Police Respond to Halloween Display Seemingly Depicting Racist ‘Modern-Day Lynching’

A Halloween display at a house in Georgia sparked two instances of police response for seemingly depicting a racist lynching.

Content warning: Offensive imagery and racist depictions of violence described below.

Located in Cartersville, Ga., the display features a fake body, all black, hanging from a tree with a noose around its neck.

"The first thing I thought of was a modern-day lynching. It definitely is racist to me. It's very insulting to the Black community," a neighbor told Fox 5 about the display.

She also explained how another local member of the community was appalled upon seeing the display while driving through the neighborhood.

"They were mortified because they thought it was a human being — and a Black human being at that — hanging from this tree," she told the news station.

WSB TV reports another neighbor was so upset by the display that she took the fake body down from the tree. However, the homeowners have since hung the display back up, citing their "First Amendment rights."

The homeowner told WSB TV that the figure hanging in the tree is not meant to depict a Black person, but rather a fictional ghoul their children have dubbed "Mr. Creepy."

“She said because the thing underneath the mask is black and his shirt is black, she was thinking it’s a Black person. And it’s not. That’s just the spare clothes my husband had that he was gonna throw away anyway. That’s why I picked those. No reason other than that, and the gloves are garbage gloves so..." the homeowner shared.

Dexter Benning, president of the Bartow Chapter of the NAACP, believes the "offensive" display "really cross[es] the line."

"It really just signified and insinuated that it was a person and a person of color. Bartow County has a history of hangings here in this county and to do that is just not appropriate," Benning told WSB TV.

According to reports, the controversial Halloween display has since been taken down permanently.