The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into a Mississippi sheriff’s department whose officers tortured two Black men.

The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the sheriff’s department in Mississippi’s Rankin County after several of its deputies – including some who were in a self-styled “Goon Squad” – abused and tortured two Black men in a racially charged home raid last year.

"We will continue this transparency and will fully cooperate with all aspects of this investigation," the sheriff's office said in a statement.