Police: Noose In Andover Was Political, Not Racist

ANDOVER, MA — The Andover resident who hung a noose in his yard told police that it was meant to represent his view of President Donald Trump's treatment by Democrats and that it was not intended as a racial threat, an Andover police spokesman said.

The noose, displayed Wednesday, was quickly taken down at the request of the resident's father, the homeowner, after police were sent to the Whittier Street home.

Nooses are sometimes displayed as a form of racist intimidation, as they were a primary tool of lynchings in the Jim Crow era. The town said Thursday that all "symbols and acts of hate" would be investigated by the police department.

In this case, Andover police accepted the resident's explanation that the noose was not intended that way.

"If someone thinks there's some sort of hate crime, racial bias or racial incident, we're going to investigate it," said Andover police Lieutenant Edward Guy. "This was not the case, it was someone voicing their political beliefs."

The Andover Townsman spoke to Peter Young, the resident who displayed the noose. Young said the noose was part of a Halloween display and was next to a skeleton wearing a Trump mask.

"It's by the Trump skeleton because he is being lynched by the Democratic mob," Young told the Townsman.

The noose was hung over a white sign, with no writing on it providing context.

Soon after Young put up the noose police were called to the house. The homeowner, young's dad Henry Young, asked police to take it down.

Andover's legislative delegation and the group Merrimack Valley Black and Brown Voices put out statements condemning soon after the noose was displayed.

"Given America's long and troubled history of slavery and racism, and the association of the noose with that, it's not a leap to assume that it's meant as an act of intimidation and threat," state Rep. Tram Nguyen said.

"We are in a state of shock and are deeply saddened by what we have seen," Merrimack Valley Black and Brown voices said. "Images and attitudes like that resident's sign leave BIPOC residents fearful, distressed, on high alert and feeling very unsafe in their own homes and town."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.