Madison Police, Federal Law Enforcement Find No Evidence Biracial Woman Was Attacked By White Men

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MADISON, WIS. – The United States Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that a federal investigation found insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges for an alleged hate crime reported to have occurred on June 24, 2020, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Althea Bernstein, 18, reported that on June 24, 2020, she was attacked while stopped at a stoplight by four white men who sprayed her with a flammable liquid, threw a lit object to ignite the fluid, and thereby inflicted burns to her face and neck. Bernstein also claimed the men used the word “nigger.” Federal and local agents met with Bernstein and her representatives to inform them of the findings of the investigation and the decision to close the federal inquiry.

The federal investigation sought to determine whether the evidence was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a violation of the federal civil rights statutes, including Title 18, United States Code, Section 249. Section 249 criminalizes willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of that person’s actual or perceived race.

After a thorough investigation into the events of June 24, 2020, including interviews, review of traffic and surveillance video, and expert review of digital and forensic evidence, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove that a violation of any federal criminal statute occurred.

Further, after reviewing all available evidence, authorities could not establish that the attack, as alleged by Bernstein, had occurred at all.

Bernstein was interviewed on “Good Morning America” just days after she reported the incident.

The federal investigation into the incident has been closed based on the lack of evidence.

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