Brentwood man who hung Joe Biden dummy from noose says he's not racist

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Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Brentwood man who hung Joe Biden dummy says he's not racist
A Brentwood man who hung a Joe Biden dummy from a noose off of his Brentwood house is speaking out for the first time.

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KGO) -- Tonight for the first time we're hearing from a Brentwood man who hung a Joe Biden dummy from a noose off of his roof earlier this month.

"I want to make sure that everybody knows that's I'm not a racist," says Brentwood's Eric Harvey. Harvey is the man who hanged a dummy from a noose off of his second-floor roof two and a half weeks ago with a sign that said 'Sleepy Joe (Cheater)' along with a black cloth around its face. An action that led to two nights of protest outside Harvey's home. Since that time Harvey has received death threats and lost his job.

RELATED: Police, protesters clash in Brentwood, after man hanged effigy from noose

"I've apologized to the right people but I'm not going to apologize to anybody that was out here yelling, screaming, smashing my house, my car, and everything else calling me a racist when they had no idea what they're talking about because they're wrong I'm not a racist!" says Harvey.

Harvey blames one neighbor in the area for calling him a racist online but those we talked with said the picture of the hanging dummy was enough to get them.

"This is about respecting your community, respecting the people that are going for a walk who don't want to see the epitome of somebody hanging from a roof," says Jackie Smith who lives nearby.

RELATED: 'Brentwood is not racist!' Protesters rally after man hangs dummy with Biden sign from noose

There is outrage Thursday night in the community of Brentwood as a man by the name of Eric Harvey hung a dummy from a noose off of his roof. Black Lives Matter advocates showed up at the house to protest.

We asked Harvey, "Would you hang that again after everything that happened?" His response was a quick one, "No I won't do it again..."

Harvey says the night he put the dummy up he had a lot of things on his mind including a bad situation that his daughter was in and the election. While some in this neighborhood aren't at all supportive of Harvey, some also say he isn't a bad person and made a mistake.

"I believe him. Like I said I think it was in very bad taste I don't think he thought about the ramifications so hopefully, he won't do it again," says one neighbor.

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