'Lynched' Claim Forces Apology From Black Lives Matter Minneapolis

TWIN CITIES, MN — Black Lives Matter Minneapolis has apologized after sharing horrifying photos of a man hanging from a tree in a Saint Paul park. The group's original Facebook post suggested the man was black and had been "lynched" despite the Ramsey County medical examiner ruling the cause of the man's death to be suicide.

Michael Bringle, whose body was found in Indian Mounds Park Tuesday, was white. Instead of mourning, his family members had to spend their day worrying about photos posted on Facebook of him hanging from a tree and correcting misinformation about his death.

"Michael's passing is incredibly hard on those who cared about him, and their pain has been compounded by the inconsiderate and downright disgusting act of posting and sharing a picture of him hanging from a tree on Facebook," Saint Paul police said.

Officers were dispatched to Indian Mounds Park at about 5:40 a.m. Tuesday after Bringle's body was found by a passerby on his way to work. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minnesota Patch, click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Black Lives Matter Minneapolis later issued an apology for its previous statements and for sharing photos of Bringle. "As more information came out & Mr.Bringle's family came forward it became clear that this was an unfortunate incident caused by mental illness," the group said on Facebook.

"We are sorry if our post offended anyone & hope that folks see we were simply echoing the questions and concerns that community members had."

Image via Google Streetview