Tennessee College Says Racist Notes Left On Campus Were “Fabricated” To Make Trump Supporters Look Bad

Jussie Smollett all over again? A Tennessee college is admitting that racist messages found on its campus over Thanksgiving break were a hoax meant to make supporters of President Donald Trump look bad. Students at Rhodes College, a private liberal arts college in Memphis, were upset when several notes were found on campus containing a racial slur while also expressing support for Donald Trump. The notes said "Trump Rules," while also spelling out a racial slur, and were left on the National Pan-Hellenic Council Plaza, which pays tribute to the nine historically black fraternities and sororities that make up the NPHC. At the time, the school announced that they were investigating the source of the vulgar messages: "We are working diligently to identify the person responsible for leaving a message of hateful rhetoric on our campus over the Thanksgiving break. It is still an active investigation. We are a community that is firmly committed to diversity, inclusion, belonging, civility, and respect, and we do not tolerate racial bias or hate speech." Well apparently the university was able to identify the person behind the notes, and it turns out they were all fabricated to make Trump supporters look bad. In a statement to Fox News, the university confirmed that a student admitted to leaving the notes and that it was all a hoax: "Thanks to the tireless efforts of our Campus Safety officers and the Memphis Police Department, the investigation into the hate crime that occurred recently on our campus has ended with the identification of the perpetrator and the conclusion this incident was fabricated. This individual has admitted responsibility. This matter has caused enormous pain to our community, and we are taking the appropriate steps to hold this individual accountable, including all legal avenues that may be available to us." Unreal. Of course it's not the first time we've seen these racial hoaxes. The most notable in recent years came when Empire actor Jussie Smollett claimed to have been attacked by two whiteTrump supporters in Chicago, claiming that the men jumped him while he was out getting Subway at 2:00 AM, yelling racial and homophobic slurs while telling him that Chicago was "MAGA country." Now, claiming that Chicago is "MAGA country" should have been the first sign that something was off, but nonetheless, politicians including future Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris were quick to condemn the attack and express their support for Smollett. His story quickly unraveled when it was discovered that the "attack" was actually staged by Smollett, and that the men who allegedly attacked him were two black actors who had worked with Smollett on Empire. Charges were brought against Smollett for faking the hate crime, but the Chicago district attorney agreed to drop the charges in exchange for community service and the actor forfeiting his $10,000 bond. A special prosecutor eventually charges Smollett again, and he was convicted of five felony counts of disorderly conduct. But after being sentenced to 150 days in jail and ordered to pay over $120,000 in restitution for the time the Chicago Police Department wasted on the case, his conviction was ultimately overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court, which found that his due process was violated by bringing the charges again after they had already been dismissed by the district attorney.