Will Brown Lynched from Omaha Courthouse Window, Burned, Dragged Through Streets

Will Brown, a Black meatpacking worker in Omaha, Nebraska, was accused of raping a white woman. A mob of thousands stormed the courthouse, shooting the mayor when he attempted to stop them, dragged Brown from his cell, shot him hundreds of times, hanged him from a traffic light pole, burned his body, and then dragged the charred corpse through downtown streets. The riot destroyed Black-owned businesses and homes. President Wilson dispatched federal troops. The Omaha Bee newspaper had published inflammatory coverage blaming a 'black crime wave' for weeks preceding the riot.