AOC’s ‘Modern-Day Lynching’ Claim Is Built on Sand

A group of Democratic lawmakers has asked Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel to re-investigate “every hanging death of a Black individual across the United States,” citing “the role of lynching in our nation’s history.”

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The , sent last Tuesday, referenced the deaths of ten black individuals who were found hanging in public. Eight of the deaths were investigated as suicides based on autopsies and physical examinations. Six occurred since the beginning of 2026, while the other four occurred between 2024 and 2025.

None of the ten listed cases has an identified non-black killer.

The death of Tasia Fortune, one of the ten individuals referenced by the letter, is being investigated as a homicide. Her suspected killer is Jarques Ratliff, a black man who had a prior association with Fortune.

Lynching has historically been defined as the racially motivated, public killing of an individual at the hands of a mob, usually through the means of hanging.

Current public evidence does not support that characterization of any of the ten deaths listed by the letter.

However, Last Thursday, Representative Ayanna Pressley wrote in an X post, “Black folks are being found hanged in America. This is a national crisis and we CANNOT stand by while strange fruit hangs from trees across the country. We’re demanding a federal investigation NOW so we can stop modern-day lynchings.”

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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to Pressley’s post with her own, saying, “This year, there have already been 10 reported hangings of Black people in the U.S. I’m proud to have signed onto @RepPressley’s letter to address these widespread modern-day lynchings and put a stop to this racial terror.”

Ten Tragic Deaths — But No Evidence of Lynching

Pressley’s letter referenced the hanging deaths of Tasia Fortune, Javion Magee, Dennoriss Richardson, Earl Smith, Demartravion “Trey” Reed, Kyle Bassinga, Juliana Nzita, To’Nea Nicole Miller, Jerard Jackson, and Demetrius Fleming.

• Kyle Bassinga: On February 18, 2026, 21-year-old Bassinga was found dead in a Georgia park. Cobb County police determined Bassinga was alone at the time of his death, and there were no signs of foul play. Surveillance footage captured him walking alone into the wooded area; his death has been ruled a suicide.
• Javion Magee: Magee, 21, was found dead in a wooded area in Vance County, North Carolina, on September 11, 2024. Magee’s autopsy showed no defensive wounds and no signs of physical or sexual assault. Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame said there was no foul play in his death; the state’s medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
• Demartravion “Trey” Reed: On September 15, 2025, Reed’s body was discovered on Delta State University Campus, hanging from a tree near pickleball courts. Rumors initially spread that Reed suffered injuries outside of those associated with hanging, which Bolivar County coroner Rudolph Seals refuted. “There is no evidence to suggest the individual was physically attacked before his death, Seals said. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office concluded in 2025 that Reed’s death was a suicide.
• Juliana Nzita: 16-year-old Nzita went missing on April 28, 2026, and was found deceased in a Charlotte, North Carolina, churchyard on May 1. Mecklenburg County’s medical examiner concluded through a physical examination that there was no evidence of assault or defensive wounds. While a full autopsy was not performed and her cellphone was not recovered, officials have found no evidence of homicide.
• Tasia Fortune: In August, the 29-year-old mother of four was found hanging from a tree outside an abandoned home in Jackson, Mississippi. Jarque Ratliff, 51, has been charged with murder in connection with her case.
• Dennoriss Richardson: In September, 2024, 39-year-old Richardson was found hanging in an abandoned house in Colbert County, Alabama. A state autopsy report concluded he died by suicide; a private autopsy commissioned by his family found “no definitive evidence” he committed suicide, since the hyoid bone was missing from his body.
• Earl Smith: 58-year-old Smith’s body was discovered hanging from a tree in Albany, New York, in June, 2025. The Albany Police Department ruled his death a suicide, and the state’s medical examiner ruled there was no evidence of criminal activity.
• To’Nea Nicole Miller: On June 18, 27-year-old Miller was discovered dead near Gwen Cherry Park in Florida. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said they found Miller with all of her personal property, and the investigation found no evidence of foul play. They ruled Miller’s death a suicide on June 26.
• Jerard Jackson: 28-year-old Jerard Jackson was found hanging in a wooded area in Michigan while attending a music festival in late June. Police say they believe Jackson died by suicide, but an investigation remains ongoing.
• Demetrius Fleming: On August 21, 2026, Fleming, 38, was found hanging in a home in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Police officials have not made a ruling, and the investigation remains ongoing.

While there is no evidence to suggest that any of the ten deaths cited in the letter qualify as lynchings, that hasn’t stopped academics and like-minded journalists from insinuating as much.

Christopher Edwards, an adjunct professor of psychology at North Carolina Central, described the deaths as “suspicious,” because suicide is “typically a private affair.” In his analysis, deaths like the ten referenced in Representative Pressley’s letter are meant to “terrorize” black people.

Edwards then described lynching as a way white people change demographics to be more white, during a conversation with the Triangle Tribune.

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