The FBI is investigating the noose found in black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace’s garage over the weekend.
Jay Town, a former judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps picked by President Trump in 2017 to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said Monday that investigators from the Justice Department and the bureau were looking into the incident, which happened Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama.
“The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Alabama, FBI, and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are reviewing the situation surrounding the noose that was found in Bubba Wallace’s garage to determine whether there are violations of federal law,” Town said. “Regardless of whether federal charges can be brought, this type of action has no place in our society.”
NASCAR said a noose was found in the garage of the sports league’s only black driver, Wallace, after he pushed for the Confederate flag to be banned. NASCAR announced it was also conducting an investigation into the incident.
“We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act. We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport,” NASCAR said. “As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.”
NASCAR said on June 10 it was banning the display of the Confederate flag at all of its events and properties.
Wallace, who drives the No. 43 Chevrolet for racing legend Richard Petty’s team, released a separate statement on Sunday, saying that the “despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society” and that he would not be “deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate.”
ESPN reported that Wallace never saw the noose, but that one of his team members spotted it and quickly reported it to NASCAR.
Wallace, the first black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series since 1971, wore an “I can’t breathe” shirt at one of his races following the death of George Floyd in police custody and said that one of the next steps to ensure people feel safe at races was to remove Confederate flags from NASCAR events.
The race at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln on Sunday was postponed due to bad weather, but not before fans saw a plane fly above towing a banner of the Confederate flag with the message: “Defund NASCAR.” The race was rescheduled for 3 p.m. on Monday.
