Three SUNY Albany students who ‘faked’ a race-hate attack appear in court charged with assault

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[h=1]Three SUNY Albany students who ‘faked’ a race-hate attack appear in court charged with assault[/h]

• Alexis Briggs, Ariel Agudio and Asha Burwell, all 20, appeared at Albany City Criminal Court today
• They all pleaded non guilty to charges of assault
• Two have also been charged with falsely reporting an incident
• All three claimed they were victims of a racial attack on a bus last month
• Said white classmates called them racial slurs and ganged up on them
• Police said there was only one victim, an unnamed passenger, 19, who was allegedly assaulted by Briggs, Agudio and Burwell

By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTERS
PUBLISHED: 01:10, 1 March 2016 | UPDATED: 06:58, 1 March 2016

 

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Three University at Albany students who claimed they were victims of a racial attack on a bus last month have been charged with assault as prosecutors said they were actually the aggressors.
Alexis Briggs, Ariel Agudio and Asha Burwell, all 20 years old, appeared at Albany City Criminal Court today for their arraignment.
All three have pleaded non-guilty to charges of assault in the third degree, CNN reported. Burwell and Agudio have also pleaded not guilty to falsely reporting the incident.
They claimed they were attacked on a Capital District Transportation Authority bus on January 30, but prosecutors say they actually assaulted a 19-year-old woman early that Saturday.

 

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Asha Burwell, 20, pictured leaving the front of the judge's bench at Albany City Criminal Court on Monday, was charged with assault in the third degree, harassment and falsely reporting an incident

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Ariel Agudio, 20, pictured at Albany City Criminal Court on Monday, faces counts of assaults in the third degree, falsely reporting an incident, harassment, attempted assault and attempted criminal mischief

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Alexis Briggs, pictured during her arraingment at Albany City Criminal Court on Monday, has been charged with assault in the third degree. All three women have entered not-guilty pleas

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The three SUNY Albany students claimed they were victims of a racial attack last month but prosecutors say they were actually the agressors. Footage from the attack was released last week

 

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'The evidence indicates they were actually the aggressors in the physical altercation, and that they continued to assault the victim despite the efforts of several passengers to stop them,' police said in a statement.
In addition to the charges of assault and false reporting, Agudio faces counts of attempted assault, harassment and criminal mischief, CNN reported.
Burwell has also been charged with harassment. The false reporting charges are a result of the 911 phone calls she and Agudio made after the incident.




They have both been released and will be supervised by the Department of Probation. Briggs, who requested a public defender according to the Albany Times Union, was released with a 9pm curfew.
'These charges would have a profound impact on the community, and in fact if proven, are shameful,' Judge Rachel Kretser said during the arraignment.
Agudio's attorney Mark Mishler told CNN in a statement that the charges were 'unwarranted'. He said Agudio was 'an exemplary young woman and an excellent student' and that she asked people 'not rush to judgement in this matter'.
Police said during a three-week investigation, they reviewed video from 12 security cameras and four cell phones, and also interviewed 35 people, according to WNYT.
University of Albany police released two surveillance videos of the incident.
The police statement issued last week states a 19-year-old woman was the victim, but footage appears to a show a man being assaulted at one point.

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Asha Burwell (pictured during a rally earlier this month), told police she was a victim of the alleged racial attack on January 30 when she said white students called her and her friends racial slurs and 'jumped them'

Following the alleged incident, she recounted it on Twitter writing 'I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the "n" word and NO ONE helped us'

 

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Burwell, 20, of Huntington Station, New York is pictured above. She has been released and placed in the supervision of the Department of Probation

Burwell wrote that she was in disbelief that she had been beaten because of the color of her skin (above)

The women's initial report of the incident led to national outrage, a massive campus rally and even Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted about it, hitting out against violence on a college campus.
The three students claimed that on January 30, they were on the bus when at about 1am when around 12 white classmates called them racial slurs during a verbal argument before a physical altercation broke out.
One of the three students told university police that several male students kicked her after she fell to the floor, according to the Albany Times Union.
Following the alleged attack, Burwell took to Twitter to recount the ordeal that same day writing: 'I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the 'n' word and NO ONE helped us.'
She then tweeted that she was in disbelief after experiencing 'what it's like to be beaten because of the color of my skin.'

