Authorities said a noose was found hanging from a lamp post outside a museum in Washington on Saturday afternoon, in the third such incident in recent weeks.



US park police Sgt Anna Rose said the noose was found outside the National Gallery of Art. She said her agency is currently investigating how it got there.

Tourists found a noose last month on the floor of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. A few days earlier another noose was found on the grounds of the Hirshhorn Museum, which features contemporary art and culture.

The three museums are all located on the National Mall, which runs between Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument.



Nooses are potent and divisive symbols of the Jim Crow era of segregation and racially motivated mob violence in southern US states. Recent cases at southern colleges have seen nooses hung on a tree and a monument to a civil rights icon.

In response to the discovery of nooses at other sites in the city and surrounding areas, Washington mayor Muriel Bowser said last month: “We are an inclusive city, and we do not tolerate signs of hate, ignorance and fear.

“Our diversity is what makes us stronger, and we will not relent in promoting and defending DC values. We do not take these incidents lightly, and we will not accept that signs of hate are signs of our time.”