It’s been more than a year since ex-“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was attacked by two white supporters of President Donald Trump on a frigid Chicago morning.
After new charges were brought against the actor in mid-February, his attorneys filed an emergency motion with the Illinois Supreme Court, The Chicago Tribune <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-jussie-smollett-supreme-court-denied-20200306-5dh546qwwbd6lottxcxpk4exvm-story.html">reported</a>, arguing “that Cook County Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and misinterpreted the law when he ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor in Smollett’s case last year.”
Smollett’s attorneys claimed in their filing “that the particular statute Toomin cited to appoint a special prosecutor can only be invoked if the state’s attorney filed a formal petition for recusal — which Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx never did,” the Tribune continued.
Foxx stepped down from prosecuting Smollett and it was discovered later that she agreed to try and get the charges dropped against Smollett. After she stepped down – but did not remove her entire team from the case and instead appointed her top deputy to run the investigation – Toomin said the prosecution became invalid. The judge contended that Foxx did not have the authority to name her own successor.
Smollett’s attorneys, however, claimed Smollett was the only person who had the right to question whether the prosecutor in his case had the authority to prosecute him.
“[If] there, in fact, had been a defect in the authority to prosecute Mr. Smollett, the only person who could properly challenge the validity of the proceedings would be Mr. Smollett — and he has not done so,” his attorneys wrote in the motion.
His attorneys went on to demand the order that appointed the special prosecutor be thrown out and that all charges against the actor be vacated.
The Illinois Supreme Court denied the motion. Smollett’s next hearing will be on March 18, as previously scheduled. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
On February 11, a Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett on “six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he orchestrated the racist and homophobic attack on a frigid night in downtown Chicago,” the Tribune <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-jussie-smollett-charged-again-20200211-4yz44w3y35fghlehlrqd5q74ei-story.html">reported</a>. The allegations mirrored those originally brought against the actor last year after it was discovered he fabricated a hate crime against himself.
Smollett claimed on January 29, 2019, that he was attacked by two white men wearing “Make America Great Again” hats around 2:00 a.m. during a polar vortex in Chicago. Smollett claimed the men shouted racial and homophobic slurs at him as they beat him, tied a noose around his neck, and poured bleach on him (they had been apparently carrying these things just randomly while out the night and somehow recognized Smollett). The men allegedly yelled “This is MAGA country” before they left.
Smollett, according to surveillance footage, showed up to his friend’s apartment in Chicago with the noose still around his neck and carrying his sandwich from Subway, which apparently wasn’t damaged in the violent altercation. He was still wearing the noose when police arrived.
The media instantly bought Smollett’s wild claims due to their hatred of Trump and his supporters. It was quickly discovered that Smollett paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the attack against him.

Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett Tried To Get The Charges Against Him Thrown Out. The Illinois Supreme Court Denied.

Chicago

Hate Crime

Hoax

Last month, a mural in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featuring Civil Rights icon Cecil B. Moore was defaced with racist graffiti.
Local residents were outraged at the vandalism, which feature a racial slur. Chris Jackson, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was “baffled” by the crime.
“I don’t know why they did that right there, what they did is crazy,” he said.
Jackson, however, seemed suspicious of the vandalism from the beginning, saying “The timing, it’s Black History Month. It’s a nice, black area. It’s just not adding up.”
Police began investigating the crime, speaking to witnesses and searching through surveillance video, CB 3 <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/02/15/cecil-b-moore-mural-defaced-racist-graffiti-north-philadelphia/?fbclid=IwAR1bgqH9feWCKYq_G_AZLXCWy0cMoBdivdqNZj0cli-wRQRhhoFkAafAaZw">reported</a>. As the outlet <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/02/26/philadelphia-police-release-images-of-suspect-wanted-for-spray-painting-racial-slurs-on-cecil-b-moore-mural-brightside-academy-habitat-for-humanity/">reported</a> on Friday, surveillance footage caught a suspect – a black man.
“The suspect is described as a black male, between 25 to 35 years of age, with a medium build. He was wearing a black jacket, gray sweatshirt, blue jeans, brown shoes and carrying a black duffel bag,” CBS3 reported.
The Blaze <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/mural-of-civil-rights-leader-vandalized-with-racist-graffiti-during-black-history-month-and-cops-have-suspect-on-video">reported</a> that the suspect was caught on camera spray painting slurs on the mural as well as the Brightside Academy and Habitat for Humanity. The incidents occurred between 6 and 7 a.m. on February 15.
MRCTV <a href="https://www.mrctv.org/blog/black-male-main-suspect-racist-defacement-philadelphia-mural-civil-rights-leader">questioned</a> why “a black man spray paint racial epithets towards other black people on a civil rights mural during Black History Month,” suggesting the suspect “either was trying to frame the people of another race of being racist towards black people or the suspect is just out of his mind.”
This is not the first time an alleged racial incident has turned out to be faked. As the Blaze reported, 58-year-old William Tucker was arrested back in 2017 for writing “Trump Rules” and “Black Bitch” on someone’s car and another person’s home.
Staging hate crimes is nothing new. The most famous current example is from ex-“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who claimed a year ago that he was returning to a friend’s apartment at around 2 a.m. on a frigid Chicago morning when he was attacked by two white men wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and inexplicably carrying a bottle of bleach and a noose. The men allegedly yelled homophobic and racial slurs as they beat him. Police later revealed that Smollett paid two Nigerian brothers to fake the attack wearing plain red hats.
In September 2019, an ex-NFL player allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-nfl-player-allegedly-staged-hate-crime-trashing-ashe-schow">staged a hate crime</a> by trashing his own restaurant. Edawn Louis Coughman was caught spray painting his restaurant with racial slurs and ripping the TVs off the walls. A maintenance worker reported seeing someone burglarizing the restaurant and called the police. Nearby cops saw a vehicle matching the description of the one the maintenance worker reported and pulled over the driver – who turned out to be Coughman. The “stolen” TVs were in the back of his truck.
In November 2019, Syracuse University students <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprise-surprise-the-latest-college-racism-claim-turns-out-to-be-a-hoax">protested</a> over a series of alleged racist incidents on campus. One of those incidents claimed a student sent a racist manifesto to multiple students, but the incident never occurred. Police couldn’t find anyone who received the manifesto and considered it to be merely a hoax rumor.

graffitti

HATE CRIME HOAX: Civil Rights Mural Defaced In Philly With Racist Language – By A Black Man

Philadelphia

While speaking at a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, President Donald Trump brought up the coronavirus and Democrats’ attempts to politicize the issue.
Trump called those attempts a new hoax, but you wouldn’t know that from media headlines following the event. Here’s what Trump actually said:
<blockquote>Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. Coronavirus. They’re politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs, you say, “How’s President Trump doing?” They go, “Oh, not good, not good.” They have no clue; they don’t have any clue. They can’t even count their votes in Iowa. They can’t count their votes!
One of my people came up to me and said, “Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia. That didn’t work out too well. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over. They’ve been doing it since you got in. It’s all turning, they lost, it’s all turning. Think of it. And this is their new hoax.”
But you know, we did something that’s been pretty amazing. We have 15 people in this massive country, and because of the fact that we won early, we won early, we could’ve had a lot more than that. We’re doing great. Our country is doing so great. We are so unified. We are so unified.</blockquote>
Clearly, Trump’s “hoax” comment was referring to Democrats claiming his administration is not doing a good job containing the virus. His first comments are about how Democrats asked how Trump is doing in regard to the Coronavirus, and he mockingly responds as them: “Not good.” He never said the coronavirus itself is a hoax, just Democrats’ claims that the Trump administration is failing to protect the country.
That’s now how the media portrayed his comments in headlines, however. Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank tweeted: “Remember this moment: Trump, in South Carolina, just called the coronavirus a ‘hoax.’&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Remember this moment: Trump, in South Carolina, just called the coronavirus a &#8220;hoax.&#8221;
— Dana Milbank (@Milbank) <a href="https://twitter.com/Milbank/status/1233555987149312000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Politico’s <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/28/trump-south-carolina-rally-coronavirus-118269">headline</a> reads: “Trump rallies his base to treat coronavirus as a ‘hoax.’” The lede claimed, “President Donald Trump on Friday night tried to cast the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a liberal conspiracy intended to undermine his first term, lumping it alongside impeachment and the Mueller investigation.”
Trump did no such thing, yet the Politico article continues along this assumption.
NBC was no better, publishing <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-coronavirus-democrats-new-hoax-n1145721">a headline</a> that read: “Trump calls coronavirus Democrats&#8217; &#8216;new hoax.&#8217;” The outlet’s lede also claimed Trump said “the outbreak is ‘their new hoax,’” even though that is not what he said. CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/trump-says-the-coronavirus-is-the-democrats-new-hoax.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&amp;par=sharebar">followed suit</a> with a similar headline: “Trump says the coronavirus is the Democrats’ ‘new hoax.’”
Usually, media outlets write a headline like this to get clicks but let the actual article contain accurate information. In this case, each outline kept the inaccurate assumption from the headline throughout their article, claiming Trump said something he didn’t and then dedicating article space to debunking something he didn’t say.
People who don’t take the time to find Trump’s actual comments will only get the media version, which is completely inaccurate, but that seems to be the point.

