Trump Says He Is Weighing an FBI Probe Into the Death of 18-Year-Old Nolan Wells
US President Donald Trump said he is considering asking the FBI to look into the death of Nolan Wells, a Black college freshman. The family and their lawyer are demanding a federal investigation after a grand jury declined to indict anyone.
US President Donald Trump told reporters he is considering asking the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells. Asked whether he planned to push the bureau to open an independent inquiry, Trump replied: "Well, we're looking at that. Yes, we are."
Disappearance and discovery
Wells, an 18-year-old Black college freshman, was last seen alive on a 4 July boating trip with friends. He went missing on Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi coast, and his body was found there two days later. The cause and manner of his death remain undetermined.
The case has become a flashpoint for racial tensions and drawn national attention. During the Jackson county investigation, social media filled with misinformation about Wells, his family and his friends. His mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, searched for him, and a photo showing Wells with three white friends on a boat went viral.
Disputed cause of death
A Jackson county grand jury concluded that Wells drowned and declined to indict anyone. An independent autopsy by forensic pathologist Roger A Mitchell Jr, president of Howard University hospital, found no evidence of drowning, citing the absence of water in Wells's stomach, lungs and throat. It also noted bruising on his head, back, left shoulder and buttocks.
Ben Crump, the civil rights lawyer representing the family, said: "We do not believe Nolan drowned, and the blunt force trauma to his head cannot be ignored or explained away."
Calls for a federal investigation
On Tuesday, Crump and Wells's parents joined Cynthia Choi, executive director of Stop AAPI Hate, in urging a federal inquiry. Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Frederica Wilson and others sent a letter to Jessica Bowron, acting director of the National Park Service, noting that most of Horn Island is federal land and asking the agency's investigative branch for a "prompt and exhaustive investigation".
Wells's father, Elmore Wonsley, said his son was found on federal land and the family wants the FBI to carry out a full investigation. Crump said Trump's response carries more weight than the one given by the FBI.
