There’s no denying that there are racially motivated hate crimes in the United States. Unfortunately, many of the hate crimes that have been reported have been proven to be nothing more than an elaborate hoax. And what makes matters worse is the fact that Trump supporters are receiving most of the blame.
Once Trump was elected, a church that recognizes same-sex marriages in Brown County, Indiana, was supposedly vandalized with anti-gay slurs, swastikas, and the words “Heil Trump.” Later, it was proven that the “hate crime,” which received widespread media attention and created fear in the hearts of those in the community at St. David’s Episcopal Church, was a complete hoax. The person at the center of the hoax was the church’s gay organ player George Nathaniel Stang. He faced a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief for vandalization.
Approximately one week before the 2016 presidential election, a historic black church in Greenville, Mississippi was set on fire during a supposed hate crime. The words “Vote Trump” were found on the outside of the burnt down building. An investigation revealed that a Trump supporter was not to blame, instead, it was a black member of the church named Andrew McClinton. He was charged with first-degree arson on a place of worship.
In 2016, a Muslim student at the University of Louisiana claimed that two white Trump supporters attacked her and stole her hijab. Her story went viral, but the Lafayette Police Department proved that the story was made up. The college student’s identity wasn’t revealed and the university said they couldn’t comment on whether or not she was going to face disciplinary action.
Days after the massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Trump supporters received backlash for Nazi vandalism at a synagogue in Brooklyn as well as fires in a Jewish community. As it turns out, the suspect was a black man named James Polite who worked for and became extremely close to the New York City council speaker, Christine Quinn. He faced four counts of making graffiti and criminal mischief as a hate crime.
Election Day in 2016 caused Trump’s name to be brought up once again in relation to a string of anti-Semitic graffiti that were found all across Nassau Community College in Long Island. The suspect was a 20-year-old student named Jasskirat Saini. Authorities have said that the perpetrator drew 110 different swastikas, along with the words “KKK” and “Heil Hitler,” as a response to what he believed to were insults from the Jewish community.
Khalil Cavil, a waiter in Texas, went viral after posting a racist note that he said was given to him by a customer. The note, which was left on the table at Saltgrass Steak House, called Khalil a terrorist. Before Khali admitted to writing the note, the restaurant banned the customers for life. Khalil later said: “I don’t have an explanation. I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did.”
In December of 2016, a Muslim woman lied about being attacked on a subway by three different white supporters of Trump in New York City. She claimed that the men had attempted to rip off her hijab while screaming the words “Trump! Trump!” The perpetrator, 18-year-old Yasmin Seweid, was charged with filing a false report and for obstructing governmental administration, which are both misdemeanor charges.
In September of 2018, 19-year-old Adwoa Lewis lied to the police about there being a hateful note on her car, as well as a slashed tire. She claimed that a group of teens yelled “Trump 2016” at her and told her that she “didn’t belong here.”Lewis admitted that she was the one who wrote the note and placed it in her car. She was charged with faking a punishable written statement.
Students from Goucher College demanded social justice training in safe spaces in November of 2018, when racist Nazi and KKK graffiti was found on the campus. The person even wrote the names of certain black students. Of course, Trump supporters were blamed. Fynn Arthur, 21, was charged after he confessed to the crime.
In November of 2016, Philadelphia woman Ashley Boyer claimed that she was harassed at a gas station by white men who supported Trump. She even claimed that one of the men had pulled a weapon on her. She went on to explain that the men “proceeded to talk about the election and how they’re glad they won’t have to deal with n—–s much longer.” After the story went viral, she deleted her post and claimed that the men had been caught. The police later found out that she was lying about the whole thing.
In an attempt to stage a hate crime, David Williams, a resident of Denton, Texas, set his own car on fire and painted racial slurs on his garage. With his wife by his side, they created a GoFundMe page and collected over $5,000 from unsuspecting people. Eventually, their hoax was exposed.
In May of 2017, students from St. Olaf College in Minnesota held protests and boycotted their classes after finding racist notes that targeted black students. It later came out that a black student was responsible for the notes and they had done it to “draw attention to concerns about the campus climate.”
In September 2017, several racist notes were found at the Air Force Academy’s preparatory school. One of the notes read: “Go home n***er.” Lt. Gen. Jay B Silveria, the superintendent of the school, addressed the racist notes in a passionate speech that immediately went viral. The name of the perpetrator was never released to the public.
In November os 2017, a Kansas City University student named Dauntarius Williams filed a police report stating that someone had graffitied racist words on his car. The student later admitted to writing “Go Home N***** Boy” and “Whites Only,” all over his own vehicle.
A student from Drake University, who claimed to be targeted by racist notes, admitted to writing the notes themselves. The president of the university, Marty Martin, said: “The fact that the actions of the student who has admitted guilt were propelled by motives other than hate does not minimize the worry and emotional harm they caused, but should temper fears.”