President Trump

Media Claims Trump Called Coronavirus A ‘Hoax.’ Here’s What He Actually Said.

Coronavirus

Donald Trump

Media Bias

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is vowing to &#8220;aggressively&#8221; hold embattled former &#8220;Empire&#8221; star Jussie Smollett &#8220;accountable&#8221; for the &#8220;total hoax&#8221; police say he orchestrated last year.
&#8220;He needs to face the charges,&#8221; said Lightfoot on Sunday, as reported <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/02/23/mayor-lightfoot-says-jussie-smollett-needs-to-be-held-accountable/">CBS Chicago</a>. &#8220;He committed a crime, and he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and we are going to continue to aggressively make him accountable for the wasted police resources that went into investigating what turned out to be a total hoax.&#8221;
Lightfoot has maintained, like her predecessor former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, that Smollett is guilty of having orchestrated a hoax hate crime last January, as concluded by the Chicago Police Department after a high-profile investigation that followed initial sympathetic coverage of Smollett&#8217;s claims by mainstream media outlets.
Smollett was slapped with 16 charges related to the alleged hate crime hoax, but was infamously let off the hook just over a month later — without so much as an admission of guilt or a fine — by Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney Kim Foxx.
Amid outrage over Foxx&#8217;s widely criticized decision to abruptly drop all of the charges, a special prosecutor has been appointed and a special grand jury has since indicted Smollett on six counts of disorderly conduct related to allegedly filing bogus police reports on the &#8220;hate crime.&#8221;
In a Cook County courtroom on Monday morning, the day after Mayor Lightfoot promised &#8220;accountability,&#8221; Smollett pleaded not guilty to all six counts in front of Judge James B. Linn.
Smollett&#8217;s lawyers attempted to get the case tossed out, filing a motion claiming the new charges amounted to &#8220;double jeopardy,&#8221; but, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jussie-smollett-pleads-not-guilty-to-six-new-charges-of-lying-to-chicago-cops">The Daily Wire</a> reported, Linn rejected the argument on Monday.
“The circumstances surrounding the initial case in 2019 did not reach the legal level warranting the appointment of a special prosecutor,” the attorneys&#8217; motion stated. “Under the terms of the law, in order to appoint a special prosecutor, the office [of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx] had to file a former recusal with the court . . . and that didn’t occur here.&#8221;
Judge Linn denied the motion, maintaining that case does not qualify for “double jeopardy” protection since Foxx refused to prosecute him the first time. Linn released Smollett on a $20,000 &#8220;personal recognizance bond,&#8221; allowing him to walk free without having to put money down, but the actor is scheduled to return to the court on March 18.
In January 2019, Smollett claimed that two white Trump supporters attacked him, dousing him with an unknown liquid, putting a rope around his neck, and yelling &#8220;Welcome to MAGA country!&#8221; as they fled the scene. But Chicago police concluded after a multi-week investigation that the actor had orchestrated the attack himself with the help of two Nigerian-American brothers, who detailed their role in the scheme to investigators.
He was charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for the allegedly false claims, but Foxx abruptly dropped the charges just over a month later, sparking strong criticism, including from the Chicago Police Department and other state&#8217;s attorneys, who said Foxx&#8217;s actions were indefensible.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-prosecutor-responds-to-new-jussie-smollett-charges-blames-donald-trump">Chicago Prosecutor Responds To New Jussie Smollett Charges, Blames Donald Trump</a>

Lori Lightfoot

Chicago Mayor On Jussie Smollett: We Will ‘Aggressively Make Him Accountable’ For ‘Total Hoax’

A 16-year-old who was reportedly kidnapped earlier this week in New York City has been found and is now being accused by law enforcement officials of staging the entire incident.
&#8220;Sixteen-year-old Karol Sanchez and her mother, who are from Poughquag in Dutchess County, were in the city for a doctor&#8217;s appointment earlier Monday,&#8221; NBC New York <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/police-investigate-possible-kidnapping-of-16-year-old-girl-in-the-bronx/2243255/">reported</a>. &#8220;They were walking to a train station on Jackson Avenue around 11:30 p.m. when four men in a tan four-door sedan pulled up, according to law enforcement sources and police. Two men got out, pulled Sanchez in and drove off.&#8221;
The New York Times noted that many in New York City were captivated by the shocking kidnapping of Sanchez after law enforcement officials released a video of the alleged incident.
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<a href="https://t.co/TeHB5BUkxg">pic.twitter.com/TeHB5BUkxg</a>
&mdash; NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPD40Pct/status/1206912178533601282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Several hours later, law enforcement officials declared victory in the case, writing on Twitter: &#8220;WE HAVE A VICTORY TODAY !! Karol has been found !!! Thank you to all who have worked very hard to track down the people involved in this case !!!&#8221;
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WE HAVE A VICTORY TODAY !! Karol has been found !!! Thank you to all who have worked very hard to track down the people involved in this case !!! <a href="https://t.co/TYD7IlU49N">pic.twitter.com/TYD7IlU49N</a>
&mdash; NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPD40Pct/status/1207021020114300935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Yet soon after Sanchez was safely recovered by authorities she reportedly made a stunning confession: she made the whole thing up.
&#8220;Shortly after she was found on Tuesday afternoon, Karol was questioned by officers from the 40th Precinct, where she admitted to setting up the kidnapping and then was released to her family,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/nyregion/karol-sanchez-bronx-amber-alert.html">The New York Times</a> reported. &#8220;During the interview, one police official said Karol described her mother as &#8216;overprotective.'&#8221;
The <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/17/karol-sanchez-staged-her-own-kidnapping-police-sources/">New York Post</a> reported that Sanchez allegedly staged the kidnapping &#8220;so that she could be with her boyfriend, a 23-year-old reputed Crips gangbanger once arrested for murder.&#8221;
The Times noted that during the incident Sanchez&#8217;s mother tried to intervene to stop the men from taking her daughter, at which point the men reportedly threw her on the ground.
Authorities are now reportedly weighing whether they will file criminal charges against Sanchez or the men who helped her stage the hoax.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
KAROL SANCHEZ FOUND: source telling me she was found on Eagle Ave near her home. She’ll be taken to Lincoln Hospital in a bit to be evaluated. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bronx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bronx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/News12BX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@News12BX</a> <a href="https://t.co/8Xob30HJrW">pic.twitter.com/8Xob30HJrW</a>
&mdash; Jessica Cunnington (@JessicaNews12) <a href="https://twitter.com/JessicaNews12/status/1207027719164366853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Reaction online to the story was overwhelmingly negative with many comparing the case to the incident from earlier this year involving Jussie Smollett.
One Twitter user wrote: &#8220;Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily.&#8221;
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Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily🤦🏽‍♂️😒☹️🤯 <a href="https://t.co/jSPd34y2gM">pic.twitter.com/jSPd34y2gM</a>
&mdash; Babyface Kese (@BabyfaceKese) <a href="https://twitter.com/BabyfaceKese/status/1207077670967742465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Another Twitter user added: &#8220;So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett&#8216;s hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez&#8217;s staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can&#8217;t come soon enough!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett&#39;s hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez&#39;s staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can&#39;t come soon enough! <a href="https://t.co/jMi1n0BuSy">pic.twitter.com/jMi1n0BuSy</a>
&mdash; Giselle J. Phelps (@GisellePhelps) <a href="https://twitter.com/GisellePhelps/status/1207070237117603840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Another Twitter user wrote: &#8220;So the black community started off 2019 with the Jussie Smollett, and we’re ending it with Karol Sanchez. Boy I swear&#8230;. can’t win for losing.&#8221;
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So the black community started off 2019 with the Jussie Smollett, and we’re ending it with Karol Sanchez. Boy I swear&#8230;. can’t win for losing. <a href="https://t.co/oO37IXfgHw">pic.twitter.com/oO37IXfgHw</a>
&mdash; Kiana Jackson✨📚 (@kianarenai) <a href="https://twitter.com/kianarenai/status/1207074130253819905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Tariq Nasheed issued a series of tweets on the story, writing: &#8220;Why are all the details so sketchy about this Karol Sanchez abduction case? She has been found safe, but there are zero details about what happened. Who were the suspects? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? How was she found?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Why are all the details so sketchy about this Karol Sanchez abduction case? She has been found safe, but there are zero details about what happened. Who were the suspects? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? How was she found?
&mdash; Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) <a href="https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1207058799997018112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We know this Karol Sanchez story is a hoax now, but things still seem fishy about it. The whole &#8216;sHe wUz sCarEd tO gO BaCk tO HoNdUrAs&#8217; story seems sketchy too. Whats REALLY behind this story?&#8221; Nasheed added. &#8220;We have to watch these non-Foundational Black Americans pulling these types of hoaxes that Karol Sanchez pulled. Because Black Americans somehow end up getting blamed.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We know this Karol Sanchez story is a hoax now, but things still seem fishy about it. The whole &quot;sHe wUz sCarEd tO gO BaCk tO HoNdUrAs&quot; story seems sketchy too.
Whats REALLY behind this story?
&mdash; Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) <a href="https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1207110363709198336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We have to watch these non-Foundational Black Americans pulling these types of hoaxes that Karol Sanchez pulled. Because Black Americans somehow end up getting blamed
&mdash; Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) <a href="https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1207112929478209537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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NYPD car

