{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-pressley-and-colleagues-demand-investigation-into-black-people-found-hanging-invokes-legacy-of-lynching-in-america/", "CLARKE, PRESSLEY, AND COLLEAGUES DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO BLACK PEOPLE FOUND HANGING, INVOKES LEGACY OF LYNCHING IN AMERICA", "2026-09-10", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Yvette D. Clarke", "C001067", "clarke.house.gov", "clarke", "https://clarke.house.gov/category/press-release/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nSeptember 10, 2026\n\nMEDIA CONTACT:\n\ne: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov\n\nc: 202.913.0126\n\nLetter Comes Amidst Alarming Spike in Possible Modern-Day Lynchings\n\nText of Letter (PDF)\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (NY-09) and colleagues, led by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), demanding a thorough, transparent, and comprehensive federal investigation into the numerous incidents of Black people found hanging across the country. The letter follows a series of deaths that raise suspicion of foul play given the role of lynching in American history.\n\nThe growing number of Black people found hanging in public is a national crisis. A recent report documented more than 70 modern-day lynchings in the United States between 2000 and 2025. In 2026 alone, there have already been at least 10 reported hangings of Black people. They were as young as 18 years old and lived in different parts of the country, including Mississippi, Michigan, and New York. Many families have publicly questioned the conclusions of local and state investigations.\n\n\u201cInaction by the federal government is tantamount to complicity. This is part of the legacy of racial terror in the United States, and this neglect has long-term consequences,\u201d the lawmakers continued. \u201cNot only are innocent lives lost, but lynching inflicts deep traumatic and psychological wounds on family members, neighbors, and the entire Black community.\u201d\n\n\u201cCongress enacted the Emmett Till Antilynching Act in 2022 to ensure the DOJ and FBI are empowered to fully investigate suspicious deaths and hold individuals accountable,\u201d the lawmakers continued. \u201cIt is incumbent upon you to do just that.\u201d\n\nThis letter demands a thorough, transparent, and comprehensive federal investigation into every hanging death of a Black individual across the United States. At a minimum, each investigation, with permission of the decedents\u2019 families, should include an independent autopsy, an audit of local and state law enforcement investigations, review of physical and testimonial evidence, and a final report submitted to Congress explaining the agency\u2019s findings. The letter also calls for robust data collection that tracks the hanging deaths of Black people transparently and systematically.\n\nJoining Congresswoman Clarke and Pressley in sending the letter are Representatives Alma Adams, Yassamin Ansari, Becca Balint, Nanette Diaz Barrag\u00e1n, Joyce Beatty, Wesley Bell, Sanford Bishop, Everton Blair, Brendan Boyle, Shontel Brown, Janelle Bynum, Andr\u00e9 Carson, Troy Carter, Jasmine Crockett, Mark DeSaulnier, Sarah Elfreth, Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda, Sylvia Garc\u00eda, Jimmy Gomez, Al Green, Adelita Grijalva, Jahana Hayes, Glenn Ivey, Jonathan Jackson, Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, LaMonica McIver, Gregory Meeks, Analilia Mej\u00eda, Christian Menefee, Kweisi Mfume, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Frank Pallone Jr., Mark Pocan, Stacey Plaskett, Delia Ram\u00edrez, Terri Sewell, Lateefah Simon, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland, Shri Thanedar, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, Ritchie Torres, Lauren Underwood, Nydia M. Vel\u00e1zquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nikema Williams, and Frederica Wilson.\n\nFull text of the letter is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-11T09:25:29Z", "2026-09-11T09:27:08Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-pressley-and-colleagues-demand-investigation-into-black-people-found-hanging-invokes-legacy-of-lynching-in-america/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9597751777619123, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}