Three black female college students in Albany have been accused of assault after originally claiming they had been the victims of a racist attack from “10-12 white men” on a city bus. The alleged attack happened on January 30th and Ariel Agudio, Alexis Briggs and Asha Burwell (all 20) claimed that they were the victims of a racist attack. However, after the videotape was reviewed the police found that it was the three students who allegedly initiated the attack and then participated in rallies denouncing racism in America. Hillary Clinton tweeted support for the women in their claim as victims of racist.
Investigators say a review of multiple videos of the incident showed no evidence the women were victims of a crime or subjected to racial slurs. In fact, police said the women were the aggressors, assaulting a 19-year-old white woman. The white men involved claimed assaulted them were actually trying to break up the fight. The police concluded that “[t]he 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.”
University of Albany officials announced that two of the women, Ariel Agudio and Asha Burwell, have been charged with misdemeanor assault and falsely reporting an incident. The third woman, Alexis Briggs, has been charged with misdemeanor assault.
One of the students, Asha Burwell, was due to graduate in 2017 and is pre-law. She and her friends reportedly said that up to a dozen “white men” attacked them without cause. Burwell, a junior from Long Island and student manager of the women’s basketball team, tweeted “I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the ‘n’ word and NO ONE helped us.”
In addition to the message from Clinton, the President of the University issued the following statement:
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
Early this morning, three of our students were harassed and assaulted while riding on a CDTA bus on Western Ave. in Albany.
The students, who are Black women, stated that racial slurs were used by the perpetrators, whom they described as a group of 10 to 12 white males and females.
I am deeply concerned, saddened and angry about this incident. There is no place in the UAlbany community for violence, no place for racial intolerance and no place for gender violence.
I am out of town today. I have decided to cut my trip short and will be returning to Albany as soon as I can to address this situation.
In the meantime, I have been in direct contact with the Provost and executive leadership team and have directed that the University respond rapidly and forcefully.
Our police, our student affairs personnel and our Office of Diversity and Inclusion staff are working together to support our young women.
We are working closely with the Albany Police Department to identify the persons responsible. If those individuals are UAlbany students, we will hold them fully accountable for their behavior.
I call upon all members of the University at Albany to unite. We must show the world that we stand for inclusiveness and stand against bias, violence and hatred.
Our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will be held on the evening of Monday, Feb. 1. As we reflect on the principles and values that Dr. King stood for, let us come together in solidarity to reaffirm our values.
Now is the time to recommit to our principles of inclusivity and diversity and send a strong message that we will not tolerate bias, hatred and violence in our University.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Jones
President
Jones later said that the false statements of the women were “unsettling.”
Here is the videotape and it certainly appears to contradict the claims of the three students that they were attacked by 10-12 white men.
The charges are only misdemeanors which seem a bit light for an assault on a bus and then falsely accusing others of a hate crime. However, Burwell’s interest in becoming a lawyer would be more challenging and unlikely if she is convicted of these charges.
@Ralph Adamo I liked Freeman because of his movies and the 60 Minutes interview he had with the guy. It took a lot of guts for Freeman to admit that in order to stop breeding racism, at least stop talking about it and end it.
He’s right. The problem with blacks is that they’re ruminating. They’re ruminating in their minds that the white man has it good and they have it bad. What they don’t literally understand is that no one is to be blamed for their lives’ woes. They need to accept their life’s woes and start taking responsibility for it, something that is seriously lacking in the black community.
I can say that I’m a porn addict, that this problem is my problem alone and no one else is to be blamed for the actions I took to view stuff online. Now, it would have taken a courageous individual to say this in public, and perhaps someone who’s not ready to reveal this fully to others who are close to him; but online, it is far easier to discuss this once the individual realizes his problem. I’m working myself through this problem, trying to translate myself back to my 12-year-old self and get it back to where I am today. Just because I acknowledge that I do have a problem doesn’t mean that I will point the finger at someone and say, “You! You miserable cretin! You just dropped that Playboy! Now I’m in huge trouble! Oh no! Oh no! Good god, my life’s going to be hell by the time I get home! You are lousy!” I have to take responsibility and try to curb that addiction cold turkey. It works when I exercise, intermittently fasting, and reading helpful & inspirational books. That’s taking responsibility.
How about those blacks in their community? When are they going to take responsibility? Definitely one of those reasons why I wouldn’t marry or have babies with these women. I have yet to meet someone who had the ovaries to admit responsibility, and push forward into her life. TBH, white people have it made because they know what happened in the past and don’t even dare to bring it back to the future. For example, I’m part-Irish and I could decry slavery over the Irish by the British and blame every Brit for what I have in my life. No, I acknowledge the history behind it but I don’t begrudingly carry with me a very heavy furious anger that one day I see a Brit, I’ll smack him for enslaving the Irish way back then, something a Brit wouldn’t have done today. And no, I would not smack a Briton ever because that Briton never participated. Whoever did is long dead.
That’s a logical concept that’s missing among blacks today.
They are crips girls.
http://unitedgangs.com/crips/
Nick, what ideas are you talking about? Tax cuts for the rich? No regs for banks? Invading others? Because all that worked so well under Dubya, And Nick, I’ve read your posts before and you talking about echo chambers coming straight from “FOX NEWS” is a joke….
@Philly T
The KKK??? Get over yourself. You are still fighting battles from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Black people today have a lot more to fear from savage low class blacks than they ever had to fear from the Klan.
However, if you want to see a real, live 21st century racist, and destroyer of blacks, just go look in the mirror. Because you, and other white liberals like you are a thousand times more destructive than any kluxer could ever aspire to. But what the hey, at least you can priss around and tell everybody how good and smart you are! That’s a lot more important than them black schlubs in the hood. . .
