An investigation is underway after a noose was mailed to the office of a Florida prosecutor who refuses to seek the death penalty in cases.
Orange County Sheriff's officials say the first letter arrived March 20 at the office of Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala.
A clerk saw a racist message scrawled on an envelope addressed to Ayala, who is Florida's first African-America state attorney.
A week later, the clerk found another letter containing a noose made out of green twine.
Ayala has become a controversial figure over the course of the past month, after announcing that she would not seek the death penalty against any defendant, including accused cop killer Markeith Loyd.
After her announcement, Gov. Rick Scott removed her from and reassigned 23 cases to another prosecutor.
Ayala filed a lawsuit against Scott in early April, claiming the Governor does not have authority to remove her from the cases.
Reports say Ayala believes that the nooses are a hate crime and a threat to her as a public official.