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The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy
An account of two linked and tragic deaths stemming from the 2020 George Floyd protests that explores the complex political and racial mistrust and division of today’s America.
On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests that rocked our nation after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlock’s death, one conducted by the white district attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and released without a trial, and a second grand jury inquiry conducted by African American special prosecutor Fred Franklin that indicted Gardner for manslaughter and demanded he face trial. Days after the indictment, Gardner killed himself with a single bullet to the head.
The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. The two men, each with their own complicated backgrounds, were turned into grotesque caricatures. Between the heated debates and diatribes, these twin tragedies amounted to an ugly and heartbreaking reflection of a painfully divided country.
On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests that rocked our nation after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlock’s death, one conducted by the white district attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and released without a trial, and a second grand jury inquiry conducted by African American special prosecutor Fred Franklin that indicted Gardner for manslaughter and demanded he face trial. Days after the indictment, Gardner killed himself with a single bullet to the head.
The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. The two men, each with their own complicated backgrounds, were turned into grotesque caricatures. Between the heated debates and diatribes, these twin tragedies amounted to an ugly and heartbreaking reflection of a painfully divided country.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published May 9, 2023
54 people are currently reading
3890 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
December 11, 2023
This book is full of bias and Joe Sexton’s own judgements and beliefs. Sexton continually does the thing where he lets the white guy murder off the hook, but holds murdered to account based on things completely outside the encounter. It’s extremely white and upsetting and hidden under the pretense of getting to the truth. For example Sexton finds any and all Black friends to show Gardner wasn’t racist…as if racism is proven ever, but also in that way. This extends to his treatment of both DAs (one Black one white). It’s just very upsetting to read.
Also, Sexton does a thing I hate in investigative journalism, half way through he has a chapter on himself and then he and his investigation become a character in the narrative. Yuck.
The good? The book is extremely readable and well paced (until the end). If the content wasn’t so all lives matter, it could’ve been a great book.
Also, Sexton does a thing I hate in investigative journalism, half way through he has a chapter on himself and then he and his investigation become a character in the narrative. Yuck.
The good? The book is extremely readable and well paced (until the end). If the content wasn’t so all lives matter, it could’ve been a great book.
September 14, 2023
In her excellent memoir "Untamed," Glennon Doyle wrote: “In America, there are not two kinds of people, racists and non-racists. There are three kinds of people: those poisoned by racism and actively choosing to spread it; those poisoned by racism and actively trying to detox; and those poisoned by racism who deny its very existence inside them.”
"The Lost Sons of Omaha" does not seem to understand this truth. As a result, a man who comes across as an asshole, who used the N-word ["'Did I ever hear the N-word come out of his mouth? Yes, I did. ... do I think he had a racial problem? I do not.'" (p. 39) BRUH if someone uses the N-word, there's a "racial problem" there; if you don't SEE the "racial problem," you ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM], who was known for his bar's racist dress code -- is routinely cast as "not a racist" because he *doesn't have a swastika tattoo* and because *he has a black friend*.
Here's what "Lost Sons" has to say about the dress code: "The dress code, his friends and associates said, was the word of ... a business owner consumed with worries about liability. There would be no flat-billed hats (the bar had a balcony, drinks could fall, and people needed to be able to see something coming); everyone was to wear a belt (there were steep stairs to trip on); there were limits on gold chains (in a fight, they could be used to choke somebody)..." (p. 36)
Tell me, with a straight face, that you believe those are rational explanations of dress codes.
---
Gardner had had earlier media attention dating back to 2016 for his take on trans people using bathrooms. Here's "Lost Sons"' take: "...Gardner had come under the most intense criticism over the issue of bathrooms for transgender patrons. A woman had been assaulted in the women's bathroom by a transgender person. Gardner was alarmed by the assault, and concerned about how to protect his customers. He crudely declared that the bar's patrons had to use the bathroom consistent with their genitalia.
[...]
Gardner apologized for his choice of words. He then spent tens of thousands of dollars to build a third, unisex bathroom." (p. 37) -- THIS IS FACTUALLY INCORRECT. See below.
Here's some context on that "crude declaration" in 2016:
||The owner of a popular Omaha nightspot started a firestorm on Facebook this week when he suggested transgender women should not use the women’s restroom unless they have had their “appendage” removed and their state identification changed.
The comments by Jake Gardner, co-owner of The Hive, were widely shared. Some attacked them as intolerant, while others supported them.
Gardner said he regrets the appendage part of his statement but stands by what he described as safety concerns in allowing expanded access to the women’s restroom. The Hive is expanding its bathroom setup to include a unisex facility, a step in the works long before Gardner typed his statement into his smartphone.
[...]
An article he read Tuesday about transgender bathrooms made him think about an assault at his bar, which he said happened **a year ago.** [emphasis mine] That led him to post the article along with his comments.
He described the incident like this: A person in women’s clothes but with male genitalia urinated in the women’s bathroom standing up. A woman in the bathroom said something. The person assaulted the woman. Bar staff ejected the attacker. The victim did not want a police report made, he said.
Gardner said he does not believe the person in the bathroom incident is representative of trans people as a whole. But he felt something needed to be done, leading to the bathroom project.||{Omaha World-Herald}
||In the post, which has since been deleted from Facebook, Gardner suggested that trans women will not be allowed to use the women’s restroom at his establishment until they’ve had their “appendage” removed and changed their state identification. He also said he was not willing to “coddle” the feelings of the minority.
“My business’s (sic) remain committed to and stand by our position to ensure safety to women and not care who’s (sic) feelings get hurt in the process of providing that safety,” Gardner wrote in his original post. ||{The Gateway, UNO's student newspaper}
||“I'm definitely not going to back down on my stance, I think that it’s the right thing to do to start these conversations,” Gardner said.
Gardner also showed KETV Newswatch 7 construction underway to create unisex restrooms in the bar. The project was underway before the post on Facebook.||{KETV Omaha}
-----
Sexton makes a point of noting that Gardner had several Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), some stemming from his time spent deployed in Iraq; a fair amount of discussion on how TBIs negatively impact people's personalities and behavior is given. Okay, I can't even dip my toe into the water of gun control in America -- but if we're giving this guy a pass on his violent behavior due to his history of brain injuries, WHY SHOULD HE BE ALLOWED TO HAVE A **GUN** IN THE FIRST PLACE????
Did Gardner intend to shoot a Black person that night? Who's to say? But did his upbringing in an intrinsically racist society, and his entrenched prejudices displayed in a book THAT STILL GIVES HIM FAR TOO MUCH LEEWAY mean that his murder of a Black person leaves me utterly unsurprised? Yes, unequivocally.
Long and the short of it is, Sexton needs to take a good, hard look at the racism cooked into American society before trying to "both sides" what happened in downtown O.
Edit to add: the tagline "Two Young Men in an American Tragedy"? -- James Scurlock was 22; Jake Gardner was 38. That's hardly comparable as "young men." The cover design itself is questionable as well; the image of James Scurlock in a hoodie sends an unspoken message. It's especially questionable when a Google of his name + Omaha produces not a single photo of James in a hoodie with the hood up.
"The Lost Sons of Omaha" does not seem to understand this truth. As a result, a man who comes across as an asshole, who used the N-word ["'Did I ever hear the N-word come out of his mouth? Yes, I did. ... do I think he had a racial problem? I do not.'" (p. 39) BRUH if someone uses the N-word, there's a "racial problem" there; if you don't SEE the "racial problem," you ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM], who was known for his bar's racist dress code -- is routinely cast as "not a racist" because he *doesn't have a swastika tattoo* and because *he has a black friend*.
Here's what "Lost Sons" has to say about the dress code: "The dress code, his friends and associates said, was the word of ... a business owner consumed with worries about liability. There would be no flat-billed hats (the bar had a balcony, drinks could fall, and people needed to be able to see something coming); everyone was to wear a belt (there were steep stairs to trip on); there were limits on gold chains (in a fight, they could be used to choke somebody)..." (p. 36)
Tell me, with a straight face, that you believe those are rational explanations of dress codes.
