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Black Man Who Accused Group of Attempted Lynching Was ‘Instigator,’ Defense Attorney Claims

The attorney has called Vauhxx Booker the “agitator” in an incident where several white men allegedly attacked Booker, one shouting “get a noose.”

A defense attorney for two white people who allegedly attacked and threatened Bloomington, Indiana, activist Vauhxx Booker claimed that his clients were innocent and that Booker was perpetuating a smear campaign against them in a press conference Monday. Booker alleges that the group of white men beat him and threatened to lynch him, at one point shouting “get a noose,” while he was at Lake Monroe with friends to watch a lunar eclipse. The lawyer, David Hennessy, claimed that Booker was trespassing on private property and one of his clients, Sean Purdy, gave him a beer and drove him to the property line. He also claimed that Booker later returned claiming to be a county commissioner and punched Purdy.“Mr. Booker was the instigator and the agitator,” Hennessy said. The defense lawyer said neither of his clients, Purdy and Caroline McCord, heard the “get a noose” comment, nor did they use racist language.