Vauhxx Booker, who is black, said that a group of white men tried to lynch him at Lake Monroe in the summer of 2020. Two of those men were charged with a variety of felonies.
Booker was charged with a felony after the incident. Race has been a factor in both the initial altercation as well as the unfolding aftermath.
The ongoing case and what happened that evening at the lake are what we know.
Vauhxx Booker, who was holding a megaphone, and other protesters interrupted the mayor's State of the City speech to protest the city's purchase of a $225,000 armored vehicle for the Bloomington Police Department.
Who is Vauhxx Booker?
Vauhxx Rush Booker is a local civil rights activist. He lives in Seymour. Booker was a leader within Bloomington's Black Lives Matter organization and a member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission.
What happened at Lake Monroe?
Booker and his friends were going to view the lunar eclipse at Lake Monroe when the incident began.
He said a group of white men claimed they were on private property. Booker said that one of the men was wearing a hat with a flag.
He apologized. He said five white men attacked him when he and his friends went to talk with the group.
Booker said in a Facebook post that the group was calm and polite, but that the individuals began targeting them when they saw him.
Booker posted a number of cellphone videos of the incident. The videos have strong language and gestures. One clip shows a white man in a red shirt pinning Booker against a tree. A man off camera is shouting "let him go" while the man holding the other man is telling them to leave.
A group of men and a woman are shouting at a man in a tree. A shirtless man tries to get the camera out of the hand of a person shooting a video.
A shirtless man calls a man off camera. The shirtless man repeats the phrase "What do you really want to call me?" after the man off camera replies "What do you really want to call me?"
A shirtless man in a video yells "you invaded us" and calls another man a liberal.
Booker said someone yelled "get a noose" and someone else threatened to break his arms during the altercation.
The posted videos did not show the Confederate flag, nor the comments made about it.
Booker was diagnosed with a mild concussion after the altercation and patches of his hair were ripped out.
Two weeks after the incident, Sean and Jerry Cox were charged in connection to the incident.
Booker's account of events is not accurate.
Who are Jerry Cox and Sean Purdy?
According to court records, Sean M. Purdy is a Pittsboro resident.
Jerry E. Cox II is from the area.
What did Jerry Cox and Sean Purdy say about Lake Monroe?
David is a criminal defense attorney. Before the charges were filed, Booker had been putting forth a false narrative about the events and that his clients wanted the truth to come out, according to Hennessy.
The incident began when Booker and his friends were on private property. Booker gave a beer to Purdy before he left.
Booker claimed to be a county commissioner hours later. Booker punched Purdy three times and had to be restrained, he claims.
Mr. Booker was the instigator, according to Hennessy.
Attorneys for Sean Purdy submitted a photo of his swollen chin, which they say was caused by Vauhxx Booker throwing the first punch in the July 4, 2020 altercation at Lake Monroe. Attorneys for the McCords say that Booker started the violence and threw punches first.
Booker was accused of encouraging one of the men involved to use racist language.
Booker and his attorney denied that he instigated or provoked the attack.
What did investigators think happened?
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources investigated the reported assault and found six possible crimes.
On the day of the alleged assault, officers from the Department of the Environment responded to the scene and released the document to The Associated Press. The report was released to IndyStar.
There was evidence of multiple crimes after investigators conducted more than a dozen interviews with witnesses and those involved in the physical altercation. Booker's Facebook post about the incident was also kept as part of the evidence gathering.
The report states that witnesses had differing recollections of what Purdy and other members of his party said before the altercation. Some people said it was white power and others said it was abuse of power, in response to Booker being a commissioner.
Booker is a suspect in the case of battery and criminal trespassing against Purdy and Cox.
What were the charges against Sean Purdy and Jerry Cox?
Criminal confinement, battery resulting in injury and intimidation are all felonies. The intimidation charge is related to the allegation that Purdy made a threat of lynching against Booker.
Cox is accused of aiding or causing criminal confinement, felony battery resulting in injury, intimidation and two counts of battery.
The case was to be settled out of court with the participation of both Purdy and Cox.
The July 4, 2020 incident at Lake Monroe in which Sean Purdy, left, andCaroline McCord, right, are accused of a racial attack on Vauhxx Booker, was the subject of a speech by Attorney David Hennessy outside The Criminal Defense offices. Attorneys for the two people say that Booker started the violence and threw punches first.
What was the charge against Vauhxx Booker?
Booker has been charged with battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a felony, and a misdemeanor.
The charges were filed by the special prosecutor after the Monroe County Prosecutor decided not to prosecute the case.
Booker initially agreed to participate in the justice system, but then backed out and agreed to continue with the mediation attempt. His case is still being worked on.
The Lake Monroe melee continued as mediation went on.
The Monroe County Courthouse was the site of a press conference by Vauhxx Booker and Katharine Liell.
What is Vauhxx Booker's response to the charges?
Booker said the charges against him were racially motivated.
He said that charging a Black man in his own attempted lynching was an American thing.
Booker said he wouldn't negotiate a resolution to the case through mediation because it would have meant signing a confidentiality clause and dismissing the charges against the two people. Booker said he would have to publicly forgive them.
The Monroe County Prosecutor's Office did not want to discuss the terms Booker referred to Leerkamp. When contacted by IndyStar, Leerkamp refused to comment because the case was still ongoing.
Booker said he wouldn't bend to the will of the prosecutor and would go on a forgiveness tour.
Booker and his attorney said the charges against him were in response to him not agreeing to the reconciliation plan.
Booker said Monday that he was not a Black man attacking white people. The issue is me and what I look like.
Laura Lane is a reporter for the Herald-Times.
IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack can be reached at 317-444-6138. Follow him on the social media site.
The Indianapolis Star had an article about Vauhxx Booker case.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
