Los Angeles (AFP)
Federal authorities announced on Monday that they are investigating the hanged rope found in Talladega, Alabama (south), on Sunday, in the garage of Bubba Wallace, the only black rider in NASCAR, the big displacement championship.
"The federal prosecutor, the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Ministry of Justice are examining the situation (...) to determine if there has been a violation of federal law," said press release from prosecutor Jay Town, for whom "this type of action has no place in our society".
On Sunday a hanged rope, recalling the lynchings practiced in the United States during the slave and segregationist periods, was discovered in the garage of Wallace, the only black driver to participate full time in the Nascar championship, very popular in the South of the United States. United.
"We are furious and outraged, and cannot express strongly enough how seriously we take this act of hate. We have opened an immediate investigation and will do everything we can to identify the person (s) responsible and eliminate them from our sport ", had immediately informed NASCAR.
"There is no room for racism in NASCAR," she added.
Wallace, firmly committed to the fight against racial inequality in the United States, recently supported NASCAR's decision to ban the Confederate flag from its competitions, considered by many to be a symbol of slavery and racism.
The 26-year-old said on Twitter "incredibly sad" about this "despicable act of racism". "It will not break me. I will not give up, and I will not back down," he added.
"My brother! Know that you are not alone! I am with you and with all the other sportsmen," said basketball player LeBron James, NBA superstar, describing this act as "disgusting". .
Sunday's race at Talladega, which was to be the first of the season to welcome the public after an interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was postponed until Monday due to thunderstorms.
© 2020 AFP