---
Gardner had had earlier media attention dating back to 2016 for his take on trans people using bathrooms. Here's "Lost Sons"' take: "...Gardner had come under the most intense criticism over the issue of bathrooms for transgender patrons. A woman had been assaulted in the women's bathroom by a transgender person. Gardner was alarmed by the assault, and concerned about how to protect his customers. He crudely declared that the bar's patrons had to use the bathroom consistent with their genitalia.
[...]
Gardner apologized for his choice of words. He then spent tens of thousands of dollars to build a third, unisex bathroom." (p. 37) -- THIS IS FACTUALLY INCORRECT. See below.
Here's some context on that "crude declaration" in 2016:
||The owner of a popular Omaha nightspot started a firestorm on Facebook this week when he suggested transgender women should not use the women’s restroom unless they have had their “appendage” removed and their state identification changed.
The comments by Jake Gardner, co-owner of The Hive, were widely shared. Some attacked them as intolerant, while others supported them.
Gardner said he regrets the appendage part of his statement but stands by what he described as safety concerns in allowing expanded access to the women’s restroom. The Hive is expanding its bathroom setup to include a unisex facility, a step in the works long before Gardner typed his statement into his smartphone.
[...]
An article he read Tuesday about transgender bathrooms made him think about an assault at his bar, which he said happened **a year ago.** [emphasis mine] That led him to post the article along with his comments.
He described the incident like this: A person in women’s clothes but with male genitalia urinated in the women’s bathroom standing up. A woman in the bathroom said something. The person assaulted the woman. Bar staff ejected the attacker. The victim did not want a police report made, he said.
Gardner said he does not believe the person in the bathroom incident is representative of trans people as a whole. But he felt something needed to be done, leading to the bathroom project.||{Omaha World-Herald}
||In the post, which has since been deleted from Facebook, Gardner suggested that trans women will not be allowed to use the women’s restroom at his establishment until they’ve had their “appendage” removed and changed their state identification. He also said he was not willing to “coddle” the feelings of the minority.
“My business’s (sic) remain committed to and stand by our position to ensure safety to women and not care who’s (sic) feelings get hurt in the process of providing that safety,” Gardner wrote in his original post. ||{The Gateway, UNO's student newspaper}
||“I'm definitely not going to back down on my stance, I think that it’s the right thing to do to start these conversations,” Gardner said.
Gardner also showed KETV Newswatch 7 construction underway to create unisex restrooms in the bar. The project was underway before the post on Facebook.||{KETV Omaha}
-----
Sexton makes a point of noting that Gardner had several Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), some stemming from his time spent deployed in Iraq; a fair amount of discussion on how TBIs negatively impact people's personalities and behavior is given. Okay, I can't even dip my toe into the water of gun control in America -- but if we're giving this guy a pass on his violent behavior due to his history of brain injuries, WHY SHOULD HE BE ALLOWED TO HAVE A **GUN** IN THE FIRST PLACE????
Did Gardner intend to shoot a Black person that night? Who's to say? But did his upbringing in an intrinsically racist society, and his entrenched prejudices displayed in a book THAT STILL GIVES HIM FAR TOO MUCH LEEWAY mean that his murder of a Black person leaves me utterly unsurprised? Yes, unequivocally.
Long and the short of it is, Sexton needs to take a good, hard look at the racism cooked into American society before trying to "both sides" what happened in downtown O.
Edit to add: the tagline "Two Young Men in an American Tragedy"? -- James Scurlock was 22; Jake Gardner was 38. That's hardly comparable as "young men." The cover design itself is questionable as well; the image of James Scurlock in a hoodie sends an unspoken message. It's especially questionable when a Google of his name + Omaha produces not a single photo of James in a hoodie with the hood up.
June 16, 2023
It's May 30,2020 and the senseless death of George Floyd has erupted in protests worldwide. In Omaha, Jake Gardner, a 38 year old White Marine and bar owner, and James Scurlock, a 22 year old Black young father, have an altercation. Gardner shot and killed Scurlock.
People close to the shooting scene took videos on their phones and social media went into overdrive. Soon, misinformation and non-factual comments were being added to the ether and shaping the narrative.
A grand jury was convened and determined Gardner acted in self-defense. Concerned about their safety, Gardner and his family moved from Omaha to Oregon. There was outrage at the conclusion it was self-defense, so a second grand jury reviewed the evidence. The second grand jury indicted Gardner which meant that he would stand trial.
Gardner committed suicide after the indictment was announced.
Joe Sexton, a Pulitzer Prize journalist, examines all sides of the story through countless interviews and a thorough examination of the evidence. Dion Graham does a terrific job as narrator on the audiobook.
The book is harrowing, haunting, and thought provoking.
People close to the shooting scene took videos on their phones and social media went into overdrive. Soon, misinformation and non-factual comments were being added to the ether and shaping the narrative.
A grand jury was convened and determined Gardner acted in self-defense. Concerned about their safety, Gardner and his family moved from Omaha to Oregon. There was outrage at the conclusion it was self-defense, so a second grand jury reviewed the evidence. The second grand jury indicted Gardner which meant that he would stand trial.
Gardner committed suicide after the indictment was announced.
Joe Sexton, a Pulitzer Prize journalist, examines all sides of the story through countless interviews and a thorough examination of the evidence. Dion Graham does a terrific job as narrator on the audiobook.
The book is harrowing, haunting, and thought provoking.
June 16, 2023
This book could not have been easy to write, so, first off, kudos to Joe Sexton for attempting to create a "definitive" account of what happened during a violent night of protests in downtown Omaha in light of the killing of George Floyd.
There are people I know who refuse to read any account that paints James Scurlock's murderer in any sort of sympathetic light. But other books have been able to accomplish that feat while still not absolving them of the horrors that they committed. Dave Cullen's "Columbine" comes to mind, where Dylan Klebold is portrayed as a profoundly depressed teenager who instantly gravitated toward people who were "leaders." At the same time, Cullen doesn't flinch from the brutality of his actions.
Sexton's book benefits tremendously from the access that he received both from the Scurlock family and the Gardner family. For many, this will smack of "both-sidesism," but those wanting a full account of what led up to the killing of Scurlock, and the eventual suicide of Gardner, will likely appreciate "The Lost Sons of Omaha." Scurlock is not portrayed as a violent, drug-fueled criminal, and Sexton seems to go out of his way to refute every false claim that was made about Gardner after his arrest (his father did not run drugs, Gardner did not have nazi tattoos).
Sexton does veer into editorializing toward the end of "The Lost Sons of Omaha," and that's where the book's flaws are most nakedly evident. He just falls short of calling prosecutor Fred Frankin incompetent, but the adjectives he uses to describe some of Franklin's behavior show Sexton putting himself in the story, when he succeeded to a far greater extent when he was more focused on simply getting the facts of the case.
"The Lost Sons of Omaha" fills in a ton of missing information from this very preventable tragedy. And for those who are familiar with the case, I'm guessing Sexton's book will not move the needle either way in regard to opinions of guilt or innocence for Gardner. What "The Lost Sons of Omaha" accomplishes is it removes the grossly generic stereotypes that Gardner and Scurlock were relegated to once Scurlock died. That's about as much as you can hope to accomplish for a story such as this.
There are people I know who refuse to read any account that paints James Scurlock's murderer in any sort of sympathetic light. But other books have been able to accomplish that feat while still not absolving them of the horrors that they committed. Dave Cullen's "Columbine" comes to mind, where Dylan Klebold is portrayed as a profoundly depressed teenager who instantly gravitated toward people who were "leaders." At the same time, Cullen doesn't flinch from the brutality of his actions.
Sexton's book benefits tremendously from the access that he received both from the Scurlock family and the Gardner family. For many, this will smack of "both-sidesism," but those wanting a full account of what led up to the killing of Scurlock, and the eventual suicide of Gardner, will likely appreciate "The Lost Sons of Omaha." Scurlock is not portrayed as a violent, drug-fueled criminal, and Sexton seems to go out of his way to refute every false claim that was made about Gardner after his arrest (his father did not run drugs, Gardner did not have nazi tattoos).