Group Of Men Kidnap Teen Girl In The Bronx. Police Say The Girl Staged It.

New York City

After being accused of rape and sexual assault, even if a man is found “not guilty” or proven to be innocent, the mere accusation can and will haunt him for life.
People often only hear about the accusation and not the outcome. Those who have been falsely accused struggle intensely with their ordeals. In a recent <a href="http://thewarrzone.blogspot.com/2019/11/no-rehabilitation-for-innocent.html">blog post</a>, Simon Warr – a BBC broadcaster and falsely accused man – details the difficulty that one British man has had since his rape conviction was overturned.
The Daily Wire will not name the man, because his accuser cannot be named. We feel it is unfair to name an innocent person, especially if their accuser enjoys permanent anonymity.
This man, whom we will call John Doe, was charged with raping a woman after a brief sexual relationship. He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison plus lifetime registry as a sex offender. Jurors never heard or saw the full messages between John and his accuser because she had edited them to give a misleading account of their interactions.
It wasn’t until after John was convicted that his sister-in-law began helping him prove his innocence. In doing so, she quickly discovered the full messages, which gave the impression that the sex between John and his accuser was consensual, as he had maintained.
Further, the messages between the two provided a motive for the accuser to lie: She was upset that John did not continue to speak with her after their encounter.
“Of course, the detectives who dealt with the allegations against [John], prior to his being charged, could have found this vital evidence in a matter of minutes, because that is how long it took his sister-in-law to unearth the unedited messages via his Facebook account,” Warr wrote. “But the police officers didn’t bother doing any investigation into his accuser’s very serious allegations, in order to verify whether or not she was telling the truth &#8212; they just presumed she was.”
Armed with the newly discovered evidence, John appealed his conviction and it was overturned. As he left the court a free man, John explained: “[I]t’s always going to smear my name … there’s always going to be people out there who have the doubt.”
Indeed, John’s words were prescient.
As Warr explained, “Innocence in sexual allegation cases, whether established by a jury’s verdict or via the Court of Appeal, means, in reality, next to nothing these days.”
John tried to claim compensation from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice for the false accusation. His claim was denied, based on the following:
The Secretary of State for Justice has concluded that the conviction was not reversed as a result of a new or newly discovered fact that shows beyond reasonable doubt that you did not commit the offence.
Warr asked where are “the charities, think-tanks and social enterprises queuing up to help those blameless folk whose lives have been utterly devastated by cruel and calculating liars, fantasists and fraudsters,” and suggests that men falsely accused of sexual assault and rape are merely “the wrong kind of victim.”
“What a cruel society we can be when dealing with unfashionable minority groups, such as the falsely accused,” Warr concluded.

Man&#8217;s eyes

‘The Wrong Kind Of Victim’: Man Falsely Accused Of Rape Still Struggling With Suspicions

Rape

In late September, a 13-year-old student at Anderson High School in Ohio claimed a teacher at the school grabbed her right arm, unzipped her hoodie, and touched her breasts in a classroom.
The teenager also claimed that when the teacher let her go, he said, “if you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you.”
Neither the teacher nor the student have been named in news reports about the incident. At least one media outlet, <a href="https://www.fox19.com/2019/10/25/charges-filed-against-anderson-student-who-falsely-accused-teacher-sexual-assault/">Fox 19</a>, is still referring to the girl as a “victim” even though she has now been charged with “first degree making false alarms,” a misdemeanor.
The teacher was placed on administrative leave during the investigation, but cleared to return to teaching after police determined the accusations against him were false.
On October 11, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) released <a href="https://www.hcso.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/AndersonTwp-HighSchoolTeacher-10-11-2019.pdf">a statement</a> saying the investigation was concluded.
“As a result of the investigation it was determined that no criminal or inappropriate activity of any kind occurred, and that the alleged incident was fabricated by the accuser. Forest Hills School District and Anderson High School are aware of the situation, and the investigation into the false accusations is ongoing,” the statement said.
On October 25, Sheriff Jim Neil released another <a href="https://www.hcso.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/AndersonTwp-HighSchoolTeacherUpdate-10-25-2019.pdf">statement</a> saying the girl had been charged.
While local media outlets reported on the charges and that the girl had made a false accusation, they did not report what led police to determine she had made up the incident. In response to a Daily Wire inquiry, a spokesman for HCSO said the girl “disclosed the allegations were false.”
Forest Hills Superintendent Scot Prebles <a href="https://www.wlwt.com/article/sheriff-anderson-student-fabricated-sex-assault-claims-against-teacher/29442351">told WLWT5</a> that the school district was “working through” the ordeal.
&#8220;Although we&#8217;ve had a tough day, we&#8217;re all working through it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The repercussions of this do have long term impact.&#8221;
Prebles added that school staff are now “jittery,” due to the false allegations.
“We have a staff who is jittery right now, because this could be done on any day to any one of us,&#8221; Prebles said. &#8220;We&#8217;re also going to make sure that we are supporting our staff member. We have a staff member who has been hurt by an accusation. It was not an accurate accusation.”
As with many false accusations of sexual assault made by women, rather than treating the accuser as a criminal, the school district is concerned with helping her.
&#8220;We&#8217;re going to do everything we can to help our students, to help this particular student, to work with their family, to make sure that they&#8217;re in a good place and they&#8217;re maturing and they&#8217;re growing from this situation,&#8221; Prebles said.
Such consideration is rarely afforded to males who commit misdemeanors.
Since the teenager was only charged with a misdemeanor, despite the serious nature of the allegations, she will likely face community service or a fine, if any punishment at all.
This is common for women who make false accusations of rape and sexual assault, since they are only considered misdemeanors relating to filing a false police report. Making such a false report is a unique kind of crime, however, one that causes severe harm to those falsely accused. The flippancy with which police departments can handle such accusations does nothing to help real victims of sexual assault or the victims of false accusations.

