Gainesville police say false threat against black churchs circulating

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Emails circulating within African American churches throughout Gainesville contain an alleged warning from the NAACP that white supremacists were coming to the area to kidnap black men and hang them, according to the Gainesville Police Department.

GPD immediately consulted with federal authorities, including the FBI, and confirmed that the threat and the emails are not authentic. The exact same email was circulated throughout the African American community in Atlanta several months ago. The NAACP said they were not aware of any such threats and had issued any warning.

“GPD takes any threats such as these extremely seriously and will continue to partner with local and federal law enforcement agencies to protect and serve our neighbors in the Gainesville community,” according to a release Friday morning.