Sexton does veer into editorializing toward the end of "The Lost Sons of Omaha," and that's where the book's flaws are most nakedly evident. He just falls short of calling prosecutor Fred Frankin incompetent, but the adjectives he uses to describe some of Franklin's behavior show Sexton putting himself in the story, when he succeeded to a far greater extent when he was more focused on simply getting the facts of the case.
"The Lost Sons of Omaha" fills in a ton of missing information from this very preventable tragedy. And for those who are familiar with the case, I'm guessing Sexton's book will not move the needle either way in regard to opinions of guilt or innocence for Gardner. What "The Lost Sons of Omaha" accomplishes is it removes the grossly generic stereotypes that Gardner and Scurlock were relegated to once Scurlock died. That's about as much as you can hope to accomplish for a story such as this.
May 28, 2023
As a former resident of Omaha I was eager to read this book. It was a disappointing read. The author claimed that he was not taking sides in this book…yet his takedown of the special prosecutor in this case ( a partisan rant against a man who was doing his job) read like a piece on Fox “news.” The author clearly bonded with the bar owner’s family and this book was weighted in the telling of their story. What a waste of time.
February 4, 2024
Unbalanced
I was disappointed with this book because the author represented his research as it were unbiased when it was dripping with bias.
I was disappointed with this book because the author represented his research as it were unbiased when it was dripping with bias.
December 15, 2023
- picked up this book thinking, "surely the author isn't going to try to both sides this, right?" only for that to be the entire thesis of the book lmao
- i do think there's *some* room for a both sides argument here to the extent that both men were victims of The System - for scurlock, the criminal justice system and for gardner, a military that traumatizes it soldiers and then leaves them in the dust as veterans - and how that shapes each of their actions
- but really, why write a book from the least interesting, most wishy-washy point of view? what purpose does that serve, what message does that telegraph?
- or, if you're going to, why not dive into those systems and why they're broken? why not deep dive into the things that could have changed the course of events of that night? i was particularly surprised that the issue of guns was kind of brushed over - why should a combat vet with ptsd and multiple traumatic brain injuries be allowed to have a gun let alone a concealed carry permit?
- also believe gardner was given waaayyyyyy too much benefit of the doubt re: whether he was a racist or not. the evidence presented by the author amounted to "open and enthusiastic trump supporter who uses the n word and makes politically incorrect jokes in front of the groups he's making fun of" vs "but he had a black friend!" and the author is still like "but who's to say!" come on
sure, he wasn't burning crosses in anyone's front yard but in 2023 we have a more nuanced understanding of racism than that.
- idk. it was unsatisfying but i suppose that is what the author was trying to accomplish. it's just senseless tragedy and it happened and now the families have to pick up the pieces.
- i do think this was quite well-written and well-researched, i was impressed with the depth and breadth of research done and the amount of people the author spoke to in his research process.
- and it was a fairly easy read (prose-wise, not content-wise) and pretty quick.
**review of an arc that i received via goodreads giveaways**
- i do think there's *some* room for a both sides argument here to the extent that both men were victims of The System - for scurlock, the criminal justice system and for gardner, a military that traumatizes it soldiers and then leaves them in the dust as veterans - and how that shapes each of their actions
- but really, why write a book from the least interesting, most wishy-washy point of view? what purpose does that serve, what message does that telegraph?
- or, if you're going to, why not dive into those systems and why they're broken? why not deep dive into the things that could have changed the course of events of that night? i was particularly surprised that the issue of guns was kind of brushed over - why should a combat vet with ptsd and multiple traumatic brain injuries be allowed to have a gun let alone a concealed carry permit?
- also believe gardner was given waaayyyyyy too much benefit of the doubt re: whether he was a racist or not. the evidence presented by the author amounted to "open and enthusiastic trump supporter who uses the n word and makes politically incorrect jokes in front of the groups he's making fun of" vs "but he had a black friend!" and the author is still like "but who's to say!" come on
sure, he wasn't burning crosses in anyone's front yard but in 2023 we have a more nuanced understanding of racism than that.
- idk. it was unsatisfying but i suppose that is what the author was trying to accomplish. it's just senseless tragedy and it happened and now the families have to pick up the pieces.
- i do think this was quite well-written and well-researched, i was impressed with the depth and breadth of research done and the amount of people the author spoke to in his research process.
- and it was a fairly easy read (prose-wise, not content-wise) and pretty quick.
**review of an arc that i received via goodreads giveaways**
November 22, 2023
This was a let down. Joe Sexton begins this book by displaying some sort of “genuine” attempt to set the scene with various layers of facts and perspectives as a journalist. It all quickly dissipated and by the end he wasn’t even trying to hide his bias and favor for Jake Gardner, his own ego, nor narrative of self importance anymore.
Sections of the book that are about James Scurlock feel empty and lifeless— as if it was a box he has to check so he could say he was reporting both sides. You can tell he bonded with the Gardner family more than the Scurlocks and therefore put the majority of the focus on the Gardner perspective while arrogantly trying to discredit any Scurlock interview or Scurlock sympathizer.
In a book about a crime that happened in Omaha, why is the “reporter”/author centering himself, openly leaning to one perspective and boring us to death about his own life story in the process? Joe Sexton clearly wrote this book for himself and the belief that the world needed to hear this story, but that it needed to come from him.
His abrasive tactics of harassing people over the course of years don’t read like that of a hard-hitting investigative journalist as he desired but rather that of a cringey, pushy and insecure used car salesman. He’s genuinely proud of what he’s done with the book and doesn’t let you forget that for a moment.
The moments he discusses his search for the facts are riddled with him positioning himself with arrogance and bravado rather than focusing on those he interviewed. If you’re looking to dive into the nuances and repercussions of the use of law and action in a thought-provoking manner, you won’t find it here. But you will find a slab of a boring book oozing with Sexton’s own expression of self importance, ego and “facts” that are presented as truths when they are in actuality just his opinions, thoughts and personal perspective about pieces of information he’s fabricated into a knock off lawyer’s version of a rebuttal masquerading as thoughtful journalism.
The only good thing about this is it helped me cross the finish line for my 2023 reading goal. Don’t waste your money.
Sections of the book that are about James Scurlock feel empty and lifeless— as if it was a box he has to check so he could say he was reporting both sides. You can tell he bonded with the Gardner family more than the Scurlocks and therefore put the majority of the focus on the Gardner perspective while arrogantly trying to discredit any Scurlock interview or Scurlock sympathizer.
In a book about a crime that happened in Omaha, why is the “reporter”/author centering himself, openly leaning to one perspective and boring us to death about his own life story in the process? Joe Sexton clearly wrote this book for himself and the belief that the world needed to hear this story, but that it needed to come from him.
His abrasive tactics of harassing people over the course of years don’t read like that of a hard-hitting investigative journalist as he desired but rather that of a cringey, pushy and insecure used car salesman. He’s genuinely proud of what he’s done with the book and doesn’t let you forget that for a moment.
The moments he discusses his search for the facts are riddled with him positioning himself with arrogance and bravado rather than focusing on those he interviewed. If you’re looking to dive into the nuances and repercussions of the use of law and action in a thought-provoking manner, you won’t find it here. But you will find a slab of a boring book oozing with Sexton’s own expression of self importance, ego and “facts” that are presented as truths when they are in actuality just his opinions, thoughts and personal perspective about pieces of information he’s fabricated into a knock off lawyer’s version of a rebuttal masquerading as thoughtful journalism.
The only good thing about this is it helped me cross the finish line for my 2023 reading goal. Don’t waste your money.
