‘Nooses’ in California Park Were Used for Exercise, Man Says

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff gestures while speaking during a media conference in Oakland, Calif., on June 17, 2020. Schaff discussed the presence of ropes found at Lake Merritt. Ben Margot/AP Photo

Officials in Oakland described ropes hanging from trees in a park as nooses but a local man said he and his friends used them for exercise.

“Out of the hundreds, thousands of people who walked by, no one even thought it looked anywhere close to a noose,” Victor Sengbe, who is black, told KGO-TV.