After two hours of deliberation, a jury in Gainesville, Florida, convicted David Emanuel, 62, on all counts for committing hate crimes for his racially motivated attack on a group of Black men who were surveying land along a public road in Rosewood, Florida.
On March 15, Emanuel was charged with willfully intimidating the victims, F.D.D., and attempted to injure and intimidate F.D.D. using his vehicle because of F.D.D.’s race and color and because F.D.D. was using a public facility.
Emanuel was also charged with willfully intimidating and attempting to intimidate five additional victims through the use of his vehicle because of the victims’ race and color and because the victims were using a public facility.
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According to the indictment, all six victims were Black males who were surveying land owned by one of the victims at the time of the offenses.
Evidence at trial proved that on Sept. 6, 2022, Emanuel found the victims surveying land adjacent to a public roadway near the location of the 1923 Rosewood Massacre.
According to court records, when the defendant came upon the victims, who were on the public roadway, he shouted racial slurs and expletives at them, including “[racial slur] get out of these woods” before driving a pickup truck directly at the group, nearly striking one of them.
At trial, one witness testified that Emanuel admitted that he “came at those [expletives],” and that he “would have [expletive]d up all those Black [expletive]. Video evidence showed that after he was arrested, Emanuel complained that he was “getting treated like this [expletive] over a [expletive] [racial slur].” One witness testified that the defendant came “within inches” of striking one of the victims and that one victim, “nearly lost his life that day.”
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No victims suffered physical injury as a result of the defendant’s racially motivated attack.
“This defendant is being held accountable for intimidating a group of men and weaponizing his vehicle to attack them,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we marked 100 years since the horrific 1923 Rosewood Massacre, this verdict should send a strong message that violent, racially motivated conduct will not be tolerated in our society. The Justice Department is committed to aggressively enforcing our federal civil rights laws.”
“Despicable, hate-fueled crimes such as these have no place in our state or country,” said U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida. “The violence directed toward these victims, based solely on their race, is abhorrent and will not be tolerated. With the dedicated assistance of our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute civil rights violations to ensure justice for those victimized by hate.”
“Horrific acts of hate-motivated violence like this are devastating to families and communities,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI is fiercely committed to investigating civil rights violations and holding perpetrators accountable.”
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The FBI Jacksonville Field Office and Gainesville Resident Agency investigated the case, with assistance from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.
The 1923 Rosewood Massacre
The Rosewood Massacre was a racially motivated massacre of black people and the destruction of a black town that took place during the first week of January 1923 in rural Levy County, Florida, United States. At least six black people and two white people were killed (in self-defense by one of the victims), but eyewitness accounts suggested a higher death toll of 27 to 150. The town of Rosewood was destroyed in what contemporary news reports characterized as a race riot.
The massacre began on January 1, 1923, after a white woman in Sumner, Florida, named Fannie Taylor claimed she had been assaulted by a black man. Though there was no evidence against Jesse Hunter, a black man who had escaped a prison chain gang, local white men launched a manhunt in Rosewood, a nearby town of about 200 black people.
On January 2, a white mob attacked the home of Sam Carter, a black man, and killed him. The mob then went to the home of Aaron Carrier, another black man, and dragged him behind a truck, tortured him, and left him for dead.
On January 4, a group of black residents barricaded themselves in the home of Sarah Carrier. A white mob surrounded the house and opened fire, killing Sarah Carrier and her son Sylvester. Two white men were also killed in the exchange of gunfire.
On January 5, a mob of over 200 white men attacked Rosewood, killing and burning everything in their path. The town was completely destroyed, and all of the black residents were forced to flee.
The Rosewood Massacre was a horrific act of violence that was motivated by racism and hatred. It is a reminder of the dark history of racial violence in the United States, and it is a call to action to work towards a more just and equitable society.
In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the Rosewood Massacre. In 1994, the Florida Legislature passed a resolution apologizing for the massacre, and in 1998, the state established the Rosewood Heritage Foundation to preserve the history of the town. In 2016, the state of Florida paid $1.5 million in reparations to the survivors of the massacre
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