September 11, 2023
I appreciate that this author tried to fully investigate who these two people were and the societal factors affecting them but it was so poorly organized, overly long, and missing any real philosophical underpinnings (or not missing but buried) regarding property, use of force, possession of guns, and racism, so that it was ultimately a waste of time. There was a somewhat effective discussion of veterans and PTSD but even this was incomplete. Mostly the book confuses the issues rather than elucidating them.
January 30, 2024
This is a hard read for a few reasons. First, it took me back to all the emotions, feelings and questions of the summer of 2020 between the Covid pandemic, civil unrest and what seemed like the country on the verge of splitting in two from the racial divide. The author goes into the sad history of racial injustices of Omaha's past, which is a good lesson if you are not already aware. He also talks about both men after meeting family and friends over the course of a couple of years. This book had the potential to be fantastic! But something about it doesn't sit right with me. The author makes a lot of assumptions about both men, which, I feel, didn't need to be included. At times, it felt more like a book trying to prove that Gardner wasn't a racist than just sticking to the facts of what happened. What I did learn from this book is that the system failed both men. The educational and juvenile justice system failed James from the young age of 11, and the military and veteran affairs failed Jake after he was discharged with a lack of care for his traumatic brain injuries and PTSD. It is a truly heartbreaking book, one that will be a part of our history forever, but I don't think it is necessarily the right story. Like I said, something about this book just rubbed me the wrong way. I may update this post after a couple of days of sitting on this book, who knows.
November 3, 2025
It felt like it should have remained a propublica article vs an entire book. Interesting topic but very bloated.
May 28, 2023
As a citizen of Omaha who remembers the atmosphere of the protests and James Scurlock’s death, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Lost Sons of Omaha. I was part of the outrage when Jake Gardner wasn’t charged with James Scurlock’s death. I shared the posts of politician Ryan Wilkins, believing that what he wrote was true. I was a courthouse employee that had to leave early for safety on the day Jake Gardner was indicted. When Jake took his life, I believed a racist coward was gone. This book absolutely flipped my thoughts and feelings on the events.
Joe Sexton immersed himself in a deep dive of the entire case. While there were facts mentioned about the protests that were questionable (wood pallet barricades? Protesters with shields?) overall I found Saxton’s research to be very thorough and the interviews to be raw, emotional reporting. Sexton attempted to tell both sides of the story, but by the end of the book I found that he showed bias in favor of Jake Gardner and County Attorney Don Kleine. More of the book felt focused on the characterization of Jake Gardner rather than fair storytelling of both men involved.
Overall, my mind has changed about key players in the case and the reality is, social media was used as a disturbing weapon to spread false information. Rather than seeing Jake Gardner as a racist hell bent on shooting protesters, I see him as a PTSD brain damaged veteran who shouldn’t have had a gun to begin with, but I see his character destroyed by baseless statements on social media. If he wouldn’t have brought a gun to a protest, we wouldn’t be talking about this today. If anyone is to blame for the final outcome, County Attorney Don Kleine needs to take responsibility for his choice not to prosecute Jake Gardner. I truly think if he would have been prosecuted right away, he wouldn’t have taken his life.
The Lost Sons of Omaha is a cautionary tale of how social media and politics can destroy lives.
Joe Sexton immersed himself in a deep dive of the entire case. While there were facts mentioned about the protests that were questionable (wood pallet barricades? Protesters with shields?) overall I found Saxton’s research to be very thorough and the interviews to be raw, emotional reporting. Sexton attempted to tell both sides of the story, but by the end of the book I found that he showed bias in favor of Jake Gardner and County Attorney Don Kleine. More of the book felt focused on the characterization of Jake Gardner rather than fair storytelling of both men involved.
Overall, my mind has changed about key players in the case and the reality is, social media was used as a disturbing weapon to spread false information. Rather than seeing Jake Gardner as a racist hell bent on shooting protesters, I see him as a PTSD brain damaged veteran who shouldn’t have had a gun to begin with, but I see his character destroyed by baseless statements on social media. If he wouldn’t have brought a gun to a protest, we wouldn’t be talking about this today. If anyone is to blame for the final outcome, County Attorney Don Kleine needs to take responsibility for his choice not to prosecute Jake Gardner. I truly think if he would have been prosecuted right away, he wouldn’t have taken his life.
The Lost Sons of Omaha is a cautionary tale of how social media and politics can destroy lives.
Read
December 18, 2023I don't know how to rate this. We were in the Old Market just a week later, sitting on the curb outside Ted & Wally's, eating ice cream, trying to find some safe fun in the summer of 2020, tagging along on my husband's work travel. I felt like a voyeur, knowing what happened just a few blocks away in that summer of confusion and pain for so many.
My initial fear was that it was going to read as "very good people on both sides." And it did.
I'm not reading it with unbiased eyes. He appears to not be writing it completely unbiasedly either.
And maybe neither of us could. I did learn much more about not just the event, but the role social media plays in spreading misinformation and appealing to what we all wish to be true - even though regardless of what the truth is, many won't believe it nor see it that way.
I give him props - no part of this investigation and series of interviews would have been pleasant. It was, perhaps, an unwinnable task.
My initial fear was that it was going to read as "very good people on both sides." And it did.
I'm not reading it with unbiased eyes. He appears to not be writing it completely unbiasedly either.
And maybe neither of us could. I did learn much more about not just the event, but the role social media plays in spreading misinformation and appealing to what we all wish to be true - even though regardless of what the truth is, many won't believe it nor see it that way.
I give him props - no part of this investigation and series of interviews would have been pleasant. It was, perhaps, an unwinnable task.
August 17, 2023
Detailing a local tragedy in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, The Lost Sons of Omaha tells the in depth story of Jake Gardner, the US Marine veteran who killed James Scurlock, a black rights activist at an Omaha protest. It explores the lives of the two men involved, the impacts on their loves ones and the community, and Jake Gardner’s eventual suicide as he faced his surrender to a grand jury indictment.
The writing is thoughtful and comprehensive, covering difficult and important subject matter. It also covers historical incidents of racism in the area. I highly recommend it. #BlackLivesMatter
The writing is thoughtful and comprehensive, covering difficult and important subject matter. It also covers historical incidents of racism in the area. I highly recommend it. #BlackLivesMatter
August 24, 2023
Sexton leaves out a ton of information relevant to the case, including Gardner's self-proclaimed white supremacy, the Zachary Bearheels case as a recent example of the Omaha police department's brutality, and the escalation of force by OPD on children and peaceful protestors that occured earlier on the day that Scurlock was murdered. Gardner had even posted on his personal Facebook that he was going "hunting" before making his way downtown. Whether these facts were purposely omitted or not, I don't know. While there was an attempt to thoroughly research, Sexton has proved to be an unreliable and possibly even biased narrator.
July 5, 2024
Not even Dion Graham, one of my favorite audiobook narrators, could hook me into this story. It falters because of the set up: it first tells the general outline of what happened, then delves into James Scurlocks’s life, then restarts and tells Jake Gardner’s life. It drained me to restart: in my opinion there is not enough content to fill this many pages (or hours of audio)… and in particular to end on Jake Gardner and his family’s take on everything left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Ultimately this is a tragic story on all sides, but only one person lived through the initial interaction and used their gun to kill someone. I’ve read better books that deal with these topics, so this was okay but not good.
September 29, 2024
This book worked like a slow burn. I thought I knew the story but turns out I didn't know anything but the skeleton of what happened on that fateful night in downtown Omaha. This book highlights the true tragedy in the aftermath of a killing when social media and people who have no clue try to influence the facts.
June 20, 2023
Was so excited to learn more about this, but this book is so dry and boring that I can’t finish it.
February 9, 2024
2.5 stars
April 9, 2024
I wasted 8 hours of my life listening to this book, so I refuse to waste any more time outlining the countless ways this book was terribly done and disgusting to hear. Please don’t waste your time or money.
Read
September 10, 2023No reason this needed to be 380 pages. Very unfocused.
But the stuff about the grand jury investigation is good. And the reminders that people who consider themselves very serious were sharing claims that a bar’s beehive logo was a Nazi symbol.
