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Yet Another Hate Crime Turns Out To Be A Hoax

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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A church organist was arrested Wednesday after he vandalized his own church with a swastika and pro-Trump graffiti in order to “mobilize a movement.”

George Nathaniel Stang, 26, admitted in a handwritten statement to spray painting a swastika, “fag church,” and “heil Trump” on St. David’s Episcopal Church in Bean Blossom, Indiana. “I suppose I wanted to give local people a reason to fight for good, even if it was a false flag,” Stang wrote, according to a local NBC report. “To be clear my actions were not motivated by hate for the church or its congregation. I of course realize now, this was NOT the way to go about inspiring activism.”

The incident occurred in November shortly after President Trump was elected and was widely covered by the press. The Washington Post reported on it and connected it to Trump’s victory, “The offensive graffiti at St. David’s is among numerous incidents that have occurred in the wake of Trump’s Election Day win.”

They also mentioned the vandalism in a piece entitled, “The postelection hate spike: How long will it last?” It was mentioned in 15 articles by The Post, yet, as of publication time, they have yet to write about Stang’s arrest.

The vandalism was also covered by CNN in the story “‘Make America White Again’: Hate speech and crimes post-election.” Just like the Post, CNN has yet to write an updated story. (RELATED: Guy Named Jasskirat Saini Arrested For Writing ‘KKK’ On College Campus)

In the wake of Trump’s election there has been a surge in reported hate crimes, however, they frequently end up being hoaxes. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on five hoaxes in the weeks after the November election, including a Muslim woman who lied about her hijab being stolen by Trump supporters. Just two weeks ago, a Muslim professor at an Indiana university was arrested after he fabricated anti-Muslim crimes.