The College Fix

EXCLUSIVE: School officials hid race from the public

The College Fix has obtained police reports from White Bear Lake in Minnesota that indicate that the creator of an Instagram account that sent racist messages to black girls, is a black female.

The school district had only referred to her as a “young person” and originally said that the incident appeared to be a “hoax” but walked back from that statement.

But the police reports, obtained by The College Fix through a public records act request, state that the student who created the account is a member of the Black Excellence Club.

Police could not confirm that she is also the one who sent the racist messages, which included telling a group of black girls to “Die Nigger,” among other things. However, using tech forensics, police determined that the messages were sent from the girl’s home IP address, according to police reports.

What’s more, the unidentified black girl told a White Bear Lake police officer that she could not tell her friends that she created the account but did not send the messages because “they’re not stupid.”

The girl will not face any criminal charges for the hate-crime hoax.

“The case as presented by law enforcement did not warrant criminal charges,” Dennis Gerhardstein, a spokesperson for the Ramsey County prosecutor’s office, said in an email to The College Fix.

The Fix had asked if there would be any charges for the student who appeared to have lied to law enforcement.

The student “expressed she was unsure if she should tell us who else was with her and sent messages with the account,” during an interview with a police officer.

The assistant principal with the police officer, Matthew Young, “asked her if she sent the messages and she said she did not, and he asked if she was in her house at the time the messages were sent,” according to the police report.

The student “said there was only one other person involved and did not want to say that person’s name.” Officer Jonah Shermer left while the student, who said she did not want to “snitch” on the sender, met “privately” with Young, according to the report.

White Bear Lake Police Department said there will not be any charges for the girl who created the account, who originally told police she did not create the account and then said she did create the account.

An official with the police department said it did not press for charges for several reasons, including because the officer did not read the suspect her Miranda rights and because they did not think it was worth pursuing charges.

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Dale Hager, an administrative captain, told The College Fix during a May 17 phone interview that he could not share any details on the identity of the culprit because she is a juvenile. He also told The Fix that he could not say if the student did lie or not, but that if they were going to charge people for lying to police, cops would spend all day in court.

The school will not comment on if there will be any school disciplinary measures against the unidentified student for making false statements.

White female conservative initially accused of creating account

Precious Boahen has been identified by media outlets as making an accusation that the account was created by a white conservative student at the high school named Avery Severson.

Boahen said Severson, the Turning Point USA group leader, could have created the account, which turned out to not be true.

Officer Hager would not confirm or deny to The College Fix if Boahen had any involvement in the account.

The Fix could not find a way to reach Boahen for comment, as her Facebook page has messaging shut off for non-friends, and The Fix could not locate an Instagram or Twitter account for her.

School officials hid race from the public

The College Fix emailed Principal Donald Bosch first on May 10, and asked if he knew why there was not a mention that black girls were involved in the creation of the group in public statements and if anyone would face discipline.

Bosch did not respond to that email but did respond to a May 17 follow-up email from The Fix that copied in assistant principal Young.

He told The Fix that all media requests had to go through the communications office for the district.

Marisa Vete, the district’s communications director, did not respond to an emailed request for comment on May 18 and May 19.

The Fix asked why there would not be a punishment and if Boahen would be punished for falsely accusing Severson and if Boahen did create the account.

Other students interviewed surprised to find out a black girl created the account

The police report notes can be difficult to follow because the police use a series of “Xs” in place of names.

One student interviewed said she “was baffled by the statement from her school that claimed it was a juvenile person of color who had created the account,” according to Officer Jonah Shermer’s notes.

Another person “also said she was very confused by the statement from the school about the account creator being a person of color.”

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IMAGE: The College Fix

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