But the stuff about the grand jury investigation is good. And the reminders that people who consider themselves very serious were sharing claims that a bar’s beehive logo was a Nazi symbol.
December 5, 2023
A granular, riveting look at the racial and criminal justice dynamics of Omaha (my hometown) and how they impacted the investigation of a killing at a Black Lives Matter protest there. Want to know what's wrong with America today? This book offers a pretty good view of the problem/s. Featuring great reporting by Joe Sexton, a first-class journalist.
December 30, 2023
7.5/10
On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlock’s death, one conducted by the white district attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and released without a trial, and a second grand jury inquiry conducted by African American special prosecutor Fred Franklin that indicted Gardner for manslaughter and demanded he face trial. Days after the indictment, Gardner died by suicide. The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. Joe Sexton examined all sides of the story through countless interviews with family, friends, and judicial entities to provide a thorough examination of the evidence. I felt that Sexton showed bias in favor of Jake Gardner and County Attorney Don Kleine, which felt gross-more of the book focused on the character of Jake Gardner rather than fair storytelling of both men involved. I appreciated the depth Sexton went into when speaking to Omaha’s racist history and Omaha’s brutality at the hands of police and white business owners and citizens. As someone who calls Omaha home, I haven’t done enough research to better understand my city’s history and its violence towards black and brown bodies, so this gave me a great place to start.
On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlock’s death, one conducted by the white district attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and released without a trial, and a second grand jury inquiry conducted by African American special prosecutor Fred Franklin that indicted Gardner for manslaughter and demanded he face trial. Days after the indictment, Gardner died by suicide. The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. Joe Sexton examined all sides of the story through countless interviews with family, friends, and judicial entities to provide a thorough examination of the evidence. I felt that Sexton showed bias in favor of Jake Gardner and County Attorney Don Kleine, which felt gross-more of the book focused on the character of Jake Gardner rather than fair storytelling of both men involved. I appreciated the depth Sexton went into when speaking to Omaha’s racist history and Omaha’s brutality at the hands of police and white business owners and citizens. As someone who calls Omaha home, I haven’t done enough research to better understand my city’s history and its violence towards black and brown bodies, so this gave me a great place to start.
October 5, 2023
The first falsehood in "The Lost Sons of Omaha" pops up seven words in: "This book is a work of nonfiction."
After finishing Lost Sons, and through my personal communications with author Joe Sexton, it's clear the author started with a suspect premise: That no one in Omaha - neither those with personal experience with the shooter, Jake Gardner, nor first-hand witnesses to the May 30, 2020 sequence that took James Scurlock's life, nor the grand jury of Jake's peers who rejected his self-defense claim and found probable cause to charge him with four felonies - truly understands the situation's complexity. But Sexton alone can show us the light.
The first section of the book is sharp and tight, with chapters ranging from two to nine pages long. Until Sexton introduces *himself* into the story, in a 25-page chapter titled "Stay Humble."
Among the book's foundational tenets is the notion that social-media vigilantes, chiefly myself, wrongly accused Jake of racism - amping up public pressure for a grand-jury investigation which, in turn, resulted in Jake's indictment on four felony charges in connection with Scurlock's death.
Sexton pushes this narrative via a tour-de-force mishmashing of willful ignorance, obfuscation, and strawmanning.
Shockingly, at no point in the book's 376-page investigation does Sexton mention the sources of extensive prior national coverage on this very topic: Yahoo News's 8,000-word expose featuring family members who "offered unique insight into the unabashedly racist culture" of the Gardner family. One of those family members, who I know (and Sexton doesn't), described Dave Gardner as a "seething" racist and detailed the "complete hatred and disgust" Dave and other Gardner family members voiced toward minorities. "I can tell you that for decades I watched this guy, Jake's father, sit around with the rest of the men in that clan and talk with complete hatred and disgust about [numerous minority groups]." This witness, who was vetted through multiple rounds of review by Yahoo's editors and attorneys, was present during conversations in which Gardner family members described "horrendous things . . . about what should happen to minorities, or what they would do during a race riot." Lost Sons ignores all of this.
Nor does the book mention Derek Stephens, the Omaha bartender who has consistently maintained since the night of the shooting that he heard Dave Gardner shouting the n-word and "n----- lover" at him and the BLM crowd on the night of May 30, 2020, shortly before the shooting. Or Alicia Smilez, an eyewitness to the incident and grand-jury testifier who spoke with the Gardners moments before the shooting and believes Scurlock heroically jumped on Jake Gardner to protect surrounding bystanders from an active shooter.
Lost Sons never grapples with the testimony of Robert Bradshaw, a Black man and former employee of The Hive (Jake's bar) who once considered Jake a friend; in a drunken confrontation, Jake fired Robert and menacingly offered, "You know what? I am racist. I am, and I don't care." (Bradshaw posted this account on Facebook the night it happened, in May 2019 - more than a year before the shooting.)
Jake's bar, The Hive, has myriad Yelp reviews detailing reputational and specific-act racism on the premises. Sexton cheaply cherrypicks a few of the least substantive and ultimately chalks up Jake's behavior to being simply "obsessed and unyielding about dress and security." But Sexton wholly underplays the degree and magnitude of the community's consensus on this subject (there are dozens of pre-incident reviews accusing The Hive of racism) while hopscotching over the most persuasive and damning. For instance, "My brother in law was questioned [by bar staff] about whether he had a belt on or not while my husband got to walk in no problem. My brother in law is black and my husband is white. To add insult to injury the owner Jake Gardner actually came out to confirm the establishment's practice of holding minorities to higher standards for entry."
Incredibly, Lost Sons reveals new damning evidence of racism - including a lifelong friend who acknowledges Jake used the n-word and complained in coded talk about "how dark it was" when the bar had too many Black patrons; and two Hive employees who agreed Black workers "were intentionally kept in minor jobs and shorted on tips" - which Sexton also finds untroubling in assessing why Jake inserted himself, armed, into the BLM crowd on the heels of George Floyd's murder.
In the significant ink Sexton spills attacking my own reporting, he takes aim at the allegations that Jake had a swastika tattoo and Dave did time for drug-trafficking - each of which I readily acknowledged were conveyed to me, but I could not independently verify. In any event, these details are flurries in a blizzard of evidence establishing the Gardners' racism - evidence Sexton ignores wholesale as inconvenient to his narrative.
Sexton also suggests the hate symbol "1488" wasn't baked into The Hive's logo, citing his communication with the Anti-Defamation League. But the bar's logo was admittedly a one-off, amateur drawing. Neither Sexton, nor the ADL, nor anyone else chiming in from afar after Jake's death could have known his intent. In fact, the 1488 in the logo is plain as day, and it has been a not-so-well-kept secret in Omaha for years. I personally spoke with the logo's artist (Sexton didn't), and he told me he'd come across "pretty believable" information concerning the logo's racist intent, stating "I actually felt sick to my stomach being involved with the logo in any capacity." And Sexton wholly dismisses the testimony of Robert Bradshaw, the former Hive employee, who personally heard two white managers (friends of Jake's) joking in Bradshaw's presence about the "hidden message" in The Hive's logo and the irony of Bradshaw, a Black man, helping to promote it.
Aside from the pivotal issue of Jake's racism, Sexton gets plenty of basic facts wrong - both big and small. He says I have three children (I have two), claims a cousin of Jake's alarmingly testified before the grand jury (she didn’t), and oddly contends an individual who "posted hours after Scurlock's killing that Gardner was a white nationalist" got his information from me - even though I never touched this subject until weeks after the fact.
These types of errors will happen when imperfect people rely on imperfect sources. But Sexton's biggest fault is fancying himself on a pedestal, above all of this, all while shamelessly burying his head under unanswered shovels of Gardner’s guilt.
Ultimately, Sexton simply lacks the humility to grapple with these truths. Or the reality that a supermajority of Gardner's peers on the grand jury heard the evidence - under-seal evidence to which neither Sexton nor Lost Sons is privy - and rejected Jake's claims of self-defense, instead finding probable cause to indict him on four felony charges in connection with Scurlock's death.
