The Media’s Love Affair With Hate Crimes

Too often the media is duped by hate crime hoaxers yet never correct the record. Here are two more recent examples.

By John Friend

Yet another highly publicized “hate crime” has turned out to be a total fabrication after the purported victim and her family publicly admitted the entire incident was made up.

The alleged hate crime made national headlines and went viral after the purported victim, a 12-year-old black girl in Springfield, Va., gave numerous interviews to various media outlets late last month.

The sixth-grade student at Immanuel Christian School, a private institution in Fairfax, Va., originally told her grandparents, school officials, and the media that a group of three young white students pinned her down and tried cutting off her dreadlocks. She alleged the young white students called her “ugly” and her hair “nappy,” and held her hands down and covered her mouth while they attempted to cut her hair with scissors.

“They kept laughing and calling me names,” she told CBS affiliate WUSA-TV in an interview following the alleged attack. “They called me ‘ugly,’ said, ‘I shouldn’t have been born.’ They called me ‘an attention-seeker.’ ”

The girl’s mother called for the alleged suspects to be kicked out of the school for their apparent racially-motivated attack. The problem is, the charge turned out to be a complete fabrication.

The initial reporting of the alleged “hate crime” sparked national outrage and a police investigation. On Sept. 30, school officials and the girl’s family confirmed the alleged “hate crime” attack had been fabricated by the young student.

“We can now confirm that the student who accused three of her classmates of assault has acknowledged that the allegations were false,” Stephen Danish, the school’s principal, said in a statement sent to parents, community members, and the media. “We’re grateful to the Fairfax County Police Department for their diligent work to investigate these allegations. While we are relieved to hear the truth and bring the events of the past few days to a close, we also feel tremendous pain for the victims and the hurt on both sides of this conflict.”

The girl’s grandparents, who are her legal guardians, also released a public statement apologizing for the false allegations and the tremendous pain and suffering caused by the latest fake “hate crime” in America.

“To those young boys and their parents, we sincerely apologize for the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused,” the grandparents wrote. “To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school.

To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust.” They went on to indicate they “understand there will be consequences” for the false accusations, and that they are “prepared to take responsibility for them.”

They are to be commended for their honesty and their willingness to take responsibility for their granddaughter’s actions, which were, after all, those of a 12-year-old child. She can be forgiven. But the mainstream news media cannot. They refuse to take responsibility for jumping the gun and not checking the facts before reporting such stories. Worse, when their fake news is exposed, they simply ignore their unprofessional behavior and rarely if ever admit they have been had. This kind of slipshod reporting can be very dangerous, as it can falsely inflame the passions of viewers.

ANOTHER FAKE CRIME

In related news, a former NFL football player was also recently accused of staging a fake “hate crime” after it was discovered he had attempted to destroy and vandalize his business in an effort to portray himself as the victim of a racially motivated robbery.

Edawn Louis Coughman, 31, was arrested by police officers in Georgia on charges relating to insurance fraud and filing a false report of a crime, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Police were dispatched to Create and Bake Restaurant and Coughman’s Creamery about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 following a report of a burglary at the business owned by

Coughman. Police searched the area and eventually pulled over Coughman, who was driving nearby. They then went to the restaurant, where they discovered damage and vandalism at the property.

“Officers saw racially motivated words, swastikas, and ‘MAGA,’ ” a police spokesperson said. “Several booth cushions were sliced open. They also found broken mirrors, cut wires and a damaged video surveillance system. The smell of spray paint was very fresh. When officers touched it, the paint appeared wet.”

Coughman explained to officers that he reported the damage to his insurance company earlier in the day but did not call police. Police eventually searched Coughman’s truck and found black spray paint and a crowbar, which were used to break in and vandalize his own business in order to commit insurance fraud. They also found television screens that had been ripped from the walls of the restaurant.

“It appears as though Edawn conjured a premeditated plan to damage his own property, attempt to make it appear as a hate crime, file a claim with his insurance company, and sell off the undamaged appliances and electronics,” the police spokesperson said following the incident.

Coughman has not admitted to staging the incident and apologized, however. He and his attorney have maintained his innocence as he awaits a future trial date.

John Friend is a freelance writer based in California.