On Friday, a former worker at the Oriental Trading Co. in Nebraska was sentenced to prison for placing a noose on a floor scrubber that a Black coworker was going to use.
Leaving Noose for Black Coworker
According to ABC News, Bruce Quinn, 66, was sentenced to four months in prison and one year of supervised release on Friday, according to the attorney’s office in Nebraska. Quinn was found guilty of leaving the noose for his coworker to locate.
Aside from that, in September, he entered a guilty plea to a charge of violating the civil rights of government employees.
According to the prosecutors, a Black man named Keith Kirksey, who worked for Oriental Trading and was 63 years old, discovered the noose constructed out of orange twine in June of 2020 when it was sitting on the seat of the equipment.
He told the detectives that he was terrified by the noose and perceived it as a danger to his life.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said that the federal courts have long held the view that the noose is one of the most offensive symbols in American history.
Clarke added that people, like the defendant in this case, who use a noose to convey a threat of violence at a place of employment would be held responsible for their acts.
Admitting Crime
Documents related to the plea deal obtained by the local station show that Quinn admitted to putting the noose in a spot where he knew his coworker would find it.
“Nazi stuff doesn’t make Black people crazy. But a hangman’s noose certainly would,” Quinn stated, as quoted by People.
Kirksey’s friend Donald Robinson, who was asked about his opinion on the sentencing, stated that he believed it was quite lenient given what the coworker had done.
People also revealed that Quinn was previously charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, and he added that he will self-report when he begins serving his term, and he will do so in Yankton, which is located in the state of South Dakota.
