Homeowner Hangs Nooses From Tree to Keep Thieves Away: Cops

By Inside Edition

Updated: 1:58 PM PDT, August 16, 2016

Cops say Oklahoma man hung nooses outside his home and a sign reading, "it's best not to be hanging around this area after dark."

An Oklahoma man briefly outraged passersby after hanging several nooses outside his home along with a sign that read, "it's best not to be hanging around this area after dark."

Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice told KOTV that he spoke to the homeowner but wasn't in a position to demand he remove the nooses because the man had not done anything illegal.

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However, the homeowner chose to take the shocking symbols down after all the negative attention on social media and from drivers who saw the nooses from Highway 75, which runs north to south through the entire state of Oklahoma.

The homeowner told the sheriff's office he rigged up the display because he had recently been targeted by thieves.

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KJRH identified the homeowner as Merle Martindale.

Martindale told the station that the display was not meant to be racist.

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