Man head in hands

13-Year-Old Girl Charged After Falsely Accusing Teacher Of Sexual Assault

Education

Sexual Assault

Speculation about whether “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett may yet be charged for orchestrating a hate crime hoax intensified after the two brothers who say the actor hired them to attack him met with the special prosecutor working on the case.
Abel and Ola Osundairo said earlier this year that Smollett hired them to attack him while he was out in Chicago one early, frigid morning so that he could negotiate a higher salary on “Empire.” TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2019/10/05/jussie-smollett-osundairo-brothers-meeting-special-prosecutor/">reported</a> this weekend that the brothers met with Special Prosecutor Dan Webb, who was assigned to look into the deal that allowed Smollett to get off the hook for faking the attack by paying $10,000 and performing 16 hours of community service.
“Sources close to the case tell TMZ &#8230; Abel and Ola met with Dan Webb&#8217;s team this week because the special prosecutor wanted to hear their full story &#8212; their version of Jussie&#8217;s alleged attack,” TMZ reported. “Our sources say the brothers each spent a couple hours with the special prosecutor&#8217;s team.”
Smollett was original indicted on 16 felony accounts for allegedly making up the attack. Smollett had claimed in late January that he went to a Subway sandwich restaurant at two in the morning during a polar vortex. As he was returning home, he claimed, two white men wearing pro-Trump hats attacked him, poured bleach on him, tied a noose around his neck, and shouted racial and homophobic slurs. This account required people to believe there are Trump supporters in Deep Blue Chicago who spend their nights trawling for someone to attack – and that these same people watch “Empire” and knew who Smollett was.
The charges against Smollett were dismissed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said she had recused herself from the case due to a conflict of interest yet <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-prosecutor-kim-foxx-deputies-subpoenaed-emily-zanotti">her influence was still seen</a> in the plea deal. Then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the office’s decision to drop the charges a “whitewash of justice.”
A special prosecutor was appointed to look into how the case unraveled. The City of Chicago is also still looking into ways to force Smollett to repay them for the time and resources spent on investigating the alleged hoax.
TMZ also reported that Webb has his own conflict-of-interest issues, but a Chicago judge ruled Friday that it does not appear as though Webb is biased. Webb had donated $1,000 to Foxx’s campaign and hosted a fundraiser for her.
Page Six <a href="https://pagesix.com/2019/10/05/special-prosecutor-meets-with-nigerian-brothers-in-jussie-smollett-probe/">reported</a> that Webb has the power to reinstate charges against Smollett.
Last week, Smollett <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jussie-smollett-lashes-out-after-being-compared-to-girl-who-faked-hate-crime-i-havent-lied-about-a-thing">lashed out</a> at a self-help guru who compared him to 12-year-old Amari Allen, who had claimed white boys at her school held her down, cut her dreads, and hurled racial slurs at her. After the media incredulously reported her crimes, Allen admitted she made up the story and her grandparents apologized on her behalf.
Smollett claimed he was nothing like Allen despite the similar stories:
<blockquote>With all due respect brother, y’all can clown me all you want but my story has actually never changed and I haven’t lied about a thing. Y’all can continue to be misinformed, internalized sheep, who believe what actual proven liars feed you or you can read the actual docs. Either way, I’mma be alright. I know me and what happened. You don’t. So carry on. All love.</blockquote>

Jussie Smollet

Jussie Smollet May Still Be Charged Over Hate Crime Hoax

Shannon Maley had a seeming vendetta against a 20-year-old man with learning disabilities who was dating her sister. She barely knew him, yet claimed he sexually assaulted her and her friends. Maley then created multiple social media accounts under the young man’s name and sent herself disturbing and threatening messages in order to frame him.
She has since pleaded guilty to “perverting the course of justice and also to harassing witnesses,” The Daily Record <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/coatbridge-man-driven-brink-suicide-20378894">reported</a>.
The young man, who will not be named by The Daily Wire because he is the victim and will instead be referred to as John Doe, told the Record he was on the brink of suicide until he was acquitted last November on five charges of sexual assault. The outlet reported that he “sat on the ledge of his 14th-storey flat window seriously contemplating whether life was worth living because of the vicious lies that had ‘destroyed’ him.”
Maley’s messages to herself included threats “to set you on fire and watch you burn alive” and claims that John was “not going to stop causig [sic] you pain.”
Maley had apparently intimidated her friends into making accusations against John as well. One of those friends eventually admitted that the young man had not sexually assaulted her and that Maley had harassed her and tried to influence their testimony at John’s trial.
John was also accused of sexually assaulting two 15-year-old girls who were also allegedly friends of Maley. A witness explained that John didn’t do what he was accused of doing, leading to acquittal on those charges.
Maley’s story unraveled after she accused John of sending a threatening message while he was in prison without access to the Internet.
No reason has been given for Maley’s vendetta against John, and the young man still fears for his safety.
“It feels like Shannon Maley has destroyed my life. I still can’t walk down Coatbridge Main Street without people shouting abuse at me,” John told the outlet. “I’ve had voicemails from people I don’t even know saying they’re going to blow up my house.”
“Unfortunately, people believe what they see online and it’s a very dangerous situation. I walked free from court and now she’s admitted making up all these messages and telling witnesses what to say,” he added. “She’s an absolute monster.”
John also told the Record that he tried to slit his wrist while he was on remand, which is what led to him being relocated. But he was relocated to an apartment on the 14th floor, and he sat on the ledge and contemplated jumping.
“But I didn’t want to die because of someone else’s lies,” he told the outlet. “I’m happy I didn’t, because now I will hopefully see her punished for ruining my life.”
He said he would like to thank the woman who came forward to admit Maley was lying, but that he still doesn’t “feel safe to walk the streets because of what Maley has made people think about me.”
His mother said that she received angry messages from around the world, including in America, where any accusation made by a woman is supposed to be believed.
“She saw [John] as an easy victim because even though he’s 20, his difficulties mean he has a mind more like a young teenager,” his mother told the Record. “Like [John], I want to see her punished for the devastation she has caused.”

Businesswoman spitting fire

She Accused Him Of Rape. She Then Sent Herself Threatening Messages To Frame Him.

Scotland

Jussie Smollett lashed out this week after being compared to the pre-teen girl who falsely claimed three white boys at her school held her down and cut her dreads.
On Monday, The Shade Room posted a photo on Instagram of its article about the Virginia teenager, Amari Allen, after she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/african-american-girl-claimed-white-classmates-forcibly-cut-her-hair-now-the-truth-is-out">admitted to making up the story</a>. Her grandparents apologized for her lies and the hurt she caused to the three white students she falsely accused.
Self-help guru Derrick Jaxn responded to the post, writing, “Jussie really is a trendsetter [face palm emoji].” The post was an obvious reference to Smollett’s claims earlier this year that two white male supporters of President Donald Trump viciously attacked him in Chicago and placed a noose around his neck. The case was later determined to not be true, as the men were actually of Nigerian descent and knew Smollett personally. The two men said Smollett paid them to orchestrate the hoax.
Jaxn’s comment apparently irked Smollett, who responded:
<blockquote>With all due respect brother, y&#8217;all can clown me all you want but my story has actually never changed and I haven&#8217;t lied about a thing. Y&#8217;all can continue to be misinformed, internalized sheep, who believe what actual proven liars feed you or you can read the actual docs. Either way, I&#8217;mma be alright. I know me and what happened. You don&#8217;t. So carry on. All love.</blockquote>
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<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3DLIfsB4zW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#ClapbackSeason: #JussieSmollett stepped into #TheShadeRoom to let his truth be known! 👀</a>
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Smollett’s claim was ludicrous on its face. It requires one to believe that there are emboldened Trump supporters in Deep Blue Chicago wandering the town at 2 a.m. during a polar vortex with a bottle of bleach and rope just hoping to run into someone they could attack. It also requires one to believe that these two predators watched “Empire” and recognized Smollett as an actor.
Smollett went to a Subway restaurant in the early hours of January 29, 2019. On his way back to his friend’s apartment, the two men allegedly attacked him. He returned to the apartment with the noose still around his neck and his Subway meal intact.
Police investigated Smollett’s claims, eventually learning that two brothers of Nigerian descent were behind the attacks. One had been paid by Smollett for personal training and had been a guest star on “Empire.” The two claimed Smollett paid them to orchestrate the attack and even purchased the red baseball hats they wore that were meant to look like Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats.
Police charged Smollett for staging the attack in an attempt to negotiate a higher salary on “Empire,” but the charges were dropped in what many believe was a corrupt deal. Smollett paid a $10,000 bond and performed 16 hours of community service for his actions, though he maintains his victimhood. The city of Chicago is currently attempting to recover the costs of the investigation into Smollett’s claims.
Last week, media outlets fell for yet another hate crime hoax after a Virginia teenager claimed three white classmates held her down, cut her dreads, and called her hair “nappy.” The teen later admitted she made up the incident.

