A Florida man has been convicted of multiple counts of federal hate crime charges for his racially motivated attack on a group of Black men who were surveying land along a public road in Rosewood, Florida, the site of a racial massacre.
David Emanuel, 62, was convicted by a jury in late July and is awaiting sentencing for willfully intimidating and attempting to injure his victims after he tried to run them over in September 2022.
At trial, one witness testified that Emanuel said he “came at those motherf-ckers,” and he “would’ve fucked up all those Black motherf-ckers.”
Former Florida International University professor Marvin Dunn, 82, told Atlanta Black Star in September he and his son and a group of associates were meeting with a contractor to clear land on the Rosewood property when Emanuel, who lived across the street, came charging toward the group after he questioned their presence there.
At trial, one witness testified that Emanuel said he “came at those motherf–kers,” and he “would’ve f-cked up all those Black motherf-ckers.”
Even more after when Emanuel was arrested, he lamented, “I didn’t do a godd-mn thing…get treated like this sh-t over a f-cking n—-r, man. I didn’t do a godd-mn thing to them, son. B—h, I should have run over them motherf—ers,” according to federal prosecutors.
Dunn and his associates acquired the land to preserve the property in an area that was the site of a deadly massacre 100 years ago.
The 1923 massacre was instigated by the lynching of a Black resident from Rosewood, driven by a white mob from neighboring towns. The violence was triggered by an accusation against the man for an alleged assault on a white woman.
This incident served as the focal point of a film released in 1997, titled “Rosewood,” directed by John Singleton.
Initial reports suggested a death toll of around 200 casualties resulting from the massacre. However, a 1993 report, as documented by Britannica, shows six Black and two white people died in the violence.
Dunn told the Miami New Times that he was satisfied with the outcome of the case. Emanuel is also facing a state charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
“I feel badly for the fact that we had to go through all of this, but I think the outcome was good,” Dunn said.