Sexton writes that he first learned about the events covered in Lost Sons when a senior ProPublica editor forwarded him a tip from me, summarizing my reporting as a "compelling argument that the Omaha [District Attorney] gave a white supremacist a free pass to kill a black protestor." Sexton's pride and contrarianism seemingly took over from there. Whatever The Lost Sons of Omaha may be, it isn't serious investigative journalism - nor is it a humble, nonfictional effort.
After finishing Lost Sons, and through my personal communications with author Joe Sexton, it's clear the author started with a suspect premise: That no one in Omaha - neither those with personal experience with the shooter, Jake Gardner, nor first-hand witnesses to the May 30, 2020 sequence that took James Scurlock's life, nor the grand jury of Jake's peers who rejected his self-defense claim and found probable cause to charge him with four felonies - truly understands the situation's complexity. But Sexton alone can show us the light.
The first section of the book is sharp and tight, with chapters ranging from two to nine pages long. Until Sexton introduces *himself* into the story, in a 25-page chapter titled "Stay Humble."
Among the book's foundational tenets is the notion that social-media vigilantes, chiefly myself, wrongly accused Jake of racism - amping up public pressure for a grand-jury investigation which, in turn, resulted in Jake's indictment on four felony charges in connection with Scurlock's death.
Sexton pushes this narrative via a tour-de-force mishmashing of willful ignorance, obfuscation, and strawmanning.
Shockingly, at no point in the book's 376-page investigation does Sexton mention the sources of extensive prior national coverage on this very topic: Yahoo News's 8,000-word expose featuring family members who "offered unique insight into the unabashedly racist culture" of the Gardner family. One of those family members, who I know (and Sexton doesn't), described Dave Gardner as a "seething" racist and detailed the "complete hatred and disgust" Dave and other Gardner family members voiced toward minorities. "I can tell you that for decades I watched this guy, Jake's father, sit around with the rest of the men in that clan and talk with complete hatred and disgust about [numerous minority groups]." This witness, who was vetted through multiple rounds of review by Yahoo's editors and attorneys, was present during conversations in which Gardner family members described "horrendous things . . . about what should happen to minorities, or what they would do during a race riot." Lost Sons ignores all of this.
Nor does the book mention Derek Stephens, the Omaha bartender who has consistently maintained since the night of the shooting that he heard Dave Gardner shouting the n-word and "n----- lover" at him and the BLM crowd on the night of May 30, 2020, shortly before the shooting. Or Alicia Smilez, an eyewitness to the incident and grand-jury testifier who spoke with the Gardners moments before the shooting and believes Scurlock heroically jumped on Jake Gardner to protect surrounding bystanders from an active shooter.
Lost Sons never grapples with the testimony of Robert Bradshaw, a Black man and former employee of The Hive (Jake's bar) who once considered Jake a friend; in a drunken confrontation, Jake fired Robert and menacingly offered, "You know what? I am racist. I am, and I don't care." (Bradshaw posted this account on Facebook the night it happened, in May 2019 - more than a year before the shooting.)
Jake's bar, The Hive, has myriad Yelp reviews detailing reputational and specific-act racism on the premises. Sexton cheaply cherrypicks a few of the least substantive and ultimately chalks up Jake's behavior to being simply "obsessed and unyielding about dress and security." But Sexton wholly underplays the degree and magnitude of the community's consensus on this subject (there are dozens of pre-incident reviews accusing The Hive of racism) while hopscotching over the most persuasive and damning. For instance, "My brother in law was questioned [by bar staff] about whether he had a belt on or not while my husband got to walk in no problem. My brother in law is black and my husband is white. To add insult to injury the owner Jake Gardner actually came out to confirm the establishment's practice of holding minorities to higher standards for entry."
Incredibly, Lost Sons reveals new damning evidence of racism - including a lifelong friend who acknowledges Jake used the n-word and complained in coded talk about "how dark it was" when the bar had too many Black patrons; and two Hive employees who agreed Black workers "were intentionally kept in minor jobs and shorted on tips" - which Sexton also finds untroubling in assessing why Jake inserted himself, armed, into the BLM crowd on the heels of George Floyd's murder.
In the significant ink Sexton spills attacking my own reporting, he takes aim at the allegations that Jake had a swastika tattoo and Dave did time for drug-trafficking - each of which I readily acknowledged were conveyed to me, but I could not independently verify. In any event, these details are flurries in a blizzard of evidence establishing the Gardners' racism - evidence Sexton ignores wholesale as inconvenient to his narrative.
Sexton also suggests the hate symbol "1488" wasn't baked into The Hive's logo, citing his communication with the Anti-Defamation League. But the bar's logo was admittedly a one-off, amateur drawing. Neither Sexton, nor the ADL, nor anyone else chiming in from afar after Jake's death could have known his intent. In fact, the 1488 in the logo is plain as day, and it has been a not-so-well-kept secret in Omaha for years. I personally spoke with the logo's artist (Sexton didn't), and he told me he'd come across "pretty believable" information concerning the logo's racist intent, stating "I actually felt sick to my stomach being involved with the logo in any capacity." And Sexton wholly dismisses the testimony of Robert Bradshaw, the former Hive employee, who personally heard two white managers (friends of Jake's) joking in Bradshaw's presence about the "hidden message" in The Hive's logo and the irony of Bradshaw, a Black man, helping to promote it.
Aside from the pivotal issue of Jake's racism, Sexton gets plenty of basic facts wrong - both big and small. He says I have three children (I have two), claims a cousin of Jake's alarmingly testified before the grand jury (she didn’t), and oddly contends an individual who "posted hours after Scurlock's killing that Gardner was a white nationalist" got his information from me - even though I never touched this subject until weeks after the fact.
These types of errors will happen when imperfect people rely on imperfect sources. But Sexton's biggest fault is fancying himself on a pedestal, above all of this, all while shamelessly burying his head under unanswered shovels of Gardner’s guilt.
Ultimately, Sexton simply lacks the humility to grapple with these truths. Or the reality that a supermajority of Gardner's peers on the grand jury heard the evidence - under-seal evidence to which neither Sexton nor Lost Sons is privy - and rejected Jake's claims of self-defense, instead finding probable cause to indict him on four felony charges in connection with Scurlock's death.
Sexton writes that he first learned about the events covered in Lost Sons when a senior ProPublica editor forwarded him a tip from me, summarizing my reporting as a "compelling argument that the Omaha [District Attorney] gave a white supremacist a free pass to kill a black protestor." Sexton's pride and contrarianism seemingly took over from there. Whatever The Lost Sons of Omaha may be, it isn't serious investigative journalism - nor is it a humble, nonfictional effort.
February 5, 2024
I am still processing how I feel about this one. I rarely read reviews for titles that I am interested in so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really had an issue with the format of the book. It could have been more effective had the author told their stories side-by-side, chapter by chapter, instead of two separate parts. I felt like I was reading one book and then it did a 180. I did learn more about the story than I knew and I get that the author was trying to present this as just a double tragedy. Still it felt more one-sided towards the end. I hardly think at 38 that Gardener can be considered a "young man" which implies a juvenile irresponsibly. In the end only one of them was able to tell their side of the confrontation and only one of them, with a gun, ended both of their lives. One must also wonder how differently the story would have unfolded had their races been reversed.
October 4, 2025
Here’s a detailed review of The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy by Joe Sexton.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 / 5)
Joe Sexton's The Lost Sons of Omaha is a powerful work of investigative journalism that delves into tragedy, truth, and the disorienting speed with which misinformation can spread. The book centers on a dual tragedy: the death of James Scurlock, a young Black father, shot during the George Floyd protests in Omaha in 2020, and the subsequent death of Jake Gardner, a white bar owner and Marine veteran, after Gardner was later indicted. Sexton’s aim is to untangle fact from rumor, to bring clarity to what happened, and to show how in moments of crisis, stories can be wrapped
What Works
1. Depth of Research & Reporting
Sexton, with his strong journalistic background (including work at The New York Times and ProPublica), does not shy away from the complexity of both lives—Scurlock’s and Gardner’s. He explores their backgrounds: Scurlock’s criminal history, his youth, and Gardner’s experience as a Marine, issues with mental health, and his post-service life. This gives the reader a nuanced picture rather than a one-sided portrayal.
