A member of the school board of directors in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been criminally charged after she apparently fabricated a race hoax by allegedly fashioning a noose and planting it on her desk.

Around 7:40 a.m. on January 10, the Allentown Police Department received a call from LaTarsha Brown, a 42-year-old city employee and school board member. Brown reported that a half-hour earlier, she had arrived at her desk on the third floor at City Hall and discovered "what she believed to be a noose" lying there, a statement from the APD said.

'Acts like this have long plagued our communities and serve as a painful reminder of the work still ahead.'

Brown reportedly acknowledged to police that she picked up the item and took a picture of it but did not do "much more than that." She also quickly fired off a lengthy email to her work colleagues, ostensibly about the alleged incident.

Within days, community activists gathered outside City Hall to demonstrate against the supposed "hate crime." "Enough is enough," wailed Union Baptist Church Pastor Benjamin Hailey, who referred to the alleged noose as "a symbol of hatred."

"Acts like this have long plagued our communities and serve as a painful reminder of the work still ahead," added state Rep. Napoleon Nelson (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. "I am deeply dismayed but unfortunately not surprised."

By that time, law enforcement was already busy conducting an investigation into the alleged noose. Officers identified all the city employees who accessed the third floor of City Hall between the time Brown left work on the afternoon of January 9 until she returned to work the following day.

Cops also asked each of the employees whether they were willing to provide a sample of their DNA. "Every city employee agreed, except Ms. Brown," the APD statement said, though she eventually reversed course after the Lehigh County D.A.'s office secured a search warrant.

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At some point, Brown apparently seemed to lose interest in getting to the bottom of alleged noose. Though she was "initially cooperative," police said, Brown "later requested that the investigation be discontinued."

Her request was apparently denied, because the alleged noose and the DNA samples were sent over to the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab for testing.

On March 10, the PSP Forensic DNA Division issued a report claiming that "Ms. Brown's DNA matched the DNA profile obtained from the swabs of both the outer surface and the inner knotted portion of the noose after taken apart," APD claimed. APD reiterated that "no other person's DNA profiles" were found on the evidence collected in connection with the case.

On Monday, APD announced that Brown had been charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and filing a false report, both misdemeanors. Together, the charges carry a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a $7,500 fine.

'LaTarsha Brown is innocent. LaTarsha Brown deserves justice.'

Not only do police have forensic evidence that indicates Brown concocted a race hoax, but other circumstantial evidence may point to a possible motive.

By the time the alleged noose appeared on her desk, Brown had already filed discrimination complaints against a coworker and had even emailed her superiors on January 9 — the day before she found the apparent noose — to inquire about resolving those complaints via mediation, according to Lehigh Valley News, which cited court documents.

After finding the alleged noose, she emailed her bosses again, claiming to have reached her "breaking point."

Brown did not respond to a request for comment from Lehigh Valley News.

When reports of the alleged noose first broke, Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk expressed concern, calling it "horrible and unacceptable." However, he now seems less convinced of its legitimacy.

"It’s doubly shocking that an employee would — that she would have fabricated this incident," Tuerk said after Brown was charged.

Still, Brown has some supporters who remain convinced that she is the innocent victim of a vicious hate crime. Activist Josie Lopez, who orchestrated the noose protest back in January, claimed that the charges are a "smear campaign" against Brown in "retaliation" for daring "to stand up against injustice."

"LaTarsha Brown is innocent. LaTarsha Brown deserves justice," Lopez urged.

"I am calling on the people of Allentown, the media, and everyone who believes in justice to stand with LaTarsha. We will not be silent."

Brown is an elected member of the Allentown School Board of Directors, and her term expires this year. However, according to the Lehigh Valley News, she has yet to file paperwork to run for re-election, and the deadline for submission expired last week.

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