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Christiansburg Police Clear White Teens in Virginia Tech Professor's Hate-Crime Complaint

The finding counters activist posts that labeled the episode a racist assault.

Overview

  • Police said their investigation found no evidence of criminal intent or racial bias after reviewing the Feb. 10 incident near Dr. Onwubiko Agozino’s Christiansburg home.
  • Detectives interviewed multiple people, including a third-party eyewitness, and concluded the youths had attended an organized function and were clearing frozen snow and ice from a truck bed.
  • Officials noted incorrect reports had circulated that the stop targeted a specific residence based on race, which the department said the evidence did not support.
  • New River Valley Indivisible had characterized the incident on Facebook as a hate crime involving racial slurs and thrown ice, claims that police findings dispute.
  • Dr. Agozino rejected the conclusion, arguing intent is only one element of a crime, and he said police increased patrols near his home after he reported a truck returning the next day.