University of Michigan Student Fabricates Hate Crime, Claimed Man Threatened to Set Her on Fire

In the aftermath of Donald Trump winning the presidency, law-enforcement officials have seen an influx of reported hate crimes. But investigations have revealed that some of these hate crimes are fabrications. (Last week, for example, police confirmed that a Baruch College student had made up a story about a hate crime that supposedly occurred on a New York City subway.)

Last month, a University of Michigan student claimed that she was walking near the university when a drunken man threatened to set her on fire unless she removed her hijab; she said that she quickly removed her religious head covering and was unharmed.

But yesterday, police found that the student never appeared on surveillance tapes in the area, and determined that the incident didn’t happen. Ann Arbor police lieutenant Matthew Lige told Fox 2 Detroit that the student could be charged with filing a false police report once the prosecutor’s office reviews the case.

This news comes in the wake of yet another apparent hoax, in which aspiring YouTube star and known prankster Adam Saleh claimed he was kicked off a Delta flight for speaking to his mother over the phone in Arabic. Delta and passengers on the flight are now disputing the claim, saying that Saleh was being disruptive and shouting (he wasn’t speaking to his mother over the phone).