John Greenwood, 19, was also charged with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief. (Image courtesy of Ithaca Police)
A white Cornell University student now faces hate crimes charges in connection to a September attack that authorities believe may have been racially motivated.
On Monday, the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office in Ithaca, NY announced that it had added the new charge against John Greenwood, 19, according to the Associated Press. The university student was charged with misdemeanor assault back in September after an African-American student said he was attacked by four or five men who shouted racial slurs outside his home near campus.
The DA also charged Greenwood with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief, AP reported. However, the teen’s defense attorney, Ray Schlather, maintained that his client wasn’t “involved in any physical altercation.” He argued that the physical evidence in the case contradicts the victim’s account of what happened during the exchange
The victim, a 19-year-old junior and member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Cornell, alleged that a group of students called him a “n—–” and other expletives before repeatedly punching him in the face after he tried to diffuse a fight that had broken out near his home. Greenwood was later identified as one of the assailants and taken into custody.
Fellow fraternity Psi Upsilon indefinitely shuttered its chapter on the Ithaca campus after determining that students affiliated with its organization were involved in the attack.
