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A growing number of members of Congress are demanding that the Department of Justice and the FBI investigate an alarming pattern of Black Americans found hanging across the country — calling it a national crisis that invokes the legacy of lynching in America.
The demands come as a Mississippi police department announced its first arrest in one of the cases, and as a new report documents more than 70 suspected modern-day lynchings between 2000 and 2025.
The Congressional Letter: “This Is a National Crisis”
In a letter sent September 10 to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-09) and colleagues led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) demanded a “thorough, transparent, and comprehensive federal investigation” into every hanging death of a Black individual across the United States .
“Inaction 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. Not only are innocent lives lost, but lynching inflicts deep traumatic and psychological wounds on family members, neighbors, and the entire Black community.”
— Congressional Letter to DOJ and FBI
The letter cites a recent report documenting 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 — as young as 18 years old — in states including Mississippi, Michigan, and New York .
The lawmakers called on DOJ and FBI to ensure that each investigation includes:
- An independent autopsy (with permission of the decedent’s family)
- An audit of local and state law enforcement investigations
- Review of physical and testimonial evidence
- A final report submitted to Congress explaining the agency’s findings
- Robust data collection tracking hanging deaths of Black people transparently and systematically
Rep. Crockett: “Images That Should Shock the Conscience of Every American”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) , Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, sent her own letter to DOJ on September 2, calling on the department to use its nationwide law enforcement capabilities to examine whether deaths treated as isolated incidents 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. 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.”
— Rep. Jasmine Crockett
Crockett’s letter also highlighted concerns that law enforcement personnel themselves may be implicated in some cases. It 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. 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.”
— Rep. Jasmine Crockett
The Tasia Fortune Case: First Arrest Made
The congressional demands come as Jackson, Mississippi, police announced their first arrest in the case of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman and mother of four whose body was found hanging from a tree in the lot of an abandoned home in August .
Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney confirmed Friday that the medical examiner had ruled Fortune’s cause of death a homicide — not suicide, as some had initially assumed. A suspect has been arrested and will be charged with murder. Brackney said “additional arrests will be pending as our investigators continue to follow the evidence,” adding that police had interviewed 15 people .
Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told the BBC she cried when police called to update her about the arrest.
“I guess I do feel like a little sigh of relief…like a little bit of peace just come over me. I just hope that they’ve got the right person.”
— Christy Spivey, Tasia Fortune’s mother
The arrest followed weeks of what Spivey and residents described as relative silence and inaction from local officials. Spivey said she had tried contacting Jackson police several times, leaving multiple voicemails, and had not heard back until the arrest was announced .
The Broader Pattern: Data and Disparities
The congressional letters point to systemic failures in how these cases have been investigated.
In South Carolina, a new ACLU report found that roughly three-quarters of children detained in the state’s juvenile justice system are Black — despite Black youth making up only about 28% of the state’s youth population. The number of Black children detained has risen from 64% in 2016 to nearly 75% today. South Carolina is the only state that locks up youth on status offenses alone — offenses that are only illegal until a child turns 18, such as running away or skipping school .
In Mississippi, the ACLU and ACLU of Mississippi filed an amicus brief urging the state Supreme Court to consider Willie Manning’s claim that prosecutors unconstitutionally excluded Black prospective jurors from his 1994 capital trial. Prosecutors struck six of the nine Black prospective jurors, resulting in a nearly all-white jury in a county where Black people made up 34% of the population. The reasons given included that a prospective juror read “Ebony” or “Jet” magazines or lived in an “extremely bad neighborhood” .
“Juries are supposed to reflect the communities that they represent, and that’s for good reason: diverse juries deliberate more thoroughly, consider a wider range of evidence, and make fewer mistakes. When racial discrimination shapes who can serve on a jury, it undermines the fairness of the entire process for the accused and for prospective jurors alike.”
— Anna Arceneaux, Deputy Director of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project
Who Benefits, Who Is Harmed
Those who may benefit from federal investigation:
- Families of the deceased who have questioned official rulings of suicide and are seeking independent autopsies and transparent investigations
- Black communities that have lived with the trauma of these deaths and the historical legacy of lynching
- The public , which benefits from accurate data collection on suspicious deaths
Those who may be harmed:
- Local and state law enforcement agencies whose investigations may be audited or found deficient
- Any individuals or departments found to have engaged in misconduct or cover-ups
- The federal government , which faces pressure to allocate resources to these investigations amid competing priorities
The Bottom Line
More than 50 members of Congress are demanding a federal investigation into a pattern of Black Americans found hanging across the country. The DOJ and FBI have not yet publicly responded to the letters. The Tasia Fortune case — now ruled a homicide with an arrest made — shows what can happen when cases are taken seriously. But the broader pattern remains unaddressed.
The effort to build better communities and a better America starts with you. Contact your state representatives and political party’s state, city or county office today and sign up, to give or do what you can to make America better for all.
Sources
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke: “Clarke, Pressley, and Colleagues Demand Investigation Into Black People Found Hanging, Invokes Legacy of Lynching in America” (September 10, 2026)
Rep. Jasmine Crockett: “Rep. Crockett Demands DOJ Investigate Alarming Pattern of Possible Modern-Day Lynchings” (September 2, 2026)
BBC News: “Tasia Fortune: Arrest made over the death of black woman found hanged from tree” (September 10, 2026)
ACLU: “ACLU and ACLU of Mississippi Urge Court to Consider Racial Discrimination in Willie Manning Case” (September 11, 2026)
News From The States: “Black children in SC are more likely to be detained than their white peers, report finds” (September 10, 2026)
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