Family Asks FBI to Investigate Mysterious Death of Black Teen as a Hate Crime

Black people are paranoid. Suggested Reading How Bakari Sellers Just Got the Ultimate Revenge on His MAGA CNN Colleague Take a Peek Inside Diddy’s $50 Million Miami Mansion He Offered Up As Collateral The Scary Reason ‘American Idol’ Winner Jamal Roberts Declined a Key to This Southern Town Video will return here when scrolled back…

Black people are paranoid.

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

They are susceptible to conspiracy theories and unfounded suspicions. There are some black people who believe that the U.S. government would spray black neighborhoods with toxic chemicals; that doctors would use us as guinea pigs by giving us fake medicine; that there are cops who belong to the Ku Klux Klan; orโ€”and I know this sounds crazyโ€”that Russian bots targeted black voters so white people could elect a racist president.

Black people should be paranoid.

This is probably why the family of a deceased Louisiana teenager is calling for the FBI to investigate his death as a possible hate crime after the teen, who some family members have reported as gay, was shot to death under mysterious circumstances.

On Sunday, Jan. 12, Tawasha Bonner says she woke up to discover that her son, JaQuarius Taylor wasnโ€™t home, according to WWLTV. Bonner immediately called the Washington Parish, La. Sheriffโ€™s Department and reported the 17-year-old missing. Less than an hour later, an unidentified person going to check water levels at a nearby lake discovered JaQuariusโ€™ body.

According to an autopsy commissioned by the family, the teen was shot three times with guns of two different calibers, the Advocate reports. Investigators said they recovered a โ€œkey piece of evidenceโ€ after divers searched the lake but, so far, no one has been arrested for the crime. For now, family members are holding onto the memories of the high school senior who played drums in the marching band. JaQuariusโ€™ mother says he would have been the first in his family to attend college, and desperately wants to know who killed her son and why.

Because of โ€œperceived conflicts of interests and family relations,โ€ JaQuariusโ€™ family doesnโ€™t trust the local sheriffโ€™s department to complete a thorough and impartial investigation and have asked for the FBI to get involved.

โ€œWe would like for the federal government to come in and take over the investigation because weโ€™re not very comfortable with the local police and the way theyโ€™ve done the investigation already,โ€ Pastor Ken Owens told WWLTV. โ€œWeโ€™re looking at this as a hate crime based on the race and sexual orientation of JaQuarius Taylor.โ€

โ€œWe are aware of the incident in Washington Parish and are presently assessing the circumstances surrounding this event,โ€ the FBI said in a statement. โ€œIf information comes to light of a potential federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate.โ€

Meanwhile, the Sheriffโ€™s department says the FBI is already involved along with other local and state agencies, noting that they will treat the teenโ€™s death as a hate crime if the evidence supports that.

โ€œEverything points to the fact that he was homosexualโ€”people who knew him and who knew his lifestyle,โ€ said Washington Parrish Chief Deputy Mike Haley. โ€œDo we know that for a fact? No.โ€

The area is known for Klan activity, including the still-unsolved death of the parishโ€™s first black deputy and the 2008 murder of a woman after a KKK initiation ceremony. But authorities also refute that there is a conflict of interest or that the murder may be related to racism or homophobia, saying there is โ€œno evidence at allโ€ that hate had anything to do with Taylorโ€™s death

That might be the craziest thing Iโ€™ve ever heard.

Then again, Iโ€™m paranoid black.

Straight From The Root

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