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We've kept quiet and waited patiently, and now what we expected to hear is announced.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports:

Madison police announced Friday morning that they were not able to corroborate allegations made by a Madison woman that she was burned by four white men in Downtown Madison in June in what was initially reported as a hate crime.

Althea Bernstein, 18, of Monona, told police she had a lighter fluid sprayed on her and was set on fire on June 24 by four white men after one of them yelled a racial epithet.

But in a statement Friday morning, Madison police said it is "closing the investigation into this case. After an exhaustive probe, detectives were unable to corroborate or locate evidence consistent with what was reported."

The U.S. Attorney?s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division came to the same conclusion, according to the statement....

In mid-August, I asked:

Couldn't the police just tell us whether there is continual camera footage for all the intersections crossing State Street and whether there's an image of her car when it crossed State Street? Shouldn't that be easy? She's clear that it happened crossing State Street. In Madison, crossing State Street is very obvious. You know when you're there, and she said that's where it happened. Shouldn't the police at least be able to tell us that something or nothing happened as the car crossed State Street (or alternatively that there is no footage of the car crossing State Street)? This story was such a big deal at the time, and it stirred people up about racial hatred. It's important to get the truth out so we can feel relieved or wary, depending on the evidence.

Writing that, almost 2 months after the incident, I essentially knew the answer to my questions. The police and the federal agencies had nothing to say because they were on track to say they'd found nothing. They waited until they could announce that they were closing the investigation.

I'm very happy to hear that this incident did not happen. It never sounded plausible to me, and it's sad that it seemed to a lot of people ? including Prince Harry ? like the way things go in America.

ADDED: From the Madison police statement:

Consistent with MPD?s Core Values, Code of Conduct, and Standard Operating Procedures, the victim was treated with dignity and respect at all times during the course of this investigation. MPD, FBI and DCI personnel had regular contact with the victim and family, who were cooperative with investigators. The Madison Police Department is committed to thoroughly investigating alleged hate crimes and holding offenders accountable.

From the Department of Justice statement:

[A]fter reviewing all available evidence, authorities could not establish that the attack, as alleged by the complainant, had occurred.... The Justice Department is committed to investigations of allegations of bias-motivated violence and will continue to devote the resources required to ensure that allegations of civil rights violations are fully and completely investigated. The Department aggressively prosecutes criminal civil rights violations whenever there is sufficient evidence to do so.

ALSO: This story got huge national attention. The woman went on "Good Morning America":

Will the resolution of the case get anything like the attention that was given to the original report?

PLUS: "Meghan Markle Personally CALLS Alleged Hate Crime Victim Althea Bernstein":

Full post as published by Althouse on October 02, 2020 (boomark / email).