An investigation has opened up into letters received by Florida state attorney Aramis Ayala last month, that referred to her with usage of the n-word while threatening her in words, and symbolism, through the inclusion of a small noose along with the message.
Many might recall Ayala having made headlines when on a prior, separate occasion, she became the recipient of menacing letters that bore similar connotations to race. Ayala had become the target of intense backlash from citizens and republican politicians in the state over her refusal to pursue the death penalty in the sentencing of murder suspect Markeith Loyd in March. Her decision would ultimately get her taken off of the case by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, whom she would respond to by filing a pair of lawsuits. But perhaps more appalling was the chilling reaction from local officials and professionals, including a Seminole County clerk who went public on Facebook to state that Ayala ought to be “tarred and feathered if not hung from a tree.”
On March 20, Ayala, who is actually the first Black American elected state attorney in Florida, then received the letter that has become the focus of the investigation announced this week. “SOONER OR LATER A N****R WILL BE A N****R,” the letter asserts. Included in the envelope was a business card that read "You are an Honorary Member of S.P.O.N.G.E.," on one side and "Society for the Prevention of N*****s Getting Everything," on the other. When chief investigator for Ayala's office, Eric Edwards was sent the envelope on March 28, he was alarmed to also find an index card with a noose made of green twine taped to it.
“She believes that the hangman’s noose was meant as a threat to her as a public official. She also believes that the envelope received on March 20, 2017, was a racial message and could be determined to be a hate crime," the Orange County sheriff's office has said in a statement on the matter.
Source: rawstory.com
