharpton and Jackson get the coverage because the American public is most hostile to them. Thus, when they shown to be in support of something, many white Americans go against it simply because of their involvement, not on the merits of the situation.
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by Krazcarl September 23, 2007 12:35 PM EDT
Well this proves to all you southern haters that the local PD is not in the KKK and will arrest anyone harassing the blacks but yea go on about the south to make you feel better about your own bigotry.
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by keithle1 September 23, 2007 10:46 AM EDT
This is the worst thing to happen to Black people since..since..Don Imus referred to the Rutgers women''s basketball team as..gasp.."nappy headed hoes"! Lord have mercy! THE HORROR, THE HORROR.
I''m glad Martin Luther King, Jr. is not here to see this.

People getting on buses to come down to Jena. "Enough Ie Enough." Yeah, yeah. How much are they getting for the t-shirts I wonder. Jesse & Sharpton must be getting bored. Thinking about moving on. "My voice is getting hoarse, Jesse. I gotta save it. Where are we going for lunch? No good restaurants around here.
Did you see the body on that girl who asked for my autograph?"

Apparently Jesse has accused Obama of acting "white."
Obama didn''t rush down here to walk hand-in-hand with everyone else & do a bad MLK, Jr. impression like Jesse/Sharpton, Incorporated.

TV news says Jesse is jealous of Obama because it''s not just the black community who respect Obama & would vote for him for President. That has to drive Jesse nuts since he would never get votes from white people if he was the Democratic nominee to be President. Of course Jesse did run once. He had his chance. Can''t imagine anything worse than Jesse Jackson as our President. Excuse me, THE REVEREND.
Sharpton & Jesse are doing THE LORD''S WORK.
















































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by ninerman168 September 23, 2007 5:39 AM EDT
Socrates you just prove a point.Blacks get to pick and choose what they want to get angry at.No one gets angry at Blacks killing each other but some White kids hang some nooses in a tree and the whole world has to stop.I''m just a little confused by these priorities.
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by bobgee_1999 September 23, 2007 4:58 AM EDT
"How is hanging a rope off your truck a crime? This PC-bullsh*t has gone Wayyyyyyy too far. Daily free speech is becoming crimes. Displaying a rope becomes a crime. Using the n-word gets you fired. On and on and on, our nation watches their freedoms go away..."

I love the fact that to some people the right to imply death threats or use racial slurs is the noblest purpose of freedom of speech.

The notion that CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, PBS and NPR (everybody except Faux, apparently) gets it wrong, whereas the Fox Propaganda Channel gets it right, strikes me as uproariously comical, not to mention statistically unlikely. Even the half-bright should realize that Fox''s popularity comes from providing alternate-reality fantasy for those who resent the truth.
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by socrates392 September 23, 2007 4:46 AM EDT
Posted by dontbasucka at 01:40 AM : Sep 23, 2007

Is that you robertkjjj? If not it''s worthy of you and your ten year old mentality.
Reply to this comment
by dontbasucka September 23, 2007 4:40 AM EDT
Only whites can be racist you dumb a - ho.

Where''s the white women? Where''s my crack pipe Jessie?

Guns don''t kill white people, black people kill white people.

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