2. Clarity in the Midst of Confusion
For many readers, the fast spread of misinformation is one of the most disorienting parts of this story. Sexton does an excellent job showing how details were distorted or falsely asserted in the hours and days after the shooting. His careful parsing of claims — which are backed up by video, witness statements, legal documents — helps the reader see what we do know vs. what was rumor.
3. Humanizing Both Sides (Without Fairness to a Fault)
The book succeeds in treating both men as fully human, with flaws and virtues. Scurlock is not sanitized, Gardner is not demonized. There is ample coverage of the pain, the suffering, and the systemic force—like racism, mental illness, and social inequity—that feed into tragedies like this. Sexton’s approach is not about giving equal blame, but about showing how multiple forces (personal, institutional, historical) converged.
4. Relevance & Broader Implications
While the event at Omaha is the spine of the book, Sexton uses it to explore bigger issues: social media’s role in shaping narratives, the chasm in public trust (especially in law enforcement and media), the failures and limitations of the criminal justice system, and how grief and anger are politicized. These sections resonate beyond Omaha. Many readers will carry the insights with them, especially in our current climate.
What Might Frustrate Some Readers
1. Emotionally Heavy
This is not a light read. Sexton spares few details in exploring the backgrounds, motives, and consequences. If you’re looking for something escapist or uplifting, this isn’t it. The weight of injustice, grief, and unresolved tensions is real and sustained. Some may find it hard to stay engaged all the way through.
2. Complex Narratives & Counties of Voices
Because Sexton is trying to cover many perspectives legal, personal, social media, political there are times when you may feel the story shifts abruptly. Multiple legal proceedings, different voices (lawyers, family members, experts), and repeated revisiting of overlapping timelines can be a little disorienting. But these elements are almost inevitable for this kind of book.
3. No Easy Answers
Sexton does an admirable job of dismantling myths and illustrating truth, but for readers hoping for some kind of clear moral or resolution, this book doesn’t fully provide that. Gardner took his life; Scurlock is dead; legal outcomes didn’t bring all the justice or closure that people hoped for. The ambiguity remains. For some, that’s realistic and meaningful; for others, unsatisfying.
Themes and Takeaways
Misinformation & Narrative: One of the strongest threads is how quickly a narrative forms in public consciousness, especially via social media, and how people latch onto versions that confirm their biases. Sexton shows how false claims became viral and how difficult it is to pull them back.
Systemic Inequalities: The book doesn’t treat Scurlock’s struggles or Gardner’s traumas as isolated. Instead, Sexton connects them to broader contexts: racial inequality, veteran care gaps, mental health issues, housing segregation, policing.
Tragedy of Dual Loss: We often think of tragedy in a binary victim vs perpetrator but this narrative shows how two lives ended, how both families and both communities were hurt, and how the aftermath is complicated. It forces reflection: is it enough to “just know the facts”? What does justice look like in such tangled circumstances?
Urgency of Truth & Media Responsibility: The speed of rumor, role of citizen journalism/social media echo chambers, and pressure on more traditional outlets all come under scrutiny. Sexton emphasizes the need for careful reporting, transparency, and humility.
Overall Impression
The Lost Sons of Omaha is a necessary book. It’s not just about one event in Omaha; it’s about the fracture lines in America right now. Sexton gives voice to complexities rather than simplifying them, which means sometimes the reader has to live with discomfort. But that is appropriate, and in many ways the point.
If you care about justice, especially how truth and narrative work in the public sphere — this book should be on your shelf. It won’t make you comfortable, but it will make you think. And for many of us, that is exactly what we need.
Suggested Audience
Readers of true crime who are more interested in systemic issues than in sensationalism.
Fans of investigative journalism and longform reporting.
Those interested in race, law, and media in 21st-century America.
People who want to understand more about the George Floyd protests but through the lens of a single, deeply reported case.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5 / 5)
Joe Sexton's The Lost Sons of Omaha is a powerful work of investigative journalism that delves into tragedy, truth, and the disorienting speed with which misinformation can spread. The book centers on a dual tragedy: the death of James Scurlock, a young Black father, shot during the George Floyd protests in Omaha in 2020, and the subsequent death of Jake Gardner, a white bar owner and Marine veteran, after Gardner was later indicted. Sexton’s aim is to untangle fact from rumor, to bring clarity to what happened, and to show how in moments of crisis, stories can be wrapped
What Works
1. Depth of Research & Reporting
Sexton, with his strong journalistic background (including work at The New York Times and ProPublica), does not shy away from the complexity of both lives—Scurlock’s and Gardner’s. He explores their backgrounds: Scurlock’s criminal history, his youth, and Gardner’s experience as a Marine, issues with mental health, and his post-service life. This gives the reader a nuanced picture rather than a one-sided portrayal.
2. Clarity in the Midst of Confusion
For many readers, the fast spread of misinformation is one of the most disorienting parts of this story. Sexton does an excellent job showing how details were distorted or falsely asserted in the hours and days after the shooting. His careful parsing of claims — which are backed up by video, witness statements, legal documents — helps the reader see what we do know vs. what was rumor.
3. Humanizing Both Sides (Without Fairness to a Fault)
The book succeeds in treating both men as fully human, with flaws and virtues. Scurlock is not sanitized, Gardner is not demonized. There is ample coverage of the pain, the suffering, and the systemic force—like racism, mental illness, and social inequity—that feed into tragedies like this. Sexton’s approach is not about giving equal blame, but about showing how multiple forces (personal, institutional, historical) converged.
4. Relevance & Broader Implications
While the event at Omaha is the spine of the book, Sexton uses it to explore bigger issues: social media’s role in shaping narratives, the chasm in public trust (especially in law enforcement and media), the failures and limitations of the criminal justice system, and how grief and anger are politicized. These sections resonate beyond Omaha. Many readers will carry the insights with them, especially in our current climate.
What Might Frustrate Some Readers
1. Emotionally Heavy
This is not a light read. Sexton spares few details in exploring the backgrounds, motives, and consequences. If you’re looking for something escapist or uplifting, this isn’t it. The weight of injustice, grief, and unresolved tensions is real and sustained. Some may find it hard to stay engaged all the way through.
2. Complex Narratives & Counties of Voices
Because Sexton is trying to cover many perspectives legal, personal, social media, political there are times when you may feel the story shifts abruptly. Multiple legal proceedings, different voices (lawyers, family members, experts), and repeated revisiting of overlapping timelines can be a little disorienting. But these elements are almost inevitable for this kind of book.
3. No Easy Answers
Sexton does an admirable job of dismantling myths and illustrating truth, but for readers hoping for some kind of clear moral or resolution, this book doesn’t fully provide that. Gardner took his life; Scurlock is dead; legal outcomes didn’t bring all the justice or closure that people hoped for. The ambiguity remains. For some, that’s realistic and meaningful; for others, unsatisfying.
Themes and Takeaways
Misinformation & Narrative: One of the strongest threads is how quickly a narrative forms in public consciousness, especially via social media, and how people latch onto versions that confirm their biases. Sexton shows how false claims became viral and how difficult it is to pull them back.
Systemic Inequalities: The book doesn’t treat Scurlock’s struggles or Gardner’s traumas as isolated. Instead, Sexton connects them to broader contexts: racial inequality, veteran care gaps, mental health issues, housing segregation, policing.
Tragedy of Dual Loss: We often think of tragedy in a binary victim vs perpetrator but this narrative shows how two lives ended, how both families and both communities were hurt, and how the aftermath is complicated. It forces reflection: is it enough to “just know the facts”? What does justice look like in such tangled circumstances?
