Jerry Cox was a Bloomington, Indiana construction worker who, on 4 July 2020, took part in the (alleged) attempted lynching of African-American civil rights activist Vauhxx Booker. He worked at Matthew Masonry and Restoration LLC along with Ian James Cherco and Sean Purdy, and, on 4 July, they were among five whites who confronted Booker and some friends as they visited the Lake Monroe reservoir to watch a solar eclipse. The five white men - some of whom were displaying Confederate symbols - told Booker and his friends that they were on private property, and, although Booker and his friends agreed to leave, the men pinned Booker to a tree and asked for a noose to hang him. The men were confronted by Booker's friends and by bystanders, and the police were ultimately called. Booker received a minor concussion, while the park service made no arrests. On 7 July 2020, a video of the incident went viral, and State Senator Mark Stoops (D) called on Governor Eric Holcomb (R) to suspend and investigate the offiers who failed to maky any arrests for the hate crime incident. Ultimately, Cox and Purdy were charged with criminal confinement with bodily injury, battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, and intimidation, while Cherco was not charged.