FBI shares criteria for graffiti investigation
Investigators considered if incident was intended to injure, a threat based on race, interfered with federally protected rights

Leah Nylen, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

The graffiti on Beta Bridge reported to City and University police Aug. 29 was not racially motivated because it did not meet the criteria outlined in a federal civil rights statute, according to Lawrence Barry, Federal Bureau of Investigations spokesperson.

The bridge, a spot often painted by students and organizations to advertise events, had been painted by two African-American organizations -- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Brothers United Celebrating Knowledge and Success -- when words such as "GSociety," "GWizard" and "G-Bug" were added by other students.

Three University students later apologized for the graffiti in a letter to University administrators, saying they had not intended to exacerbate racial tensions at the University.

According to Barry, the civil rights statute that the FBI used requires three criteria – that there is a threat to injure someone, that the threat is based on race, religion, national origin or color, and that it interferes with a person's federally protected rights.

The FBI's Civil Rights unit made the determination after examining photographs of the bridge.

"In this case, [the determination] was based on what the graffiti showed," Barry said. "It was determined by analysts in the Civil Rights unit that none of the graffiti was indicative of a civil rights violation or hate crime because they didn't see any of the normal symbolism they would see from known groups and it did not indicate a threat to anybody nor was it based on race, religion, national origin or color."

If the graffiti had fit the criteria of the statute, the FBI would have continued the investigation by identifying, apprehending and prosecuting a potential suspect or suspects, according to Barry.

Although prosecutions for civil rights violations are very rare, the FBI investigates all potential cases that come before them.

"At the initial level, when we get a call concerning something like this, a referral that somebody thinks may be a hate crime, it's sufficient for us to initiate an investigation," Barry said.

While the graffiti did not warrant federal prosecution, Barry indicated that local authorities could still prosecute for violation of a state or local statute, such as the defacement of public property.

University Police Capt. Michael Coleman explained that the nature of Beta Bridge would make it difficult to prosecute the students who added the graffiti to the bridge. Furthermore, while University Police filed the initial report, the bridge falls under the jurisdiction of Charlottesville Police.

"If the FBI isn't going to press charges, we would have to discuss it with other folks to determine what would be done," Coleman said.