Jussie Smollett Lashes Out After Being Compared To Girl Who Faked Hate Crime: ‘I Haven’t Lied About A Thing’

Charges have been dropped against an Uber driver accused of raping a woman in April.
In May, the driver, who will not be named by The Daily Wire because he is a victim, was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in his SUV after picking her up as a passenger. He was ordered to be held without bail, based on the woman’s claims.
The woman, who has not been named in news articles, <a href="https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/05/07/uber-driver-rape-charge-melvin-guerrero-encarna-wrentham/">claimed</a> the male Uber driver picked her up after she left a party in Franklin, Massachusetts, early one morning. The woman ordered the Uber because she was too drunk to drive to her friend’s house, CBS Boston reported. The woman claimed the Uber driver stopped short of her destination and then raped her for more than an hour in the back seat of the vehicle. She claimed she received bruises on her arm, leg, and back as a result of the attack.
Uber records showed the 3.53 mile trip did last one hour and 13 minutes, but the driver’s attorney, Robert Carmel-Montes, said the woman had spent the hour talking about her problems.
“There was no assault here,” Carmel-Montes told reporters in May. “I think that the facts will bear out here there’s a predator in this case, but it’s not the man behind bars.”
“I think the facts will bear out that the alleged victim knew exactly what she was doing,” Carmel-Montes continued. “She left him her phone number at the very end of their interaction.”
As to the length of the ride, Carmel-Montes said the woman was “discussing all of her problems with him and she had asked to be dropped off a little bit before her final destination, claiming that there were dogs or something outside and she didn’t want them barking while she was talking to him.”
Four months later, DNA evidence excluded the Uber driver as having committed the alleged rape, and the <a href="https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/09/17/uber-driver-rape-charges-dropped-melvin-guerrero-encarnacion-wrentham/">charges were dropped</a>. He had worked for rideshare companies for five years without incident but was let go as soon as the woman made her allegation.
There is no indication the woman who made the claim will be arrested.
This is not the first ride-hailing driver to be falsely accused of rape. In August, Linda Hood was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50330/she-accused-taxi-driver-rape-tracking-data-proved-ashe-schow">found guilty</a> of perverting the course of justice after she claimed a taxi driver detoured from their route in order to rape her. Tracking data proved no such detour was taken. Hood also claimed the driver who raped her was in his 50s and was clean-shaven, yet the accused driver was 29 and had a full beard. Still, her accusations sent him and another taxi driver with a similar license number to jail for nearly a full day. In this case, DNA also proved the men were not responsible.
Hood maintained her status as a victim for nearly two-and-a-half years before finally accepting her claims were false.
In September 2017, another woman, Sophie Pointon, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/21397/student-jailed-falsely-accusing-taxi-driver-sexual-amanda-prestigiacomo">was sentenced to 16 months in prison</a> after falsely accusing her taxi driver of assaulting her five months earlier. The falsely accused driver proved his innocence with a voice recording, which showed Pointon was “extremely intoxicated and became aggressive after he refused to take her £10 because it was covered in kebab oil,” as reported by The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo.

Carjacking

She Claimed Her Uber Driver Raped Her. DNA Proved It Was A Lie.

Yet another hate-crime hoax attempting to paint President Donald Trump’s supporters as racists.
Former NFL player Edawn Louis Coughman, who played for the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, and Arizona Cardinals between 2012 and 2016, was caught spray-painting pro-Trump and racist graffiti in his own restaurant in an apparent hate-crime hoax.
The New York Daily News <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-ex-nfl-player-painted-slurs-staged-fake-hate-crime-20190914-tpcmt5yl2fbsdb7v2rsm6l47pe-story.html">reported</a> that a “maintenance worker at the shopping plaza where Coughman’s establishment is located saw someone burglarizing the restaurant around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and called the cops.”
Nearby cops saw a black truck driving without a license plate and pulled it over as a possible suspect. Coughman was driving the truck, and police found several suspicious-looking flat-screen TVs.
Cpl. Michele Pihera of the Gwinnett County Police <a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/gwinnett-county/man-accused-of-destroying-his-own-business-in-fake-hate-crime/985998170">told WSB-TV</a> that the TV “brackets were still attached and there was still drywall attached to the brackets, meaning, someone took them off very quickly.”
Police showed up at Coughman’s restaurant and found holes in the wall where the TVs appeared to have been removed. They also found graffiti on the walls saying “monkey,” the n-word, and “MAGA” — a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”
Police also said the paint on the walls was fresh, and Coughman had black spray paint on his hands.
Coughman owns Coughman’s Creamery in Gwinnett County Georgia. Police said the motive for the alleged fake hate crime was not immediately apparent.
“We don&#8217;t know if it was financial motivation or what the case is,&#8221; Pihera told WSB-TV.
Officers quickly became aware that Coughman had reported the incident to his insurance company before he was pulled over.
“He had reported this incident to his insurance company prior to officers conducting that first pull-over,&#8221; Pihera said. &#8220;He was attempting to leave that shopping center when our officers conducted that felony stop. Everything lined up for this perfect arrest.&#8221;
Coughman now faces three charges, including insurance fraud, making a false report, and driving without a license plate.
The faked hate crime comes months after “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett allegedly faked a hate crime against himself in order to negotiate a bigger salary. Smollett said he went to get a sandwich at 2:00 a.m. during a polar vortex in Chicago when two racist, white Trump supporters recognized him and attacked him. The attackers apparently were wandering the frigid streets with a bottle of bleach and some rope and just happened to recognize Smollett – who is also gay. The men allegedly used racial slurs when attacking Smollett and claimed Chicago was “MAGA country.”
Smollett returned to his friend’s apartment with his food intact and called police. When authorities arrived, he was still wearing the noose the men allegedly wrapped around his neck. In reality, the “attackers” were black men from Nigeria who claimed Smollett paid them to orchestrate the attack against him. They provided a check from Smollett and said he told them to purchase red hats to claim the attack was motivated by Trump’s rhetoric. Smollett is currently trying to get out of repaying Chicago for the resources it expended investigating his claim.

