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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Work stopped at the Facebook data center expansion site in Eagle Mountain after the construction company reported someone discovered a noose on Friday. The Utah County Sherriff's Office is now investigating the incident.
"We are responding to and investigating a noose found on the ground at the Eagle Mountain project site," Mortenson Construction said in a statement. "We strongly condemn and have zero tolerance for hate, racism or bigotry in any form, and we have a clear anti-harassment, anti-discrimination policy."
The company said that it stopped work on the site on Monday so that it could immediately address the incident with employees and project partners.
A $100,000 reward was offered for information that leads to the identification of those responsible, Mortenson Construction said.
"We are working with local authorities and a private investigator to identify those responsible and prosecute them to the full extent of the law," the statement went on to say.
The sheriff's office confirmed it received the report on Friday afternoon and has launched an investigation.
"An employee, I assume, had found a rope that had what appeared to be a noose fashioned at the end of it," said Sgt. Spencer Cannon. "That's concerning. We don't know what the intent was for the person that put that together."
Cannon said there was not a note or anything written near the noose.
"If they did it with ill intent then we want to find out what that intent might be," Cannon said.
The investigation into the noose follows an incident of racism at the same construction site in November where a racial slur along with a threatening message was found written on the door of a portable bathroom.
"It's disturbing that people would do that," Cannon said. "I think the Mortenson Construction folks are taking this very, very seriously then and now."
A reward of $50,000 was offered in the November incident but the case remains unsolved.
"We would like to identify who is doing these kinds of things," Cannon said.
Anyone with information about either case is asked to call the Utah County Sheriff's Office at 801-794-3970.
"We empathize with the many men and women working on this project whose values are not represented by what has occurred," the company's statement said after the most recent incident. "Mortenson is committed to creating and upholding a culture of inclusion, fostering a diverse workforce, and to maintaining an environment where safety, dignity, and respect for everyone on our project is paramount."
Construction activity at the Eagle Mountain project site is expected to resume on Tuesday, the company said.
