Trump says he may ask FBI to probe death of Mississippi college student Nolan Wells
President Donald Trump indicated he is considering requesting a federal FBI investigation into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, whose family and civil-rights lawyer have called for a federal inquiry.
Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he is weighing a request for the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black college freshman who disappeared during a July 4 boating trip on Mississippi’s Horn Island and whose body was recovered two days later. The cause and manner of death remain undetermined.
Wells’s family, represented by civil-rights attorney Ben Crump, has asked for a federal investigation after a Jackson County grand jury declined to indict anyone. An independent autopsy performed by Howard University forensic pathologist Roger A. Mitchell Jr. found no water in Wells’s stomach, lungs or throat and noted bruising on his head, back, shoulder and buttocks, contradicting the grand jury’s conclusion of drowning.
"We do not believe Nolan drowned, and the blunt force trauma to his head cannot be ignored or explained away," Crump said in a statement.
"Today, I am asking the people whose job it is to serve and protect to keep their word to our family," Wells’s father Elmore Wonsley said at a press conference, adding that the family wants the FBI to conduct a full investigation.
Congresswomen Maxine Waters, Frederica Wilson and others have also written to the acting director of the U.S. National Park Service, requesting that its investigative branch examine the case, noting that most of Horn Island is federally owned land.
When asked if he would push the FBI to launch an independent probe, Trump replied, "Well, we’re looking at that. Yes, we are."
Crump said the family is prepared to cooperate with federal authorities to ensure a thorough investigation.