Ocasio-Cortez's 'Modern-Day Lynchings' Claim Draws Pushback as Case Findings Point to Suicides
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley led about 50 Democrats in demanding a federal investigation into hangings of Black Americans, but official findings in several recent cases ruled the deaths suicides, and social media critics disputed the lawmakers' characterization.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined dozens of Democratic lawmakers in calling for federal investigations into the hanging deaths of Black Americans, describing the cases as «widespread modern-day lynchings» and «racial terror» — a characterization that drew sharp pushback online as official findings in several of the cases pointed to suicide rather than homicide.
The call came in a letter spearheaded by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and addressed to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. Signed by Pressley, Ocasio-Cortez and roughly 50 Democrats, the letter demanded a «thorough, transparent, and comprehensive federal investigation into every hanging death of a Black individual across the United States,» arguing that federal agencies have failed for decades to adequately investigate such deaths. Pressley warned that «Black folks are being found hanged in America» and said, «We cannot stand by while strange fruit hangs from trees across the country.»
Ocasio-Cortez amplified the effort on X, writing that there have already been 10 reported hangings of Black people in the U.S. this year and that she was proud to sign onto the letter to address «these widespread modern-day lynchings» and «put a stop to this racial terror.» She also alleged systemic racial bias at the agencies.
Official findings in several recent cases, however, tell a different story. In one 2026 case, a 21-year-old Atlanta man who had gone missing was later found hanging from a tree in a Cobb County park, where officials ruled out foul play and deemed the death a suicide. In another 2026 case, Delta State University student Demartravion Reed was found dead in Mississippi, and officials «determined the cause of death to be a hanging and the manner of death as suicide.» The case reopened old memories of the murder of Emmett Till, the Black teen kidnapped and killed by White men in 1955 after being falsely accused of flirting with a White woman.
A Grio report on Pressley's letter also referenced the hanging deaths of a 58-year-old man in Albany, N.Y., and a 39-year-old man in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The Albany Police Department said Earl Smith's death was «ruled a suicide» and that investigators found «no evidence» of criminal activity, adding that the department was aware of social media concerns suggesting criminal involvement. A preliminary investigation of the Wisconsin man's death also indicated suicide, according to Brookfield's police chief.
At least one case remains under homicide investigation. Tasia Fortune was found hanging outside an abandoned house in Jackson, Mississippi, and authorities later questioned Terence Bernard Anderson, the father of one of her children, arresting him on unrelated weapons charges.
The lawmakers' characterization drew criticism on social media, where X's crowdsourced Community Notes feature attached corrections pointing readers to law-enforcement and medical-examiner findings. One critic said «those community notes are stacking up,» while another argued there should be «some sort of penalty for willfully lying on social media, especially for a politician.» Former Energy Department official Matt Van Swol posted that in the most recent case involving a Black woman, «the media conveniently left out the prime suspect in the case was her Black boyfriend,» adding, «Zero White people are lynching Black people in America today.» Former Senate staffer Matt Whitlock wrote that «every death is a tragedy, but what do you think 'widespread' means if only one of these was actually a homicide.»
Community Notes also stated that most high-profile hanging deaths it identified in 2025 and 2026 had been ruled suicides, with one remaining under homicide investigation. Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, the DOJ and the FBI for comment.