Urgency of Truth & Media Responsibility: The speed of rumor, role of citizen journalism/social media echo chambers, and pressure on more traditional outlets all come under scrutiny. Sexton emphasizes the need for careful reporting, transparency, and humility.
Overall Impression
The Lost Sons of Omaha is a necessary book. It’s not just about one event in Omaha; it’s about the fracture lines in America right now. Sexton gives voice to complexities rather than simplifying them, which means sometimes the reader has to live with discomfort. But that is appropriate, and in many ways the point.
If you care about justice, especially how truth and narrative work in the public sphere — this book should be on your shelf. It won’t make you comfortable, but it will make you think. And for many of us, that is exactly what we need.
Suggested Audience
Readers of true crime who are more interested in systemic issues than in sensationalism.
Fans of investigative journalism and longform reporting.
Those interested in race, law, and media in 21st-century America.
People who want to understand more about the George Floyd protests but through the lens of a single, deeply reported case.
September 26, 2023
This book missed the mark for me. Unfortunately, it wasn't unbiased. Although I think that's largely due to one side being more willing to talk. As a Nebraskan living in Omaha during that time, I felt the book lacked the atmosphere of what was really going on. The author came to his own conclusion just as everyone else did. I don't think anyone will ever agree on what happened because the trail never took place. I gave it three stars because the history of race in Omaha was an important and interesting read.
February 9, 2024
I couldn’t stop listening to this book. As an Omaha resident both in 2020 and today, I was astounded how much I didn’t know. Sexton gives humanity to the people who became stereotypes and challenges every preconceived idea with varying points of view. I think he should have made an apology to us readers that we will not be happy with what we read in its pages. I’m left thinking on a quote from Justin Wayne, “We need to do better.” Also, narrator Dion Graham is phenomenal. Ten stars for his emotional and raw delivery.
June 6, 2024
For context, I knew absolutely nothing about these events before reading this book. Unfortunately, by the end of the book, it was clear that for the author, the American tragedy was not Spurlock’s death, but instead the reaction to it.
Overall, I am happy I read it because I did find it tragic and informative. Not maybe not for the reasons the author thinks. Mostly, I found it tragic because the author so clearly thought himself unbiased when his bias in favor of Gardner (and far greater sympathy for Gardner’s family than Spurlock’s) was so glaring.
At the beginning of the book, I noticed how he went into great details about Spurlock’s criminal history but then glossed over Gardner’s scandals by referring to, for example, off color remarks he made about the LGBTQ community but never directly quoting these remarks. Similarly, we got a detailed description of Spurlock’s stealing video games at 11 (literally pages and pages about it, people he talked to, etc) but literally no investigation into the incident when Gardner pulled a gun on people when his car got booted. Seems weird he couldn’t look into that further. Or the incident where he got curb stomped because he fought with people. Or the employees who quit over claims of racism or blatant favoring of white employees.
Over and over again, we got detailed descriptions of what a great guy Gardner was, with occasional brief references to the issues listed above, but no investigation into them. Meanwhile, he talked to everyone about Spurlock’s domestic violence, burglary charge, etc. I think the stuff about Spurlock was relevant so I am glad he covered it. I just wish he was fair enough to cover the negatives about Gardner as well.
Towards the end, the author completely lost his journalist tone and began to say things like “Really?” in response to arguments he disagreed with. Spoiler alert: his sarcastic commentary never inserted itself in pro-Gardner situations.
At the end, it really had me rolling my eyes when he said he (loosely quoting here) had “almost never seen a woman as broken by grief” as Gardner’s mother and went on endlessly quoting his touching memorial and the speeches there. It was so blatant that he didn’t do the same for the Spurlock’s and that ultimately he just thought the Gardner’s story was way more sad.
Overall, I am happy I read it because I did find it tragic and informative. Not maybe not for the reasons the author thinks. Mostly, I found it tragic because the author so clearly thought himself unbiased when his bias in favor of Gardner (and far greater sympathy for Gardner’s family than Spurlock’s) was so glaring.
At the beginning of the book, I noticed how he went into great details about Spurlock’s criminal history but then glossed over Gardner’s scandals by referring to, for example, off color remarks he made about the LGBTQ community but never directly quoting these remarks. Similarly, we got a detailed description of Spurlock’s stealing video games at 11 (literally pages and pages about it, people he talked to, etc) but literally no investigation into the incident when Gardner pulled a gun on people when his car got booted. Seems weird he couldn’t look into that further. Or the incident where he got curb stomped because he fought with people. Or the employees who quit over claims of racism or blatant favoring of white employees.
Over and over again, we got detailed descriptions of what a great guy Gardner was, with occasional brief references to the issues listed above, but no investigation into them. Meanwhile, he talked to everyone about Spurlock’s domestic violence, burglary charge, etc. I think the stuff about Spurlock was relevant so I am glad he covered it. I just wish he was fair enough to cover the negatives about Gardner as well.
Towards the end, the author completely lost his journalist tone and began to say things like “Really?” in response to arguments he disagreed with. Spoiler alert: his sarcastic commentary never inserted itself in pro-Gardner situations.
At the end, it really had me rolling my eyes when he said he (loosely quoting here) had “almost never seen a woman as broken by grief” as Gardner’s mother and went on endlessly quoting his touching memorial and the speeches there. It was so blatant that he didn’t do the same for the Spurlock’s and that ultimately he just thought the Gardner’s story was way more sad.
February 20, 2023
The Lost Sons of Omaha by Joe Sexton is an in depth look at a shooting/murder during the protests after George Floyd's murder, as well as the aftermath of that killing.
The incident got enough news coverage that many readers will have heard about it and likely, based on their views (we are, after all, living in a partisan society), have an opinion about guilt, innocence, and everything in between. I came to the book with such an opinion and it didn't change it very much. I'm not sure that is the purpose of the book, our views on what constitutes justifiable homicide will differ and the basic elements of the case haven't changed.
What Sexton did for me was help me to see beyond simply taking a side. To the extent justice should be a common goal, there shouldn't be sides, just different ideas of justice. No matter where one stands, there are some things that make this a sad event not only for Omaha but for our society as a whole. These were two human beings, with friends and family who loved them. Neither of them should have had to die, property damage is not a capital offense and standing trial for taking the life of another human being shouldn't be avoided by taking one's life, take responsibility instead.
Sexton shows that even events where we can easily make a snap judgement about right or wrong is never quite so straightforward. The line is not so definitive between the two and, even if you place most of the responsibility on one side, there is more to their story than just that one moment.
I recommend this to those interested in our current struggles for social justice as well as those who like to know more about events we have an awareness of. I guess true crime buffs might also enjoy this, though I wonder whether the partisanship we are currently living with will make this as enjoyable for those interested in the story as crime rather than sociology or psychology or even politics.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
The incident got enough news coverage that many readers will have heard about it and likely, based on their views (we are, after all, living in a partisan society), have an opinion about guilt, innocence, and everything in between. I came to the book with such an opinion and it didn't change it very much. I'm not sure that is the purpose of the book, our views on what constitutes justifiable homicide will differ and the basic elements of the case haven't changed.
What Sexton did for me was help me to see beyond simply taking a side. To the extent justice should be a common goal, there shouldn't be sides, just different ideas of justice. No matter where one stands, there are some things that make this a sad event not only for Omaha but for our society as a whole. These were two human beings, with friends and family who loved them. Neither of them should have had to die, property damage is not a capital offense and standing trial for taking the life of another human being shouldn't be avoided by taking one's life, take responsibility instead.
Sexton shows that even events where we can easily make a snap judgement about right or wrong is never quite so straightforward. The line is not so definitive between the two and, even if you place most of the responsibility on one side, there is more to their story than just that one moment.
I recommend this to those interested in our current struggles for social justice as well as those who like to know more about events we have an awareness of. I guess true crime buffs might also enjoy this, though I wonder whether the partisanship we are currently living with will make this as enjoyable for those interested in the story as crime rather than sociology or psychology or even politics.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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