Why do people think Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch were lynched after they were both found hanging from a tree?
THE similar deaths of African American men Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch have sparked fears that they were lynched.
Robert Fuller, 24, was found hanging from a tree near Palmdale, California around 3 am on Wednesday police confirmed.
In a chillingly similar incident, Malcolm Harsch, 38 was found hanging from a tree near a homelessness encampment 50 miles from Palmdale.
Black Lives Matter advocate Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, 19, was also found dead in Tallahassee. Salau had been protesting police brutality and racial injustice in response to the death of George Floyd.
What happened to Robert Fuller?
Fuller was found hanging by a passerby around 3 am near the Palmdale City in Poncitlán Square.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office said that investigators concluded that there were “no signs of a struggle” upon evaluating the scene.
City officials claimed that Fuller’s death was a suicide brought on by the mental effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Many people are suffering extreme mental anguish and the City wants everyone to know that help is available,” City Manager J.J. Murphy said in a statement.
“Sadly, it is not the first such incident since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” city officials echoed, offering “sincere condolences and sympathies” to Fuller’s loved ones.
The LAPD released the statement before a full autopsy had been completed, sparking outrage among Palmdale residents.
After the initial autopsy report listed suicide as the cause of death, Lt. Brandon Dean of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau stated that the coroner has conducted a full autopsy and the cause of death can’t be determined until toxicology results come in.
Fuller’s family is skeptical about the young man’s apparent suicide, knowing Fuller as a typically happy family member.
“Robert was a good little brother to us and it’s like everything they have been telling us has not been right … and we just want to know the truth. My brother was not suicidal. He was a survivor. He was street smart” Fuller’s sister, Diamond Alexander, told the crowd at a memorial service on Sunday.
What happened to Malcolm Harsch?
Weeks before Fuller’s death, Harsch was similarly found hanging from a tree in Victorville, California, on May 31.
Victorville lies 50 miles outside of where Fuller’s body was discovered.
Harsch’s relatives, alike Fuller’s, were also skeptical of his apparent suicide, and believe that ruling his death as such was a tactic “to avoid any further media attention.”
“He didn’t seem to be depressed to anyone who truly knew him,” Harsch’s family said in a statement Saturday.
“Everyone who knew our brother was shocked to hear that he allegedly hung himself and don’t believe it to be true as well as the people who were there when his body was discovered.
“The deputy who called to confirm his death asked questions about drug or alcohol use, he made a statement about how the coronavirus has ‘hit people really hard’ and said that a USB cord was used to hang himself,”
“The explanation of suicide does not seem plausible. There are many ways to die but considering the current racial tension, a black man hanging himself from a tree definitely doesn’t sit well with us right now. We want justice not comfortable excuses.”
A petition calling for a full investigation into Harsch’s death has garnered over 28,000 signatures.
“His death is getting little to no news coverage by local news, the article on his death was published 2 weeks later on June 13th, and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said foul play is not suspected in his death,” the Change.org petition states.
“During such a heightened time with the Black Lives Matter movement, there is reason to believe that Malcolm’s death was a lynching.”
City officials claim they are closely monitoring the ongoing investigation into Harsch’s death.
Why are there protests happening all over the US?
George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25 after Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin restricted his breathing after kneeling on his neck during an arrest.
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Demonstrators across the United States have shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement as they demand an end to systemic racism, racial inequality, and police brutality.