A man has been jailed after he put a noose on the seat of the cleaning machine that was about to be used by a black work colleague.
Bruce Quinn, 66, from Nebraska, was arrested after the stunt at a warehouse operated by the Oriental Trading Company.
He was jailed for four months and also ordered to undergo supervision for a year after he admitted to a federal civil rights violation in September.
A statement by the Nebraska US Attorney’s Office said that the conviction comes more than two years after the sick stunt involving a 63-year-old coworker named Keith Kirksey.
Court paperwork indicated that he had said: “Nazi stuff doesn’t make Black people crazy. But a hangman’s noose certainly would.”
The terrified victim said that he thought the 12-inch piece of orange twine left in the seat indicated that someone was about to commit violence against him or was possibly even a death threat.
He had discovered the noose on the seat of the floor cleaning device that he was about to use in June 2020.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said: “Federal courts have long recognized the noose as one of the most vile symbols in American history. Individuals, like this defendant, who use a noose to convey a threat of violence at a workplace will be held accountable for their actions.”