Several nooses and hate signs were found hanging by the Mississippi State Capitol Monday morning and were subsequently removed after they were reported to Capitol Police.
Chuck McIntosh, director of communications for Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, said that WLBT-Channel 3 was first notified of the signs early Monday morning between 7:30 and 8 a.m. Monday, according to the Clarion Ledger. A reporter from WLBT headed to the Capitol and then notified the Capitol Police.
“The perpetrators of this act will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “I have contacted the Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance.”
It’s uncertain who was responsible to erecting the nooses and hate signs, but an investigation is underway and surveillance footage is being examined.
The incident coincides with the state’s Tuesday runoff election for U.S. Senate between Democrat Mike Espy and incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is under fire for racially tinged comments, including joking at an event earlier this month that she would “be on the front row” if invited to a “public hanging.”
President Trump will offer a last-minute boost to Hyde-Smith at campaign events in Mississippi Monday evening.
“I’ve known her for a period of time now as senator,” Trump told reporters Monday afternoon. “She’s been an excellent senator. She’s done a great job. She’s somebody that’s respected in the Senate.”
