Vauhxx Booker is a black indiana man who posts video and says he was assaulted by men claiming he had trespassed on private property
VAUHXX RUSH BOOKER WAS THE GENTLEMAN WHO WAS ATTACKED BY SEAN PURDY (LEFT), JERRY COX (RIGHT) AND IAN JAMES CHERCO (NOT PICTURED). THEY NOT ONLY ASSAULTED HIM BUT VERBALLY STATED THEIR INTENTIONS TO LYNCH HIM. https://t.co/mwtDk2wqj7
— mary conrad (@mconnny) July 6, 2020
A Black man says a group of white men assaulted him and threatened to “get a noose” after claiming that he and his friends had trespassed on private property as they gathered at an Indiana lake over the Fourth of July weekend.
Who actually is Vauhxx Booker?
Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activist and member of the Monroe county human rights commission, posted cellphone video on Facebook that shows part of the altercation. He said he called 911 Saturday after the men assaulted him and pinned him to a tree at Lake Monroe, south of Booker’s hometown of Bloomington.
Vauhxx Booker Facebook Post
In his Facebook post, Booker said that he apologized after the men told him they were trespassing, but that five white men then attacked him. Booker wrote that the men threatened to break his arms and said “get a noose” while telling his friends to leave the area. He also said one of the men had a hat with a Confederate flag on it and that the men made statements about “white power”.
Vauhxx Booker Viral Video Clip
One video clip that he posted shows a white man holding Booker up against a tree. Another depicts a different man calling someone off-camera a “nappy headed [expletive].” In another, the same man yells, “You invaded us!” and calls someone in Booker’s group a “stupid [expletive] liberal [expletive].”
Hundreds of people have showed up outside the Monroe County Courthouse in #Bloomington, Indiana – They are demanding charges be filled against the people seen attacking #VauhxxBooker @wrtv pic.twitter.com/oviZR4CGfz
— Cameron Ridle (@CameronRidle) July 6, 2020
On July 4 in Bloomington, IN, a black man named Vauhxx Rush Booker was beaten by at least 3 white men who called to their friends to “get a noose” so they could lynch him.
More details down thread. 1/#mondaythoughts #mondaymotivationpic.twitter.com/qDNgSdGOS2
— Holly Figueroa O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) July 6, 2020
“We were calm and polite, but looking back now, it’s apparent that these individuals began targeting our group the moment they saw myself, a Black man and were looking to provoke a conflict,” Booker wrote.
Booker said he suffered a minor concussion, cuts, and bruises and had patches of his hair pulled out.
The Bloomington mayor, John Hamilton, and city clerk, Nicole Bolden, issued a statement Monday expressing their “outrage and grief” over what they said was a racially motivated attack.
People reaction in support of Vauhxx Booker
Hundreds of people have showed up outside the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington, Indiana – They are demanding charges be filled against the people seen attacking
Hundreds of people have showed up outside the Monroe County Courthouse in #Bloomington, Indiana – They are demanding charges be filled against the people seen attacking #VauhxxBooker @wrtv pic.twitter.com/oviZR4CGfz
— Cameron Ridle (@CameronRidle) July 6, 2020
An update on the attempted lynching of @Vauhxx Booker in Monroe County Indiana on July 4. This is his attorney. The DNR should’ve arrested the white men responsible at the scene and on the day. They have alot of answering to do. #BlackLivesMattters pic.twitter.com/9IKYrpaPFT
— Candace Shaw (@shawstream) July 6, 2020
State Senator Mark Stoops Statement
The state senator Mark Stoops, a Bloomington Democrat, said he was “horrified by the racist attack” and called on the Republican governor, Eric Holcomb, to suspend and investigate the department of natural resources officers who responded to the scene for failing to make any arrests.
“This is not just an issue of violence,” Stoops said in a statement Monday. “This is clearly a hate crime and must be treated as such.”
In 2018, Booker spoke out after a Bloomington Transit employee accused Booker of stealing a bus pass shortly after he bought a ticket. Booker said the employee sold him the pass, then could not find proof of the transaction and called the police. The unnamed Bloomington Transit employee was fired.
According to the Bloomingtonian, Booker alleges he was “assaulted, injured and threatened with a noose” while on public property near Lake Monroe on July 4. The news site posted a series of videos, which you can see below. The first video shows a man the site says is Booker surrounded by white men near a tree.
Booker is also a member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, and he said he called 911. He alleged on his Facebook page that one of the unidentified men said “get a noose” and a member of that group referred to “white power” when claiming he was on private property. They also had Confederate flags, he said. You can watch the videos later in this article, but be aware that they contain very disturbing language.
