Nebraska Man To Be Imprisoned For Leaving A Noose On Black Co-Worker's Work Machine

From Nebraska Examiner:

By Cindy Gonzalez

December 4, 2022

OMAHA — A 66-year-old Omaha man has been sentenced to four months in prison for leaving a noose on the seat of a work machine used by a Black co-worker at La Vista-based Oriental Trading Co.

The man, Bruce A. Quinn, was sentenced Friday to four months imprisonment and one year of supervised release by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Susan Bazis. Quinn had pleaded guilty in September to the federal civil rights violation, interference with federally protected activities.

According to the Nebraska U.S. Attorney’s Office, court records showed that the 63-year-old Black co-worker discovered orange twine, deliberately twisted and knotted into the shape of a noose, on the seat of an industrial floor scrubber he uses at the workplace. He was said to be the only Black employee trained to use the scrubber.

The co-worker, reportedly distraught and physically shaken at the June 2020 incident, told investigators that he took the noose to be a death threat directed at him.

“Federal courts have long recognized the noose as one of the most vile symbols in American history,” said Assistant General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Individuals, like this defendant, who use a noose to convey a threat of violence at a workplace will be held accountable for their actions.”

The case was investigated by the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowal decried the use of “an ugly historical symbol.”

“This case highlights the FBI’s mission to aggressively investigate civil rights crimes and bring to justice those who victimize someone because of the color of their skin,” Kowal said.

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