3,000 White Crosses Honouring SA Farm Attack Victims in Washington, USA, Display Sparks Backlash
- The White Cross Project installation on the National Mall featured crosses bearing the names of individuals killed in South African farm attacks since 1990
- Lex Libertas, led by former AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets, organised the Washington display alongside the New York Young Republican Club
- A rival Afrikaner civil society group condemned the project, accusing organisers of using victims as political props to lobby for white self-governance
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Source: Twitter
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Around 3,000 white crosses were planted on the National Mall near the Washington Monument on 26 September 2026, forming a large-scale memorial installation honouring individuals killed in farm attacks in South Africa since 1990.
The initiative, known as the White Cross Project, was organised by Lex Libertas, a Pretoria-based lobby group led by former AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets, in partnership with the New York Young Republican Club. Each cross bears the name of a victim of violent farm attacks in South Africa, referred to locally as plaasmoorde.
Footage of the display, shared by @visegrad24 on X, drew over 57,000 views within hours of being posted.
Organisers seek US government intervention
Alongside the installation, Lex Libertas held a press conference at the National Press Club where farm attack survivors shared personal testimonies. The group also screened its documentary Crossed Out: Confronting Persecution in SA at the White House and submitted a petition calling on the US government to appoint a special envoy to engage with Afrikaners and other cultural minorities on issues of safety and regional decentralisation.
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Organisers stated the project was designed to draw international attention to violent crime, property rights, and race-based legislation affecting minority communities in South Africa.
Afrikaner group and government push back
The demonstration drew swift criticism from Afrikaners for SA (AfSA), which accused Lex Libertas of exploiting victims' deaths to lobby for white self-governance and presenting a distorted picture of South Africa's crime landscape to foreign audiences. AfSA argued that most farm attacks are robbery-driven rather than racially coordinated, and warned that the campaign risks deepening domestic racial tensions, deterring investment, and exposing South Africa to punitive US measures shaped by American political agendas.
Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola dismissed allegations of a "white genocide" as groundless, describing them as a misrepresentation of South Africa's constitutional democracy.
Official police statistics recorded one farm murder between April and June 2026, down from six during the same period in 2025, while total national murders reached 5,427 in that quarter. Former police leadership has previously noted that farm attacks affect South Africans of all races, including African farm owners, managers, and workers.
The post on the X page sparked a range of responses online.
@ReprobateCoZa wrote:
"27,000 South Africans, overwhelmingly black, are murdered each year. It's a cultural and educational problem, not an anti-white issue."
@NateStoffz added:
"In 30 years it's less than 2500. Roets is counting murders from over 40 years ago... Not all farm murder victims are actual farmers. And not all farm murder victims are White. It's South Africans of all races Black, White, Coloured, and Indian."
@NamelessFace_9 commented:
"We have plenty of atrocities in America more worthy of that space."
See the White Cross Project installation outside the Washington Monument here:
More on crime in South Africa
- Briefly News recently reported on a suspect linked to the murder of two KZN Crime Intelligence officers being killed in a police raid in Inanda.
- A Limpopo man was arrested after his elderly mother was found dead with severe injuries at their family home.
- Fears grew in Ekurhuleni after a 10th female body was discovered at a Tembisa cemetery, raising serial killer speculation once again.
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Source: Briefly News
