Chuck Johnston, CNN, September 30, 2019

A 12-year-old African-American girl who claimed three white classmates pinned her down and cut her dreadlocks has admitted the claims were fabricated, her school said.

“We can now confirm that the student who accused three of her classmates of assault has acknowledged that the allegations were false,” Stephen Danish, head of Immanuel Christian School, said in a statement Monday.

Last week, the girl, Amari Allen, told CNN that three white boys at the school in Springfield, Virginia, pinned her to a playground slide.

She claimed the boys held her hands behind her back, covered her mouth and clipped her hair, calling it “ugly” and “nappy.”

{snip}

She said her niece did have a verbal dispute with the boys but “embellished the story.”

{snip}

[Editor’s Note: NBC’s coverage of the original report, attempting to tie the incident to Vice President Pence can be read here.]