A local politician in Pennsylvania has been accused of attempting to pose as a victim of a hate crime by planting a noose at her own desk, cops have said.
Allentown Police Department said LaTarsha Brown reported finding the rope on the desk of her office on the morning of January 10 this year.
The department launched a criminal investigation and submitted the noose to the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab for DNA testing.
On March 10, forensic investigators found Brown’s DNA on swabs from both the outer surface and inner knotted portion of the noose after it was taken apart.
No one else’s DNA was detected on any part of the rope.
The damning finding came after cops trawled video surveillance and building access control records to identify which city employees were present on the third floor of Allentown City Hall where Brown works to try to identify the suspect.
Cops interviewed each employee and asked them to provide a buccal swab for DNA testing.
Local politician LaTarsha Brown has been accused of attempting to pose as a victim of a hate crime by planting a noose at her own desk, cops have said
The department launched a criminal investigation and submitted the noose to the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab for DNA testing
‘Every city employee agreed, except for Ms. Brown,’ Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca told a press conference about the case on Monday.
‘Initially cooperative, Ms. Brown later requested that the investigation be discontinued.’
The hate crime investigation subsequently turned into a probe against Brown herself.
She was charged on Monday with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence – a second-degree misdemeanor, and making false reports to law enforcement, which is a third-degree misdemeanor.
Third-degree misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of up to one year in jail, and a fine of up to $2,500 under Pennsylvania law, according to Fienman Defense attorneys.
Cops released an image of the object left on Brown’s desk, which comprised a small black rope tied into a noose shape.
The damning finding came after cops trawled video surveillance and building access control records to identify which city employees were present on the third floor of Allentown City Hall (pictured) where Brown works, to try to identify the suspect
Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca held a press conference about the case on Monday
Responding to questions at the press conference, Roca said that Brown remains a City Hall employee for the time being.
Brown is also a member of the Allentown School Board.
She is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing on April 22 before Magisterial District Judge Karen Devine.
Allentown is located in eastern Pennsylvania, around 60 miles north of Philadelphia.
Roca said that Brown will be presumed innocent unless found guilty by jurors.
Her case echoes that of Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying to Chicago Police.
The Empire actor was convicted last year, but this was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in November after judges ruled he should not have been charged a second time due to a a deal he reached with prosecutors.
The ruling, which did not address Smollett’s continued claims of innocence, was the latest twist in a years-long saga.
Smollett, who is black and gay, made headlines around the world after he told police in January 2019 that two men assaulted him in his downtown Chicago neighborhood.
He said the men shouted slurs at him, tossed a noose around his neck, and yelled that he was in ‘MAGA country’.
The report prompted a massive search for suspects by Chicago police before investigators announced that they believed the attack was a hoax.
