Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, along with other Democrats, have called for a federal investigation into the recent hangings of Black individuals across the United States, expressing alarm and citing historical parallels to lynching.
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, the lawmakers urged a thorough and transparent federal inquiry into what they described as a "national crisis" and "modern-day lynchings." The representatives pointed to "10 reported hangings of Black people" in 2026, stating that the "series of deaths raise significant suspicion of foul play given the role of lynching in our nation's history."
Ocasio-Cortez shared the letter on social media platform X, where it drew immediate scrutiny and fact-checks from users noting that most of the reported deaths had been ruled suicides by medical examiners or law enforcement.
In response to criticism, Ocasio-Cortez's office stated that "at a minimum, each investigation, with permission of the decedents’ families, should include an independent autopsy, an audit of local and state law enforcement investigations, review of physical and testimonial evidence, and a final report submitted to Congress explaining the agency’s findings." The lawmakers also called for improved data collection to track such deaths systematically.
According to available information, only one of the cited cases, involving Tasia Fortune, 29, in Mississippi, is being investigated as a homicide. Terence Anderson is reportedly a person of interest in that case. Another death in North Carolina, of a father of nine children, has been deemed suspicious and remains open. The remaining deaths, which occurred in states including Georgia and North Carolina, have been officially ruled suicides without evidence of foul play.
The lawmakers, including members of the "The Squad" congressional group, referenced the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, passed in 2022, which designates lynching as a federal hate crime offense. They requested that the Department of Justice utilize this act should any of the deaths be determined to be lynchings.
Nearly 60 Democrats, including Representative Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, co-signed the letter. The Department of Justice and the FBI have not yet responded to requests for comment.