Edawn Coughman

Ex-NFL Player Allegedly Staged A Hate Crime By Trashing His Own Restaurant

In a story that&#8217;s quickly gained national attention — and sparked rampant &#8220;hoax&#8221; speculation — a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Illinois was arrested Monday night and charged the next day with a felony hate crime after another student reported that he had hung a rope tied to look like a noose in a residence hall elevator.
&#8220;Andrew Smith, 19, found some rope in the elevator in Allen Hall over the weekend and tied it into a noose, Champaign County Assistant State’s Attorney Kristin Alferink said during the arraignment,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/u-of-illinois-student-arrested-after-noose-found-in-elevator/">Associated Press</a> reported Tuesday. &#8220;University spokeswoman Robin Kaler said students in the hall on the Urbana campus reported finding the noose early Sunday.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Judge Roger Webber set 19-year-old Andrew Smith’s bond at $5,000 and scheduled another hearing for Oct. 22.<a href="https://t.co/H6VX97EwEq">https://t.co/H6VX97EwEq</a>
— CBS 42 (@CBS_42) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBS_42/status/1169032329257525248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Reports of the noose exploded online, students taking to social media to post about the incident. Smith became a suspect when another student, whom <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/illinois-student-charged-hate-crime-after-noose-found-hanging-dorm-n1049606">NBC News</a> describes as &#8220;female friend&#8221; of Smith&#8217;s, told authorities that she was with him when he tied the noose.
After he was arrested, Smith admitted that he did tie and hang up the noose, saying he &#8220;only spent about 30 seconds thinking about his actions,&#8221; AP reports. Even after he saw the noose go viral online, he said he didn&#8217;t think his actions were serious enough to turn himself in to authorities.
&#8220;No motive has been provided for the purported display of hate,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7425635/Illinois-college-student-faces-hate-crime-charge-hanging-noose-residence-hall.html">The Daily Mail</a> reports.
Smith was charged Tuesday with a felony hate crime and misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges. He pleaded not guilty. He was released on a $5,000 bond and his hearing was scheduled for October 22.
Smith is a math major with a 3.79 GPA and what his attorney says are enough credits to graduate this year.
Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a statement online responding to the incident. &#8220;I&#8217;m committed to fighting intolerance and bigotry everywhere in our state and building a culture of learning at our universities that serves all students,&#8221; the governor <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/gma/illinois-college-student-charged-hate-crime-placing-noose-025842342--abc-news-topstories.html?soc_src=community&amp;soc_trk=tw">wrote</a> Tuesday. &#8220;Hate has no place in Illinois or in its educational institutions, and I’m glad swift action was taken to address this incident.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">I’m committed to fighting intolerance and bigotry everywhere in our state and building a culture of learning at our universities that serves all students.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/1168996053636567040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Since the story began to gain traction <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=student%20noose%20hoax&amp;src=typd">online</a>, speculation about the potential motive of the incident took off, with many describing it as a another &#8220;hate crime hoax,&#8221; while some claimed that the student&#8217;s appearance suggested that he might be &#8220;transgender,&#8221; though no official reports describe the crime as a hoax or identify Smith as transgender.
The incident comes amid heightened racial tensions on campus, as reported by the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-university-of-illinois-noose-20190903-otb7gdnw3bdrrobsvnetjnbscm-story.html">Chicago Tribune</a>. &#8220;In 2016, someone drew three large swastikas at three campus buildings the same year a university employee was fired for tossing a noose down on a table in front of a black employee,&#8221; the Tribune reports. &#8220;Early this year, black employees in the U. of I. system filed a <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5699676-Racial-Harassment-Lawsuit-UIUC-January-2019.html">lawsuit</a> saying they were &#8216;exposed to threats of racial violence, such as nooses, swastikas, KKK garb, racist graffiti and confederate flags.&#8217; The lawsuit also alleged that university staff members used racial slurs and other racially charged language against black workers.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51382/smollett-lawyers-make-last-ditch-argument-try-get-james-barrett">Smollett Lawyers Make New Last-Ditch Argument To Try To Get Lawsuit Dismissed</a>

Student boy riding bicycle on campus of the University of Illinois.

Student Charged With Felony Hate Crime For Making ‘Noose’; Sparks ‘Hoax’ Theories

In a last-ditch effort to get a $130,000 lawsuit filed by the City of Chicago dismissed, the lawyers of Jussie Smollett filed a motion Tuesday night that tries to make the case that even if a suspect files a false police report, as authorities say Smollett has done, that person can&#8217;t be held liable for the bill of a &#8220;sprawling&#8221; investigation.
Despite significant evidence indicating that he staged a fake hate crime against himself with the help of two of his acquaintances, who confessed as much to authorities, Smollett and his lawyers have adamantly maintained that he is innocent of all charges and that &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51162/jussie-smollett-pr-team-every-iota-hate-crime-paul-bois">every iota</a>&#8221; of his claim to police is true. Smollett told authorities he was attacked by Trump-supporting racists who doused him with bleach, assaulted him, and put a rope around his neck, a story he also told the public and his former &#8220;Empire&#8221; co-stars.
In a 12-page court filing Tuesday night, his legal representatives declared his &#8220;innocence&#8221; again and accused the city of engaging in a &#8220;vindictive&#8221; lawsuit. But they also added a new argument.
&#8220;This unprecedented civil case was filed simply because former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel disagreed with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s decision to dismiss the false police report charges against Mr. Smollett,&#8221; Smollett&#8217;s lawyer William Quinlan said in the motion, as reported by <a href="https://pagesix.com/2019/09/04/jussie-smolletts-lawyer-calls-chicagos-130k-lawsuit-vindictive/">Page Six</a>.
&#8220;Mr. Smollett has always maintained and continues to maintain his innocence,&#8221; the filing asserts. &#8220;Yet the City’s claims and purported damages are a vindictive effort to prosecute charges that the State’s Attorney pursued and then chose to drop.&#8221;
While their adamant insistence on his innocence is nothing new, Smollett&#8217;s team added a new wrinkle on Tuesday, as pointed out by <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2019/9/4/20848715/jussie-smollett-chicago-police-probe-lawsuit-gay-homophobic-attack">The Chicago Sun-Times</a>&#8216; Michael Sneed. &#8220;[T]he latest court filing contends even if Smollett did make a false report, there is no way the city can assert he would have known the city would investigate — and investigate it to the extent cops did,&#8221; Sneed notes.
&#8220;The mere fact somebody filed a police report doesn’t presume the investigation will be done and certainly not to the extent of what the city is claiming,&#8221; Quinlan argues in the filing. &#8220;Smollett has no control over that.&#8221;
&#8220;The filing of a police report, in and of itself, does not necessitate a sprawling investigation nor does it, as a practical matter, usually result in an investigation as extensive as the one the CPD chose to undertake in this case,&#8221; reads the motion, as highlighted by Sneed, adding: &#8220;The City has failed to allege that Mr. Smollett was similarly &#8216;well aware&#8217; that his statements to police would result in 1,836 hours of police overtime, or any other reasons why he should have known this would have been the case.&#8221;
Quinlan makes sure to maintain a sense of optimism about the case, declaring that it&#8217;s &#8220;going to be very difficult for the city to prevail in making a case my client should pay for overtime for a case ultimately dismissed by the state’s attorney,&#8221; and that it&#8217;s &#8220;ridiculous and a stretch to require him to do so.&#8221;
The city, which has made clear its determination to follow through on the case abruptly dropped by Cook County State&#8217;s Attorney Kim Foxx, apparently feels otherwise. As for Foxx, two weeks ago, Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appointed a special prosecutor, former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb, to lead the investigation into how Foxx&#8217;s office handled Smollett&#8217;s case.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50967/breaking-special-prosecutor-appointed-jussie-ryan-saavedra">Special Prosecutor Appointed In Jussie Smollett Investigation</a>

jussie_smollett_gi

Smollett Lawyers Make New Last-Ditch Argument To Try To Get Lawsuit Dismissed

Rahm Emanuel

A British woman who claimed she was raped by a taxi driver was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to three years in prison for making her false accusation.
Laura Hood, 27, claimed in 2017 that a taxi driver attacked her and raped her in the back of his cab. On the night of the alleged attack, Hood “hysterically told her mother she had been sexually assaulted and then informed police she was attacked in the back of a black cab in a side-street,” according to British news outlet <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2019-06-26/woman-faces-prison-after-falsely-claiming-a-taxi-driver-raped-her/">ITV</a>.
The driver, who will not be named by The Daily Wire, was arrested and held in custody for 20 hours while police investigated Hood’s claims. A second man was also arrested because his taxi’s registration number was similar to the first driver’s. The second man was held for 14 hours in police custody. Both men provided DNA samples to prove their innocence.
Hood’s story fell apart due to vehicle tracker data. She had claimed the driver had made a detour to attack her, yet the data showed no such detours apart from one where Hood exited the vehicle to use an ATM. Hood also claimed the driver who raped her was in his 50s, yet the driver was only 29. She also said her attacker had no facial hair, yet the accused man had a full beard.
Despite the evidence disproving her claim, for two-and-a-half years, Hood maintained that she had been raped — even through her trial. She cried on the witness stand and said the sexual assault examination she underwent after the alleged incident was “awful,” ITV reported. She also said she had “absolutely no idea” how male DNA on her underwear didn’t belong to either of the men named in the case.
Hood finally accepted that her claims were false at the end of her trial, saying: “I wish I knew. I wish I could explain why something so clear in my head &#8230; obviously it can&#8217;t be true.&#8221;
A forensic psychiatrist told the court there was no medical or psychiatric reason why Hood should have believed she was raped when she wasn’t.
Hood cried as she was found guilty of perverting the course of justice at the end of June.
Judge Julie Warburton thanked the jury and told them, “It is quite apparent to me that it has not been easy for any of you.&#8221;
The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-49197716">reported</a> that Warburton said during Hood’s sentencing on August 1 that what she did “strikes at the very heart of criminal justice.”
“It has a tendency to damage the public perception of justice and can impact on the administration of justice in rape cases generally,&#8221; Warburton added, according to the BBC.
Defense attorney Thomas McKail said Hood had been mildly depressed and used alcohol and drugs to cope with her troubles, but Warburton argued that she had to “balance those mitigating factors against the impact on two innocent men.&#8221;
The main suspect said he didn’t know if he could ever fully recover from the false accusation, according to ITV.
“It still affects me in my day-to-day life. I don&#8217;t know if I will ever come back fully from this,” he said. “Before this incident I was a strong person. However, I&#8217;m now negative and worry that things can go wrong. This is the most disgusting thing that anyone can be accused of. When I pick up single female passengers I always worry that something could happen again.”

