Police near Augusta, Georgia, are asking for the public’s help in locating a man alleged to have spread raw cotton outside of a predominantly Black church.
The person of interest, captured by church security cameras, looks to be carrying a large handful of cotton up a ramp to Palmer Grove Baptist Church, where, the sheriff’s office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday, he “littered raw field cotton onto the porch steps.” He faces possible charges, including trespassing.
An article posted online Thursday night by Channel 2 Action News has led to come confusion about the incident, which police said occurred Dec. 7. The photo accompanying the story shows what appear to be two different Black men, differing from the picture distributed by the Burke County Sheriff’s Office. In that photo, it’s evident that the person of interest is a bearded white male.
Another photo shows the suspect’s car, a red Ford Mustang with a body style manufactured between 1994 and 2005, according to the AJC. The car has still not been located.
The apparent mistake by Channel 2 led many users to speculate the whole thing was a hoax, with many taking on a hostile, if not racist, tone.
“Remember when this was always blamed on white people and politicians would like the boots of grifters and thugs?” wrote one social media user. “Now we know the majority of these kinds of things done, at least the last 10-15 years, were race-baiting blacks. I expect more of it. Hope they have cameras too.”
The tenor of that post was indicative of many of the others found on X.
“What a damn joke. ‘Man.’ Black ‘man’ hoping to Jussie it,” wrote one person on X, referring to the actor Jussie Smollett, who in 2019 convinced two Nigerian-American brothers to help him stage an assault on the street in downtown Chicago. Smollett told cops he was accosted and attacked by two MAGA sympathizers shouting racist and homophobic slurs. Smollett’s conviction in the alleged hate crime hoax was recently overturned.
Burke County officials aren’t calling this case a hoax but seem reluctant to label it a hate crime.
“I lived here all my life, and I don’t recognize the vehicle or the individual,” Burke County Sheriff’s Col. Lee Webster told the AJC.
Cotton remains a major crop on area farms, Webster said, noting Burke County is largely agricultural. The incident is not “characteristic” of the county’s values, he said.
Church staff and members discovered the cotton after Dec. 7 and before the next Sunday morning’s service. Palmer Grove Baptist is located off Old Waynesboro Road, south of Augusta.
Police have provided two numbers for people with any information about the suspect to call: Burke County Sheriff’s Office (706) 554-2133 to the criminal investigation division or you can contact the criminal investigation directly at (706) 554-6633.
Callers may remain anonymous.
