Rep. Crockett Demands DOJ Investigate Alarming Pattern of Possible Modern-Day Lynchings

September 2, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, demanded that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate an alarming pattern of Black Americans found hanging from trees across the country. In a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, Crockett called on DOJ to use its nationwide law enforcement capabilities to examine whether deaths that have been treated as isolated incidents and ruled deaths by suicide by state and local authorities, may instead reveal broader patterns of racial animus or systemic investigative failures. “The images we are seeing of Black bodies hanging from trees and other structures across this country should shock the conscience of every American,” said Congresswoman Crockett. “Given our nation’s horrific history of racial terror and lynching, we cannot simply look the other way when Black Americans are found dead under circumstances that demand answers. Every one of these cases deserves to be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly, and examined in the context of what is happening across the country.” Crockett also highlighted concerns that law enforcement personnel themselves may be implicated in some cases. The letter cites a report finding 23 possible modern-day lynching cases involving police or correctional officers and highlights recent revelations concerning racist conduct within the Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi. “America spent generations allowing Black people to be lynched while institutions with the power to intervene stood by and did nothing,” Crockett said. “We cannot repeat that history. DOJ has the authority, the resources, and the responsibility to determine whether these deaths are isolated tragedies or evidence of something far more sinister. I am demanding that they use them.” The full letter can be found here. ###