Woman charged after claiming she was attacked and had hijab stolen by men wearing ‘Trump hats’
The 18-year-old student tells police that two white males approached her and started screaming racial slurs
A student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette who claimed she was attacked and had her wallet and hijab stolen has been charged for filing a false police report.
The 18-year-old student, who has not been named, told police that two white males approached her near her university campus and started screaming racial slurs.
She also claimed one of the men was wearing a “Trump hat" and they knocked her down in what appeared to be a racially motivated crime.
The Lafayette Police Department investigated the attack, which went viral overnight, but could not locate any witnesses or surveillance videos.
The woman has since admitted to police that she made up the claim.
No details about why she made the initial claim or why she later admitted to making it up have been released.
The incident is no longer under investigation and Charlie Bier, a spokesman for the University of Louisiana, said federal privacy laws stop him from saying whether the student would be disciplined.
Lafayette Police spokesman, Officer Karl Ratcliff said: "We don't take this lightly, and it's made national headlines now. There will be consequences."
Associated Press contributed to this report.