FBI Finds No Evidence of Hate Crime in Bubba Wallace Garage Incident
The FBI and NASCAR have concluded no crime took place in the Bubba Wallace garage incident at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. The "noose" that was found had apparently been in the garage stall where it was found since October of 2019, and no one could have known that stall would have been assigned to Wallace months later. It seems likely the garage pull rope had been tied into a loop for easy use and appeared like a noose.
The FBI's statement is below:
Full statement from FBI: #nascar @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/wJY14YDGDK
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 23, 2020
NASCAR has issued its own statement:
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 23, 2020
Already on social media some are claiming Wallace or his team did this for publicity, so it's worth noting Wallace never saw the "noose" and wasn't the one who reported it. NASCAR informed him of it after the fact.
I’ll say this one time: Absolutely NOT a Jussie Smollett situation. Do not blame Bubba Wallace. He never saw it and wasn’t the one to report it. He was TOLD about it by NASCAR and reacted like anyone else would. https://t.co/FI7iSTvkbx
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 23, 2020
It appears this was some sort of misunderstanding where NASCAR jumped and made something public before investigating to see if there was a simple explanation.