A local politician in Pennsylvania has been accused of attempting to pose as a victim of a hate crime by planting a noose at her own desk, cops have said.
Allentown Police Department said LaTarsha Brown reported finding the rope on the desk of her office on the morning of January 10 this year.
The department launched a criminal investigation and submitted the noose to the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab for DNA testing.
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No one else’s DNA was detected on any part of the rope.
The damning finding came after cops trawled video surveillance and building access control records to identify which city employees were present on the third floor of Allentown City Hall where Brown works to try to identify the suspect.
Cops interviewed each employee and asked them to provide a buccal swab for DNA testing.
‘Every city employee agreed, except for Ms. Brown,’ Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca told a press conference about the case on Monday.
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She was charged on Monday with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence – a second-degree misdemeanor, and making false reports to law enforcement, which is a third-degree misdemeanor.
Third-degree misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of up to one year in jail, and a fine of up to $2,500 under Pennsylvania law, according to Fienman Defense attorneys.
Cops released an image of the object left on Brown’s desk, which comprised a small black rope tied into a noose shape.
Responding to questions at the press conference, Roca said that Brown remains a City Hall employee for the time being.
Brown is also a member of the Allentown School Board.
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Her case echoes that of Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying to Chicago Police.
The Empire actor was convicted last year, but this was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in November after judges ruled he should not have been charged a second time due to a deal he reached with prosecutors.
The ruling, which did not address Smollett’s continued claims of innocence, was the latest twist in a years-long saga.
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He said the men shouted slurs at him, tossed a noose around his neck, and yelled that he was in ‘MAGA country’.
The report prompted a massive search for suspects by Chicago police before investigators announced that they believed the attack was a hoax.
* Original Article:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14532103/amp/pennsylvania-politician-staged-hate-crime-planted-noose-desk.html?ito=smartnews
