FL man convicted of federal hate crimes after going after six Black men surveying land on public road near site of the 1923 Rosewood Massacre
It only took two hours of deliberation for a jury in Gainesville, Florida, to convict 62-year-old David Emanuel on all counts of committing hate crimes in his racially motivated attack on a group of Black men who were surveying land along a public road in Rosewood, Florida. One of those attacked by Emanuel owned the land being surveyed. Emanuel was arrested on September 12 by the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
According to the Department of Justice, on March 15, Emanuel was charged with willfully intimidated of the victims, F.D.D., and attempted to injure and intimidate F.D.D. through the use Emanuel’s vehicle, because of F.D.D.’s race and color and because F.D.D. was using a public facility. Emanuel was also charged for willfully intimidating and attempting to intimidate five additional victims, through the use of Emanuel’s vehicle because of the victims’ race and color and because the victims were using a public facility. According to the indictment, all six victims were Black males who were surveying land owned by one of the victims at the time of the offenses.
“F.D.D.” was identified in part as referring to Florida International University professor emeritus Dr. Marvin Dunn and his son Douglas Dunn, according to the Miami Herald. The land the six men were surveying when accosted by Emanuel, belonged to Dunn.
Evidence at trial proved that on September 6, 2022, Emanuel found the victims surveying land adjacent to a public roadway near the location of the 1923 Rosewood Massacre. When the defendant came upon the victims, who were on the public roadway, he shouted racial slurs and expletives at them, including “[racial slur] get out of these woods” before driving a pickup truck directly at the group, nearly striking one of them.
The attack went down on SW 96 Court in Rosewood.
At trial, one witness testified that Emanuel admitted that he “came at those [expletives],” and that he “would have [expletive]d up all those Black [expletive]. Video evidence showed that after he was arrested, Emanuel complained that he was “getting treated like this [expletive] over a [expletive] [racial slur].”
One witness testified that the defendant came “within inches” of striking one of the victims and that one victim, “nearly lost his life that day.” No victims suffered physical injury as a result of the defendant’s racially motivated attack.
“This defendant is being held accountable for intimidating a group of men and weaponizing his vehicle to attack them,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we marked 100 years since the horrific 1923 Rosewood Massacre, this verdict should send a strong message that violent, racially motivated conduct will not be tolerated in our society. The Justice Department is committed to aggressively enforcing our federal civil rights laws.”
“Despicable, hate-fueled crimes such as these have no place in our state or country,” said U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida. “The violence directed toward these victims, based solely on their race, is abhorrent and will not be tolerated. With the dedicated assistance of our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute civil rights violations to ensure justice for those victimized by hate.”
Following Emanuel’s arrest, Dunn told the New Times that, “I’m relieved that this person has been held accountable by police. This has been a very difficult thing for me and the others who were involved.”
(Source: Department of Justice) / (David Emanual booking photo, Image credit: Levy County Sheriff’s Office)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
