

Lusby, MD - The discovery of four hangman’s nooses during an eight-month time span at the scene of Maryland’s largest construction project is prompting some attention from authorities. Captain Steve Jones, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office liaison officer for Dominion Cove Point, told TheBayNet.com that the nooses were located within the area where hundreds of laborers are building a liquefaction unit. This is a $3.8 billion project that was started in late 2014 and still has over a year until completion.

Jones said the nooses were discovered on April 16 and April 20, and Nov. 2 and Nov. 20.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the hangman’s noose “has come to be one of the most powerful visual symbols directed against African-Americans, comparable to the emotions that are evoked by the swastika for Jews. Its origins are connected to the history of lynching in America, particularly in the South after the Civil War, when violence or the threat of violence replaced slavery as one of the primary forms of social control that whites could use on African-Americans. The noose quickly became associated with the Ku Klux Klan.”

Jones explained that while the presence of the hangman’s noose is troubling, no one employed by Kiewit, the construction contractor for the massive project, has come forward to claim they were threatened or feel threatened. “It’s not a criminal case,” said Jones. “I don’t have a crime. I don’t have a victim of a crime. We have no complaints. No one has come forward. No threat has been made, verbal or written.”

Jones confirmed that Kiewit officials employed the services of a private investigator after the third hangman’s noose was discovered in early November. However, nothing was found. The latest discovery was reported to the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office last week.

Despite all the gray matter, Jones confirmed that local police are continuing to probe the case. “We’re going to dig down deep,” said Jones. “It’s an offensive thing. There have been fliers put out and we are working with the human resources department at Kiewit.”

While the Dominion Cove Point Expansion Project has generated considerable controversy in the community, mostly among environmentalists, Jones indicated he doesn’t believe any of the project foes are behind the incidents. The perpetrator or perpetrators would likely be a construction worker.

Thursday morning, Dec. 1 Dominion Cove Point spokesman Karl Neddenien forwarded the following statement from the company to TheBayNet.com.

“We are disgusted by these acts and we will not tolerate them. We are doing everything we can to assist Kiewit and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Department in their effort to track down the perpetrator.”

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com