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Glenn is an old timer like bettykath who reveled when this place was a left wing echo chamber. They can’t compete so they just take quick “glory days” shots and leave. They can’t compete on ideas.
Bettykath is an SJW sniper. She takes a crazy shot and then disappears.
phillyT, . Sad but true its all ODS all the time.
“We keep seeing these made up “racist” attacks. What is it that either is being taught in the black community or on our campuses that makes these girls think they can get away with this?”
Hmmm…. Maybe it’s a very long history of white men on every level of American society being able to get away with things like this and far worse.
pernicious pacifist – I am so white am am translucent. However, I have never started a fight with another race. However, when I was in the Job Corps, I was harassed by several black co-workers, who I didn’t even know.
Squeeky
It’s nice to think that liberals are the ones who started the KKK, or whose banks red-lined the neighborhood maps, or who insisted that low-income housing be jammed into the worst locations possible, or that liberals enacted the Jim Crow laws and ran the Southern Strategy campaign for Nixon. But we know it was regressive conservatives who did all that in large part. I will grant you that both Democrats and Republicans had a hand in the discrimination of housing policy, but it was really perfected by the regressives.
I would put for the same advice, that these regressive conservatives be forced to look at what they have created, but I know that most of them have no shame, no conscience, no sense of personal responsibility whatsoever, so it wouldn’t do any good.
In America in 2016, a black man with a college degree and no arrest record has the same likelihood of getting a job as a white man the same age with a felony record and no college at all.
But let’s blame the baby mommas, right?
phillyT – I am sure you are getting your talking points from the CPUSA, however in this economy in which 26 states have not recovered to pre-recession normal neither the black guy with the degree or the white guy out of prison has a shot at a job.
Glenn, I’m afraid you’re right> I keep coming back because every now and then this blog seems to return to its roots and post something relevant to constitutional law. But mostly it’s just right wing click-bait any more.
VVet. Trumps old man was in the Klan and arrested for rioting. He was also a Bircher. So The Donald knows just what he’s doing.
@Philly T
Actually, this stuff is pretty important. It is like when the American generals in World War II made German civilians go inside and view, and then clean up the concentration camps. The Germans had to actually see with their own eyes the near destruction of an entire people, and accept responsibility for their part in it.
Similarly, Americans need to confront the near destruction and degeneration of black people in this country, in large part due to the efforts of liberal white Democrats to swap them welfare benefits for votes. What is happening in the black community is worse than what happened to the Jews. At least the surviving Jews came out with some human dignity, and capable of starting their own country.
Do you think a bunch of these ghetto welfare moms and their progeny could do that? I don’t. Put them in their own country and you would see widespread cannibalism in a week or so. You can’t even bring jobs to a lot of these idiots. We all like to blame black men for not marrying black women, but really, what self respecting black man would marry some black chick who already has four babies by four different baby daddies?
These 3 black girls may be from better financial surroundings, but their almost immediate resort to the “they called us n*ggers, and pulled out our hair and attacked us” bee ess is even more troubling because they don’t even have the “I wuz raised in the ‘hood” excuse.
No, this is the kind of stuff liberal white America needs to see more of. Until they choke on it, the same way the Germans choked and vomited when forced to confront the consequences of their actions. IMHO.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Jim22:
“Even if their claims were true, I don’t really understand why this is a U of A issue since they were on a public bus.” I think it would be relevant if the falsely accused were students of U of A, because such allegations of a hate crime would have gotten them kicked out of school. Another concern is if these girls pose a danger to other students. Will they fabricate stories and victimize any of their fellow students?
Other than that, I am curious if there is a general policy of universities concerning criminal behavior, off campus, by students. Should a crime committed off campus impact a student’s education?
Sorry, phillyT this site has gone full blown right wing. I’m sure it keeps them in their little bubble and they do not want to hear how Scalia or Alito were mouth pieces for the rich and powerful.
This will continue until white people grow some Bs and fight back. How about the white girl who was under attack by these 3 what consideration wil be given to her? There will be nothing in the press about the incident only an attempt to link Trump with the clan. If the colleges and universities returned to its entry standards I would bet not one of them could make the grade. I would like to see white men and woman start a ten million man and woman march on Washington?
The cell phone video has put a new light on so many things. The decades (centuries?), of police harassment, mistreatment and murder of people of color, the false accusations of students in situations like these, the rioting and looting by white students and sports fans while police stand and watch.
Is this the best use of your blog professor? Why not post something about Justice Alito’s meddling in the affairs of the senate and President? What about Scalia’s membership in the secret society he was hunting with, or the quid pro quo he obviously accepted in going to Poindexter’s ranch in the first place?
This is pretty lowest common denominator for you.
@Betty Kath
Oh, and plus, don’t miss the part around 9:41 where one of the black liars has called 911, and while she is on hold, she is bragging “I beat up a boy” “I beat up a boy”. Unfortunately for her, 911 is recording, even when you are on hold.
ROTFLMAO!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
@Betty Kath
If you have any real doubt that once again it’s the black gals who are lying, try this video, which also has the 911 calls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkkSsLsytOI
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
The minimum penalty for falsely accusing someone of a crime should start at what the cumulative maximum penalty would have been for those who were falsely accused.
bettykath – “UA did the right thing in immediately providing support to the women, pending an investigation.”
Why was this the right thing? What did it have to do with UA? It didn’t happen on campus.
This video shows an altercation but it not clear who started it or who was being offensive or defensive. UA did the right thing in immediately providing support to the women, pending an investigation.