According to US Attorney Donald Washington, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators found that the hanging of the nooses "had all the markings of a hate crime". But, it could not be prosecuted as such since juveniles are rarely prosecuted in the federal system, and this offense did not meet departmental standards for charges to be brought. La Salle Parish District Attorney J. Reed Walters stated that Washington had found no federal statute under which the teens could be prosecuted, just as he had found no applicable state statute. Walters opined: "The people that the nooses should be ashamed of what they unleashed on this town".