The Federal Bureau of Investigation now is working with Charlottesville police to review the six assaults against University students that took place from September to January, after several groups complained that local officials were not adequately investigating the case.
The FBI has concluded that, based on the information available, this investigation does not merit a federal civil rights case, said Lawrence J. Barry, FBI media relations coordinator for Richmond.
"There is a great amount of misunderstanding when it comes to civil rights and hate crimes," Barry said. "The FBI is only concerned with federal laws, not state hate crime laws."
The six attacks, which prompted 10 arrests, occurred in residential areas near Grounds. All those arrested are black and all are minors, except for one 18-year-old, who was 17 at the time of the attack. They face charges ranging from robbery and malicious wounding to felonious assault.
The FBI investigation was prompted by several complaints that local police were not investigating the case to the best of their ability, including a publicized objection from the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, a white civil rights group that has demanded the assaults be prosecuted as hate crimes.
"We want the FBI to investigate the possibility that there was collusion between police and black leaders to not prosecute this case as a hate crime," EURO National Director Vincent Breeding said. "We feel that there is strong circumstantial evidence that black leaders who met with Charlottesville police attempted to influence how this investigation was run."
Though he said the FBI takes all complaints seriously, Barry added this particular concern was given "no credence."
EURO has not yet contacted any of the victims, but it is possible a class action suit could be organized against the University for not providing adequate protection for those who were assaulted, Breeding said.
Barry refuted EURO's claim that the FBI was "monitoring" the Charlottesville police department's investigation.
"Monitoring is a very strong word," he said. "We've discussed the facts with [the Charlottesville police] and we're satisfied that they are aggressively pursuing this matter."
The assaults have attracted activists from differing viewpoints to the case's proceedings.
Edna-Jakki Miller, president of the NAACP's Albermarle/Charlottesville branch, said she felt many individuals were too hasty in calling for the application of hate crime laws.
"I think that's overreacting," Miller said. "I don't think people really understand what happened."
Barry agreed that a hate crime is a complicated matter.
"The fact that the victims and the assailants are of different races in and of itself does not make it a hate crime," he said.
Miller added she was not convinced the assaults were strictly racially motivated.
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