Laura Hood

She Accused A Taxi Driver Of Rape. Tracking Data Proved It Didn’t Happen.

The military and social media websites like Facebook still have not gotten a handle on dating scammers using photos of military servicemen to catfish unsuspecting women.
Last year, various media outlets reported on stories from servicemen who all told a similar story: Out of nowhere, they would receive a message from a woman they didn’t know saying they missed them or expressing anger over not hearing from them.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2018/06/11/veterans-facebook-photos-were-used-to-catfish-women/">reported</a> the story of U.S. Army veteran Albert Lovato, who began receiving messages from women who claimed to love him, scold him for leaving her, or even asking about the money she sent them. Lovato told the Post that he knew of about 30 women who had been conned by someone posing as him.
Task &amp; Purpose around the same time <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/military-romance-scams-bryan-denny">reported</a> a similar story for Bryan Denny. Denny also received a message from a woman he didn’t know who had been in an online relationship with an imposter. The Denny this woman knew had lost his wife and had an ill son. She helped him out with medical costs and home repairs. She had sent the imposter thousands of dollars.
Denny found nearly 100 imposter accounts on Facebook using his photo.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command has <a href="https://www.cid.army.mil/romancescam.html">a website</a> where people can report similar scammers, “warning anyone who is involved in online dating to proceed with caution when corresponding with persons claiming to be U.S. Soldiers currently serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria or elsewhere.”
CID said it “receives hundreds of allegations a month from victims who state they got involved in an online relationship with someone, on a legitimate dating website or other social media website, who claims to be a U.S. Soldier.”
The website also states that “numerous task force organizations” have been established to handle the problem, but it appears to still be an issue.
On Friday, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/magazine/facebook-love-scam-military.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes">published</a> the account of Daniel Anonsen, a Marine Corps veteran who, like Lovato and Denny, had his pictures stolen to scam women. Anonsen told the outlet that Facebook refused to remove most of the imposter accounts, claiming they didn’t violate the network’s rules. Anonsen tried going to his platoon commanders and intelligence officers while he was still enlisted, but they couldn’t help either.
“I let them work their military-intelligence magic, and I went back to them, and they’re like: ‘We can’t do anything about it, man. It’s out of our hands,’” he told the Times. “I thought military intelligence would be able to type a couple of zeros and ones and it would all go away, but it’s not that simple.”
The Times reported that Anonsen’s imposters are still on Facebook and Instagram. The experience has made him nervous that he may be confronted in public by one of the scammer’s victims.
“The worst thing to ever think of is sitting down at dinner with my wife and someone just approaching me and just going after me,” he told the Times. “I think about it regularly when I’m out.”

Scammers Are Using Stolen Photos Of Service Members To Catfish People On Social Media

Military

Last year, three scholars <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/36645/scholars-publish-absurd-gender-studies-papers-ashe-schow">submitted fake research papers</a> to various journals in an effort to show that sanity and reason go out the window when it comes to gender issues. The hoax was a success, with seven out of 20 papers accepted for publication (four were published before the hoax was exposed) and seven more were under review. Just six were rejected.
After the hoax was revealed, one of the scholars, Portland State University philosophy professor Peter Boghossian, was investigated by his employer for alleged ethics violations relating to his research project, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/41887/professor-who-published-fake-gender-studies-papers-ashe-schow">reported</a>. Last week, Boghossian received the final results of the investigation, which concluded he did not violate any standards pertaining to the ethical treatment of animals, nor did he plagiarize, fabricate, or falsify any research. PSU did find, however, that Boghossian had violated norms relating to “human subjects’ rights and protection.”
Boghossian’s research papers were fake. There were no actual test subjects for the papers. The &#8220;test subjects&#8221; were the people who accepted the papers without thoroughly reviewing them.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Boghossian posted the letter from Mark McLellan, PSU’s vice president for research and graduate studies, which detailed the findings and his punishment. For allegedly violating the rights of human test subjects, Boghossian was ordered to complete “training specified by the Director of Research Compliance prior to any future work regarding human subjects” and banning him “from any future human subjects work” and “all sponsored research” until he completed that training.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Attached is the outcome of Portland State University’s disciplinary investigation into my Grievance Studies probe. (1) <a href="https://t.co/pS5BJnWCZr">pic.twitter.com/pS5BJnWCZr</a>
— Peter Boghossian (@peterboghossian) <a href="https://twitter.com/peterboghossian/status/1153676804302860291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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McLellan wrote in his letter that he had previously told Boghossian to take the training, yet the philosophy professor had not done so. Because of this, Boghossian is now “forbidden” from engaging “in any human subjects related research as principal investigator, collaborator or contributor.” The ban will remain until he completes the training and demonstrates his understanding of the rights of human subjects to the university. Boghossian is also “forbidden” from engaging “in any sponsored research as principal investigator, collaborator or contributor” until he completes the training and proves his understanding.
McLellan concluded his letter by admonishing Boghossian’s “integrity” and ethics.
“I believe the results of this office’s review of your research behavior raises concerns regarding a lack of academic integrity, questionable ethical behavior and employee breach of rules,” McLellan wrote (emphasis original). He added that he was sending a copy of the letter to Boghossian’s supervisors and PSU’s president for “the consideration of an appropriate academic and/or administrative review.”
In a documentary posted in January, Boghossian’s collaborators, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, discussed the academic review. Lindsay told Boghossian the review was “Orwellian,” as their hoax was essentially an “audit” of the Gender Studies community — not research.
Indeed, the most famous fake paper from Boghossian, Pluckrose, and Lindsay insisted that dog parks promote “rape culture.” The paper was so absurd that then-Campus Reform reporter Tori Airaksinen looked into it and discovered the “author” had lied about her credentials. Various other media outlets picked up the story and Airaksinen’s reporting, which led the scholars to expose their hoax early.
Other studies that were accepted for publication included one that suggested we stop praising people who build muscle instead of those who build fat, another that encouraged men to anally self-penetrate to “decrease transphobia and increase feminist values,” and another that claimed men went to “breastaurants” such as Hooters “because they are nostalgic for patriarchal dominance and enjoy being able to order attractive women around.”

He Helped Expose The Absurdity Of Gender Studies And Was Investigated For Misconduct By His University. Here Are The Results.