 

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Ariel Agudio, 20, of Huntington, New York (left) and Alexis Briggs, 20, of Elmira Heights, New York (right) also face charges of third-degree assault and have pleaded not guilty

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Police said during a three-week investigation, they reviewed video from 12 security cameras and four cell phones, and also interviewed 35 people. Pictured is surveillance footage from the day of the incident

Burwell followed up with a series of other tweets including one claiming she had 'begged for people to help us and instead of help they told us to 'shut he f*ck up' and continuously hit us in the head.'
She also tweeted noting the support that she and the other girls had received meant so much.
Burwell has not tweeted anything since February 11 when she wrote, 'Please don't confuse my silence with defeat. I'm still fighting this, like I said I will not give up. The truth will come out soon.'
On February 1, hundreds of students gathered as Burwell tearfully recounted the alleged attack during a campus rally.
'We are shocked, upset, but we will remain unbroken,' Burwell said at the time.
'We stand here with strength because we value our worth as black women and as human beings in general.'
Burwell's brother, San Diego Chargers lineman Tyreek Burwell, apparently also tweeted a threatening message to a student who he thought hurt his sister, according to News10.com.

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University of Albany police released two surveillance videos of the incident after the charges were announced last week

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Police said an investigation into the incident showed there was only one victim, the unnamed 19-year-old, who is reportedly white and was allegedly assaulted by the three students

 

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Hillary Clinton also tweeted about the incident writing, 'There's no excuse for racism and violence on a college campus.'
However, police said an investigation into the incident showed there was only one victim, the unnamed 19-year-old, who is reportedly white and was allegedly assaulted by the three students.
Police said the three women were never 'targeted in any manner due to their race,' according to the statement, adding 'the only person we heard uttering racial epithets was one of the defendants.'
'We took this incident very seriously and did a thorough and careful investigation,' said UPD Chief J Frank Wiley.
'The evidence shows that, contrary to how the defendants originally portrayed things, these three individuals were not the victims of a crime. Rather, we allege that they are the perpetrators.
'I especially want to point out that what happened on the bus was not a "hate crime."'

 

[ScottL]

Sometimes I am glad there are cameras everywhere.

Hillary Clinton doesn't give a fuck.

Barbara Boxer on CNN today in support of Hillary fear-mongering that Cruz and Rubio will "force rape victims to carry a pregnancy full term." As if there's any chance that will ever happen regardless of who occupies the White House. No wonder it's so easy for Boxer to get behind another fucking liar. These people lie easier than Taco Bell flies out the butt.

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Sometimes I am glad there are cameras everywhere.

Hillary Clinton doesn't give a fuck.

Barbara Boxer on CNN today in support of Hillary fear-mongering that Cruz and Rubio will "force rape victims to carry a pregnancy full term." As if there's any chance that will ever happen regardless of who occupies the White House. No wonder it's so easy for Boxer to get behind another fucking liar. These people lie easier than Taco Bell flies out the butt.

Seriously. Would anyone touch her.

Except for this guy.

 

[GasMan]

Thank you Mr. President for setting tace relations back 40 years.

 

[vitterd]

Thank you Mr. President for setting tace relations back 40 years.

Race relations are strained because white cops are shooting unarmed black people on video. Do you have cable tv or are you just a dumb fuck?

please stop saying dumb shit and I will stop shattering your jaw.

 

[GasMan]

Race relations are strained because white cops are shooting unarmed black people on video. Do you have cable tv or are you just a dumb fuck?

please stop saying dumb shit and I will stop shattering your jaw.

Go figure resident white apologist racist fucking nitwit comes in here to spew his nonsense about cop shootings. Oh yeah, Michael Brown lmfao you stupid fuck.

"Hands up, don't shoot !"

What an assclown you are.