La. teen faces federal charges for nooses

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A Louisiana teen was indicted on federal civil rights violations for showing nooses to civil rights marchers in Alexandria, La., the Justice Department said.

Jeremiah Munsen, 18, was indicted on hate crime and conspiracy charges for his role in intimidating black marchers who attended a rally Sept. 20 in Jena, La., to support six black teens accused of beating a white classmate, the Justice Department said in a news release Thursday.

The indictment alleged Munsen and another person attached two nooses to a truck then repeatedly drove past a group of marchers waiting at a bus station in nearby Alexandria, La., to return to their home state of Tennessee.

"This indictment accuses the defendant of conduct that constitutes a federal civil rights conspiracy violation and a federal hate crime," U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington said.

"It is a violation of federal law to intimidate, oppress, injure or threaten people because their race and because those people are exercising and enjoying rights guaranteed and protected by the laws and Constitution of the United States."