Jillian Deutsch

Three weeks after students at the State University of New York at Albany said they were victims of a racially motivated attack on a city bus, university police have made formal charges.

But the alleged assailants aren't facing charges -- the alleged victims are.

Students Ariel Agudio, Alexis Briggs and Asha Burwell will be arrested and charged with crimes ranging from assault in the third degree to falsely reporting an incident in the third degree, according to a release from the school.

The three black female students claimed they were attacked on a city bus on the night of Jan. 30 by 10 to 12 white students. The incident sparked a rally with hundreds in attendance and a popular #DefendBlackGirlsUAlbany hashtag on Twitter — even garnering a tweet from Hillary Clinton.

At the time, a statement from Police Chief J. Frank Wiley of the University at Albany Police Department had said that “a review of the video from the CDTA bus has established that the encounter began off campus with verbal exchanges, but that the physical confrontation took place after the bus had driven onto UAlbany’s Main Campus."

However, the validity of the students' claims were questioned and the university launched into a three-week investigation, reviewing security videotape and interviewing over 30 witnesses, the school's statement reads.

“We took this incident very seriously and did a thorough and careful investigation,” said Wiley in the statement. “The evidence shows that, contrary to how the defendants originally portrayed things, these three individuals were not the victims of a crime. Rather, we allege that they are the perpetrators.”

University President Robert Jones met with 200 students and faculty Tuesday night to discuss race relations at Albany, telling the Albany Times Union, "This has been a very difficult time for the community."

The newspaper also reports that at the meeting Jones, who has been criticized for immediately condemning the alleged attack and assuming it was accurate, said he was responding out of compassion.

Agudio, Briggs and Buwell are to appear for arraignment at Albany City Police Court on Feb. 29.



Jillian Deutsch is a University of Missouri student and a USA TODAY College correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.