A student from the University of La Verne fabricated a hate crime attack to bring attention to the country's problem with racism was arrested according to a recently published article.


Fabricated Hate Crime Attack 

Dominguez Pena, a student from the University of La Verne, claimed in February of last year that a masked man inside the campus assaulted her after finding a "smoking backpack" in her car. She told the same story to police officers, and because of this, University officials shut down operations for 24 hours.

According to the report, Pena was found bruised at the bottom of the stairwell inside the campus. She then claimed that she was attacked and assaulted by a masked man. However, speculations started when she denied medical assistance. 


Why Did the Student Fabricate a Hate Attack?

Professor Judy Holiday believed that the reason why Pena fabricated the hate attack is to bring attention to the ongoing race problem in the United States. She also added that the student was motivated to make the fake hate crime attack because of her experiences with racism as a minority.

She said: "It was very distressing to hear that a student fabricated racist threats, especially as those threats did so much damage to the reputation of other individuals and the university."

Holiday added: "It was also distressing to think about the fact that racism in the United States is so profoundly a part of the lives of people of color that a student felt compelled to do something illegal and immoral to bring attention to the problem." 


Charges Filed Against the Student

Following the investigation conducted by the La Verne Police Department and Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Pena was charged in March due to falsified hate attack, perjury, impersonation, and filing of false police reports. 

Rod Leveque, University of La Verne Office of Strategic Communications Executive Director, said that the hoax committed by Pena was very upsetting. However, Leveque did not give comments when he was asked if the university disciplined the student. 

Leveque said: "The incidents last year were extremely upsetting to the university community. We take a lot of pride in being a diverse and inclusive campus, and we hope that the conclusion of the criminal investigation will allow us to continue to come together and focus on our mission of providing an excellent education to our students."


Developing Reports About the Case of Dominguez Pena 

Dominguez Pena, who sent ten fake racist attacks against herself, false police report, false impersonation and one count of filing false claims with the state victim's compensation fund, was already arrested according to a recently published article. 

According to the report, making criminal threats and filing a false claim are both felonies. Police authority said: "A series of nine additional incidents followed the initial threat. At one point, the threats escalated to a point where the University of La Verne canceled classes for a day to 'reset' and deal with the threats." 

The police added: "The threats were directed at the University of La Verne, the student group, herself and members of the group." 

Moreover, Pena's bail was set to $200,000 and is scheduled to present herself before the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday next week. 


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