A Minnesota high school sophomore accused her peer of sending racist messages in what an investigation has since dubbed a “hoax.”
Avery Severson, a sophomore at White Bear Lake High School near St. Paul, Minnesota, told The Daily Wire that she was accused by a black peer of sending hateful, racist messages via Instagram direct messages. Screenshots from an alleged conversation between Precious Boahen, who accused Severson of racism, and an account called “GoWhiteBear,” show the anonymous account using racial slurs. It’s unclear who was ultimately behind the anonymous account.
GO WHITE BEAR: Leave my school n****r. I don’t like a n****r b*tch. Dog. DIE N****R.
PRECIOUS: Homeboy, [you] trying too hard.
GO WHITE BEAR: You’re racist! ALL LIVES MATTER NOT BLACKS. I’m talking to the principal to end your little black club, it’s racist to white people. Hope your dad rapes you.
PRECIOUS: Have fun being miserable [about] diversity.
GO WHITE BEAR: Say goodbye to your black club. IT’S RACIST.
PRECIOUS: Aww, too bad.
GO WHITE BEAR: You should get hanged. You’re a dirty African Girl. Nobody wants you here. Go to a black school, this is WHITE bear lake.
Severson said that over the past year she has been stonewalled by her school administration in an effort to create a Turning Point USA club. In contrast, Boahen was able to create a black student affinity group with relative ease. Boahen accused Severson of being jealous of her ability to successfully kickstart a club.
Boahen shared a separate screenshot of the messages with the caption, “I bet you a billion bucks this is Avery Severson or one of her friends all mad because they can’t have their Turning Point club at school.”
via Instagram
Severson told The Daily Wire that she was in a driver’s education class on Wednesday, April 7, when the conversations were posted to social media. She denied the accusations and said she would never have made such abhorrent comments.
On April 9, local media reported on a staged walkout at the school. Students and teachers left school to stand in solidarity against racism in light of the messages.
The Severson family met with White Bear Lake High School administrators who encouraged Severson to remain silent about the situation. Classmates, Severson says, took her silence on the matter as an admission of guilt and threatened her. Severson was escorted to and from classes until April 12.
Boahen publicly posted an email that she sent to White Bear Lake administrators in which she threatened to tell the media and take legal action against the school.
“If swift and sweeping action is not taken, I will be contacting news outlets to let the public know how [the administration] really operates in this city, and I will be looking for legal action as well,” Boahen said.
White Bear Lake High School immediately began investigating the situation with the help of the FBI and the local police department. According to an email from the district’s superintendent, the investigation concluded that the Instagram messages were a “hoax.”
“The initial investigations by the FBI, our local police department, and the school district uncovered that the social media posts were not what they appeared. The original messages were found to be a hoax sent under false pretense by an Instagram account that was created by a student,” the email reads. “The individual who created the social media posts poses no threat to our students of color.”
Severson told The Daily Wire that she is fearful that this “hoax” not only ruined her reputation among her peers but may hinder her future political ambitions.
“This experience has been extremely hurtful, not only because I believe all racism is wrong, but because I was believed to be guilty with no evidence pointing to me,” Severson said. “This has left me feeling unsafe at school as well as in my community. I feel this has hurt my reputation and could damage my future political goals.”
This article has been updated to clarify that it’s unclear who was behind the anonymous account.