The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating an Independence Day float that recently stirred up controversy in Norfolk, Neb.
The DOJ sent a member of its Community Relations Service (CRS) team to a Norfolk town meeting, where the float was being discussed, last Thursday. The CRS team is responsible for handling issues of discrimination. The float in question included an outhouse labeled “Obama Presidential Library” and a zombie-like mannequin clad with overalls and has been called racist by some.
While it was reported the mannequin represented President Barack Obama, Dale Remmich, the float’s creator, said it was actually intended to represent himself.
The float’s discrimination investigation comes on the heels of recent remarks by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, which described a “racial animus” in America, the Washington Examiner reported.
“There’s a certain level of vehemence, it seems to me, that’s directed at me [and] directed at the president,” said Holder in a recent interview with ABC News. “You know, people talking about taking their country back. … There’s a certain racial component to this for some people. I don’t think this is the thing that is a main driver, but for some there’s a racial animus.”
