The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department is investigating what appeared to be a rope tied in the shape of a noose found hanging near the Sonoma Raceway on Saturday as a possible hate crime.
Steve Page, president and general manager of the auto racing track located at Sears Point, said an employee found the rope hanging from a tree behind a building used for health screenings.
“We had members of our team take it down,” Page said. “We looked at it. I mean, by appearances, it’s clearly in the shape of a noose.”
Nooses have long been a racist symbol associated with the lynching of Black people in the United States. Under California state law, it is a misdemeanor to hang a noose, “knowing it to be a symbol representing a threat to life.”
Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene after the raceway contacted them Monday morning.
Sheriff’s department officials confirmed to KQED that deputies are working with violent crimes detectives to investigate the rope as a possible hate crime.