Albany

The shocking allegations of a racially tinged assault at the University at Albany appeared to unravel Thursday as police accused three black students of making the story up and charged the women with assaulting a fellow bus passenger.

The women grabbed national attention after claiming to have been attacked on a CDTA bus around 1 a.m. Jan. 30 by a large group that included white men while others stood by and did nothing.

In social media posts that spread like wildfire far beyond campus, the women claimed to have been the target of racial slurs and to have been assaulted while on the bus floor.

But authorities now say there's no evidence any of that happened and that the women were the aggressors in the fracas, which was captured by cameras on the bus and other cameras in the hands of bus riders. All three defendants are charged with misdemeanor assault and are facing campus disciplinary proceedings.

The actual victim, police said, was a 19-year-old white woman from Congers, Rockland County, who also was a passenger on the late-night route known to students as the "drunk bus."

"The evidence shows that, contrary to how the defendants originally portrayed things, these three individuals were not the victims of a crime," University Police Chief Frank Wiley said in a statement. "Rather, we allege that they are the perpetrators."

"I especially want to point out that what happened on the bus was not a 'hate crime,' " Wiley said.

Ariel Agudio, 20, of Huntington, Suffolk County; Alexis Briggs, 20, of Elmira Heights, Chemung County; and Asha Burwell, 20, of Huntington Station, Suffolk County, were all charged with misdemeanor assault, punishable by up to one year in jail.

Burwell and Agudio are also charged with misdemeanor falsely reporting an incident in connection with 911 calls they made to police immediately after the confrontation.

The allegations of the three women, including claims that bystanders ignored their cries for help, sparked a large on-campus rally and were held up by some as emblematic of a broader cultural failure to stick up for women of color.

The incident roiled tensions on campus and garnered national media attention, including a sympathetic tweet from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Agudio also faces one count each of attempted assault and attempted criminal mischief.

Surveillance and cellphone video and eyewitness accounts contradict Burwell, Agudio and Briggs' claims that they were assaulted by white men, who in fact were trying to break up the fight, police said.

"A whole bunch of guys started hitting me and my two friends, punching us in the head," Burwell wrote in an Instagram post after the confrontation, alleging later that the bus driver "let the bus sit at the stop at the social science building while my friend got beat in the head by white guys."

But "the video and audio evidence and the statement of every witness demonstrate that no male struck the three women," university police said in a statement. "The evidence indicates they were actually the aggressors in the physical altercation, and that they continued to assault the victim despite the efforts of several passengers to stop them."

The women were issued tickets to appear for arraignment Monday in Albany City Court.

Agudio's Albany attorney, Mark Mishler, called the charges "unfortunate" and "unwarranted" and cautioned against people jumping to the conclusion that they know what happened on the bus without having seen all of the evidence.

"It is also unfortunate that some in the media and public appear to have reached a conclusion as to what occurred in this incident without actually having the information needed in order to reach such a conclusion," Mishler said in a statement. "Ms. Agudio, an exemplary young woman, an excellent student who has never previously been in legal trouble, asks that people not rush to judgment in this matter. We appreciate those who have spoken out in support of Ms. Agudio. This case will now play out in the court system. We trust, in the end, that Ms. Agudio will be vindicated."

In a statement, University President Robert Jones asked for the community's "continued patience and respect as the judicial process continues."

"This matter is now in the hands of the criminal justice system," Jones said. "I look forward to the resolution of this case."

From the beginning, it appears the women knew there was potential for the allegations to be inflammatory, at they threatened to go public if police did not respond immediately.

"It was a racial crime. They were calling us [N-word] and all this stuff," Agudio tells a 911 dispatcher, according to a copy of the call released by police. "And if someone doesn't come and take this down or something, I'm going to call the news."

On Feb. 5, police and prosecutors previewed some of the videos and witness statements for community leaders in hopes of tamping down some of the tension on campus — the first public signal that the events may not have transpired as first alleged.

Burwell has been the most outspoken of the three women. Her social media posts in the hours after the incident helped it spread very quickly, culminating in a large on-campus rally organized by the school's chapter of the National Congress of Black Women — an organization in which Burwell is involved.

But her last tweet was sent more than two weeks ago as evidence appeared to mount that the incident did not happen as they first claimed.

"Please don't confuse my silence with defeat," Burwell tweeted Feb. 11. "I'm still fighting this, like I said I will not give up. The truth will come out soon."

On campus Thursday, students were conflicted about whether the women should have been charged. Some said even if police determined their accusations to be false, they wouldn't know what to believe until they could see the video footage for themselves — and even then, they said, the footage might not have captured everything that unfolded.

"We don't necessarily know if there was an altercation before getting on the bus," said Nneka Morgini, a 20-year-old junior. "If it was a false accusation, then they should get some kind of punishment for it, but I don't think it should be really harsh. An apology would be nice, though."

Students Ashley Brown and Mikaila Williams said they tried to reserve judgment and avoid jumping to any conclusions until all the video footage was released. Their instinct, though, was to err on the side of the alleged victims.

"I do agree that certain things about this seem to be exaggerated and blown out of proportion," Williams said. "But we didn't know how much video they have and we didn't know what they saw, so it's more like, until I know for sure, of course I'm going to support them."

Many said their fellow students seemed to have moved on after the initial incident, and that people outside the campus community are far more "obsessed" with the case than they are.

jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com • 518-454-5445 • @JCEvangelist_TU; bbump@timesunion.com • 518-454-5387 • @bethanybump