Tom Billups
Tom Billups was one of six Black men held in the Lake City jail in Florida when, on the early morning of Sunday, May 21, 1911, a group of men took them out of the jail. The men showed the sheriff's teenage son a forged telegram that ordered the prisoners released, and the mob then drove the men to the edge of the city. According to the account, they tied the men to trees and shot them until they were badly mutilated. The record here gives no further account of Tom Billups as a person, and the claim that the sheriff's son was shown a forged telegram is the account given in the newspaper report.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Tom Billups and five other men from the Lake City jail after showing the sheriff's teenage son a forged telegram, then tied them to trees and shot them.
Reported by: news reports.