Gender

Over the weekend, Georgia Democratic State Rep. Erica Thomas posted a video to social media accusing a &#8220;white man&#8221; of telling her to &#8220;go back&#8221; to where she &#8220;came from&#8221; for being in an express checkout lane with more items than she was allowed.
&#8220;People are getting really out of control with this — with this white privilege stuff,&#8221; Thomas says in the video, sobbing uncontrollably. &#8220;I&#8217;m at the grocery store … and this white man comes up to me and says, &#8216;You lazy son of a b****, you need to go back where you came from.[&#8216;] … And it hurt me so bad. … All I could tell him was please leave me alone. And my child was just sitting there, and she said, &#8216;Mama, why would he call you that, why would he do that?&#8217; I can&#8217;t even explain to her why he had so much hate in his heart.&#8221;
WATCH:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>:
Your racism is inciting hatred all over America&#8230;
You have torn our nation apart—but we will come together in 2020 to defeat you.
By the way she is <a href="https://twitter.com/itsericathomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@itsericathomas</a> &amp; she is more American than you will ever be.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithErica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IStandWithErica</a> <a href="https://t.co/vmjoNanpO7">pic.twitter.com/vmjoNanpO7</a>
— Ryan Knight (@ProudResister) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProudResister/status/1152618892826558464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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But once the man in the alleged incident came forward to refute the claims made by Thomas, the state representative changed her story.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to say he said &#8216;go back to your country&#8217; or &#8216;go back to where you came from,&#8217; but he was making those types of references is what I remember,&#8221; Thomas said.
The &#8220;white man&#8221; she accused of saying such things told reporters he called Thomas a &#8220;lazy (expletive)&#8221; but never told her to go back to where she came from. &#8220;This woman is playing the victim for political purposes because she is a state legislator,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m a Democrat and will vote Democrat for the rest of my life, so call me whatever you want to believe. For her political purposes, make it black, white, brown, whatever. It is untrue.&#8221;
The left-leaning media, of course, jumped on the story; the recent string of &#8220;hate hoaxes&#8221; from the likes of Jussie Smollett and the Covington High School debacle did not serve as an effective reminder to be skeptical and wait for evidence.
Additionally, Democrat presidential candidates jumped on the story for political gain, though their knee-jerk reactions are now prompting blowback.
Failed Senate candidate Robert &#8220;Beto&#8221; O&#8217;Rourke, a Democrat from Texas, tied the alleged interaction to President Donald Trump.
&#8220;These are the consequences of a president who foments hate every day—and sees our diversity not as a strength but as a weakness. Erica, thank you for serving your state and thanks to your husband for serving our country. We are better than this, and together, we will prove it,&#8221; posted O’Rourke.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">These are the consequences of a president who foments hate every day—and sees our diversity not as a strength but as a weakness. Erica, thank you for serving your state and thanks to your husband for serving our country. We are better than this, and together, we will prove it. <a href="https://t.co/eCrdZFgAPl">https://t.co/eCrdZFgAPl</a>
— Beto O&#8217;Rourke (@BetoORourke) <a href="https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1152623895964524545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, linked Thomas’ claims to Trump, too.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear: this is on [Donald Trump] and every single person who refuses to condemn his vile racism,&#8221; he said in a tweet.
In another post, the Democrat said, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It begins with a tweet. Then a chant. Now a racist attack on a 9-month pregnant lawmaker and military wife just trying to feed her family.”
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Let’s be clear: this is on <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> and every single person who refuses to condemn his vile racism. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithErica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IStandWithErica</a> <a href="https://t.co/Asx5kZaqbs">https://t.co/Asx5kZaqbs</a>
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) <a href="https://twitter.com/BilldeBlasio/status/1152638775996178445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Democrat Presidential Candidates Push Erica Thomas ‘Hate Hoax’

Beto O'Rourke

Bill de Blasio

Race

A Philadelphia man is now free from prison after spending 28 years behind bars for a murder prosecutors now say he likely didn’t commit.
Chester Hollman III was sentenced to life in prison for the 1991 killing of University of Pennsylvania student Tae-Jung Ho. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this week that the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office found that police and prosecutors “had hidden evidence that pointed to more viable suspects.” There was no physical evidence indicating Hollman was involved in the crime, yet the testimony of two witnesses — who later recanted — helped get him convicted.
“It was pretty clear to us,&#8221; said Assistant District Attorney Patricia Cummings, “that unfortunately the Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office actually had evidence in their possession back at the time of trial [that], had they disclosed it to the defense that they’re constitutionally and ethically required to do … Mr. Hollman might not have ever even stood trial.”
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright made the recent ruling that freed Hollman, concluding he was “likely innocent” of the crime for which he was serving a life sentence. As the Inquirer reported, this was a “stunning reversal” from her ruling in 2012, in which she said Hollman would not receive a new trial. That ruling came after Deirdre Jones, a key witness for the prosecution, admitted that she lied to jurors in 1993.
“Jones had told them she had been riding in an SUV with Hollman and two others that night in 1991 when she watched two of them get out and heard a gunshot,” the outlet reported. “Jones, who was then a neighbor of Hollman’s, has since said that police had pressured her to incriminate Hollman. David Baker, the now-retired detective who took Jones’ original statement, denied in the 2012 hearing — and again in a 2017 interview with The Inquirer — that he had coerced her testimony.”
Another witness — a man — also recanted his testimony years after Hollman’s conviction, claiming police pressured him to point the finger at Hollman.
Hollman’s case was helped in 2017 by the Inquirer when it mentioned his case in an article about “the pervasive practice of lying in the criminal justice system — by suspects, witnesses, and law enforcement.” The “Undisclosed” podcast also highlighted Hollman’s case, which his appeals attorney, Alan Tauber, said helped his client.
“This is a glorious day,&#8221; Tauber said after Hollman was released from jail. “We have a flawed system and innocent people do go to jail. But we have a great system, because there is a means for correcting that.”
The Inquirer also reported that Hollman’s release “is the eighth murder conviction that the Conviction Integrity Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has helped to reverse since Larry Krasner took over the office in January 2018.”
Not every police department has something like the Conviction Integrity Unit, and the process to overturn a conviction — especially one for a serious charge — is long and arduous. Yet Hollman’s case shows that it is possible for innocent people to get the justice they deserved. Hollman was 20 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison. He is now 48 and just getting to start living the life that was previously taken away from him.

‘LIKELY INNOCENT’: Man Released After Spending 28 Years In Prison For Murder He Didn’t Commit

Crime

A Pennsylvania woman who falsely accused two State Police troopers of rape was sentenced to just 23 months in prison for her crimes. She likely won’t even serve the full sentence.
False rape accusations are classified simply as filing false police reports, which is what Christine Cromer, 38, was charged with, along with unsworn falsification. The Citizens’ Voice, a news outlet for Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/cromer-sentenced-to-jail-for-false-rape-claims-on-troopers-1.2506383">reported</a> that Cromer was convicted in April and that Assistant District Attorney Angela Sperrazza argued for the woman to face jail time since her claims damaged the troopers’ reputations.
“This wasn’t one lie,” Sperrazza reportedly said. “This was continuous lies.”
Cromer and her husband were both arrested in April 2018 for drug trafficking charges. She had already been accused of falsely accusing the troopers of rape in 2017, and he had previously been arrested for allegedly handcuffing Cromer to a radiator and abusing her, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/698742/couple-embroiled-in-trooper-rape-accusations-now-face-drug-charges">The Times Leader reported</a>.
Cromer had claimed a State Police officer raped her in the front seat of his patrol car outside Mohegan Sun Pocono, the casino where she worked as a cocktail waitress. As the Voice reported, Cromer then changed her story and made the accusations against a different trooper who had interviewed her while investigating her claims against the first officer.
“Prosecutors alleged Cromer fabricated the rape allegations to retaliate on behalf of her husband, a former member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club who had been kicked out of Mohegan Sun Pocono,” the outlet reported.
At trial, Cromer claimed she had been romantically involved with the first officer she accused while her marriage was in turmoil. She said he raped her after she tried to end the relationship. As to her second allegation, Cromer claimed she misidentified the second officer during a “lineup” because she wasn’t wearing her glasses.
The jury didn’t buy it and deliberated for about 30 minutes before finding Cromer guilty.
In 2017, left-wing outlet The Daily Kos <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/15/1724845/-A-Pennsylvania-woman-might-have-been-inspired-by-MeToo-to-frame-men">suggested</a> Cromer made her accusations after being inspired by the #MeToo movement, which insisted any claim against a man made by a woman must be instantly believed, implying investigation into claims was disrespectful to accusers.
Despite the damage Cromer caused to the troopers’ lives, she faces little jail time. Had the men gone to trial or, worse, been convicted of her false allegations (which happens), they would have faced years or decades in jail.
Cromer joins a long line of women who have falsely accused men of rape only to be sentenced to a year or two in prison, if they receive a prison sentence at all. In June 2018, Mary Zolkowski spent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/32474/woman-who-lied-about-being-raped-college-campus-amanda-prestigiacomo">just 45 days</a> in jail after falsely claiming she was raped. Nikki Yovino, who infamously and falsely claimed two Sacred Heart University football players raped her, was sentenced to just one year in prison.
Falsely accusing someone of rape is not its own crime. In Alabama, State Rep. E. Richard “Dickie” Drake (R-Leeds) has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47977/alabama-bill-aims-punish-false-accusations-rape-ashe-schow">introduced a bill</a> trying to make it one and separate it from filing a false police report because false rape accusations cause permanent damage to innocent people.

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