While hate crimes are a definite reality of today’s society, fake hate crimes are just as real. This growing trend can lead to a “boy who cried wolf” situation. When enough hate crime hoaxes surface, people become wary of the next person who claims to be a hate crime victim, even if it’s true. So here are some instances when faux victims cried hate crime and we totally fell for it every single time.Alexander Berent and Oxana Berent claimed their restaurant had been defaced by swastikas and racist graffiti, which led cops to investigate. The Jewish community also got together and planned a prayer vigil. But the event was later canceled after the Winnipeg police stated they found evidence that the whole thing was staged. The family is sticking to their story.
Taylor Volk was an out and proud bisexual senior at North Park University. Following Trump’s election victory in November 2016, she claimed she received a bunch of hateful emails and notes. She even went on record with NBC News where she stated: “I just want them to stop.” But it turns out that she had made it all up.
The University of Michigan student claimed that a man had threatened to set her on fire shortly after Donald Trump’s presidential win in November 2016. The aggressor was allegedly a 20-something unkempt man. But despite the lack of evidence, the Center for American-Islamic Relations and the university condemned the attack. But it turns out the whole thing was a sham.
Ashley Boyer claimed that a couple of white men, who were Trump supporters, started bugging her while she was at a gas station in Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. They allegedly made threats to her life and claimed it was fortunate there were witnesses around. But it was only a matter of time before justice prevailed… or did it?
Charges had supposedly been filed, but spokespersons for the Delaware State Police, New Castle County police, Dover police and Smyrna police claimed they had not heard about the incident and no charges were filed. There wasn’t even a record of anyone dialing 911 to report the incident. So, if the crime did occur, cops certainly aren’t aware of it.
Yasmin Seweid claimed she was on a New York subway when she was attacked by Trump supporters. She also stated that the onlookers on the subway didn’t lift a finger to help her as these racists tried yanking her hijab off her head and rip her bag away while screaming racial slurs at the helpless Muslim woman.
Seweid sounded disheartened by the fact that these men couldn’t see that she was as American as they were and she urged everyone to stay safe in her post. But cops had failed to find any evidence of the alleged crime and Seweid eventually confessed she lied. The 18-year-old was then arrested for filing a false report.
Dauntarius Williams led everyone to believe that someone had written incredibly racists words on the back of his windshield. The vehicle had been parked near Kansas State University and it had explicit words like “Whites Only.” He also filed a police report. But Williams later stated that it was a Halloween prank that got out of control.
Native American activist Nathan Phillips claimed that Covington High School student Nick Sandmann and his friends blocked him as he tried leaving a Native-inspired march. Phillips later changed his story and claimed he was mediating a dispute between the students and four Black Hebrew Israelites. But it turned out to be false. Sandmann is in the process of suing NBC and CNN for $275 million for attacking his character.
Anna Ayers pled no contest to falsely claiming she received two threatening notes at her Student Senate office and one at her residence because she identified as a member of the LGBTQ community. A judge overruled her 30-day jail sentence provided that Ayers does community service and doesn’t break the law for the next two years.
Smollett claimed two guys yelled racial and homophobic slurs and threw bleach on him. They also put a rope around his neck and left him a terrible state. Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts by the Grand Jury, but the charges were dropped by Kim Foxx, the Cook County state’s attorney.
The letter, dated March 28, 2019, also states: “If the amount is not timely paid, the Department of Law may prosecute you for making a false statement to the City.”
