Narratives of Lynching in the Los Angeles Times: The Stories of Francisco Torres and Jesus Fuen

During the nineteenth century, Mexican people became the pointed targets of Anglo violence. Anglos sought to assert their dominance as they moved westward into land already inhabited by Mexicans. The lynching of Mexicans by... [ view full abstract ]

During the nineteenth century, Mexican people became the pointed targets of Anglo violence. Anglos sought to assert their dominance as they moved westward into land already inhabited by Mexicans. The lynching of Mexicans by Anglos became a common practice in the Western United States. Newspaper outlets repeatedly informed their readership about the lynching of Mexican men by Anglo mobs. In Southern California, during the late nineteenth century, the Los Angeles Times, a prominent news source in Los Angeles, reported on the lynching of two men: in 1892 about the lynching of Francisco Torres and in 1893 about the lynching of Jesus Fuen. Both men were accused of murder and vilified by the newspaper accounts before being allowed to defend themselves in court. The newspaper accounts linked the men’s ethnicity to their criminality in order to highlight their culpability. In Torres’ case, the Los Angeles Times’ use of suggestive language created a perception of his guilt. On the other hand, accounts of Fuen’s crime emphasized the gruesomeness of the murders he committed. The Los Angeles Times’ reports about Torres and Fuen incited public action that led to the lynching of each man. Accounts of these lynchings justified the actions of the mobs and cited the Mexican men as threats to whiteness. The reports ultimately reflect Californian society’s opinion about upholding white dominance.