In the early hours of December 12, 1880, a white mob in Clay County, Indiana lynched George Scott, an African American man.
[1] Rumors swirled that a mob might form, but the local Sheriff, James Lankford, paid them no heed.
[2] Sometime between one and three in the morning on Sunday, December 12, a mob of over 100 men, masked, descended on the jail and demanded that Baumunk give them the keys.
Between three and four in the morning, Scott was removed from his cell by the mob who took him to a nearby oak tree, where he was hanged.
After his body was transported to the courthouse, it was “exhibited for public inspection” before finally being released to family members near Indianapolis.