[Rhodes22-list] McCain volunteer made up robbery story

[elle]

Can anyone say 'Tawanna Brawley?"

elle

We can't change the angle of the wind....but we can adjust our sails.

1992 Rhodes 22   Recyc '06  "WaterMusic"   (Lady in Red)


--- On Mon, 10/27/08, Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu> wrote:

> From: Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu>
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] McCain volunteer made up robbery story
> To: "Rhodes List" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Date: Monday, October 27, 2008, 12:52 PM
> How bizarre. - rob
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> October 24, 2008 
> 
> Police: McCain volunteer made up robbery story 
> 
> By JOE MANDAK   Associated Press Writer 
> 
> A McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being
> robbed, pinned to
> the ground and having the letter "B" scratched on
> her face in what she
> had said was a politically inspired attack, police said
> Friday.
> 
> Ashley Todd, 20-year-old college student from College
> Station, Texas,
> admitted Friday that the story was false, said Maurita
> Bryant, the
> assistant chief of the police department's
> investigations division. Todd
> was charged with making a false report to police, and
> Bryant said police
> doubted her story from the start.
> 
> Dressed in an orange hooded sweat shirt, Todd left police
> headquarters
> in handcuffs late Friday and did not respond to questions
> from
> reporters. The mark on her face was faded and her left eye
> was slightly
> blackened when she arrived in district court.
> 
> Todd was awaiting arraignment Friday on the misdemeanor
> false-report
> charge, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.
> She will be
> housed in a mental health unit at the county jail for her
> safety and
> because of "her not insignificant mental health
> issues," prosecutor Mark
> Tranquilli said.
> 
> Todd initially told investigators she was attempting to use
> a bank
> branch ATM on Wednesday night when a 6-foot-4 black man
> approached her
> from behind, put a knife blade to her throat and demanded
> money. She
> told police she handed the assailant $60 and walked away.
> 
> Todd, who is white, told investigators she suspected the
> man then
> noticed a John McCain sticker on her car. She said the man
> punched her
> in the back of the head, knocked her to the ground and
> scratched a
> backward letter "B" into her face with a dull
> knife.
> 
> Police said Todd claimed the man told her that he was going
> to "teach
> her a lesson" for supporting the Republican
> presidential candidate, and
> that she was going to become a supporter of Democratic
> candidate Barack
> Obama.
> 
> Todd told police she didn't seek medical attention, but
> instead went to
> a friend's apartment nearby and called police about 45
> minutes later.
> 
> Todd could provide no explanation for why she invented the
> story, police
> said. The woman told investigators she believes she cut the
> "B" onto her
> own cheek, but did not provide an explanation of how or why
> and said she
> doesn't remember doing so, police said.
> 
> Police said the woman reported suffering from "mental
> problems" in the
> past, and that they do not believe anyone put her up to the
> act.
> 
> Tranquilli said Todd will remain jailed over the weekend
> pending a
> psychiatric evaluation, which won't happen until Monday
> at the earliest.
> 
> The Associated Press could not immediately locate
> Todd's family.
> 
> Bryant said somebody charged with making a false report
> would typically
> be cited and sent a summons. But because police have
> concerns about
> Todd's mental health, they are consulting with the
> Allegheny County
> District Attorney.
> 
> Todd worked in New York for the College Republican National
> Committee
> before moving two weeks ago to Pennsylvania, where her
> duties included
> recruiting college students, the committee's executive
> director, Ethan
> Eilon, has said.
> 
> "We are as upset as anyone to learn of her deceit,
> Ashley must take full
> responsibility for her actions," College Republican
> National Committee
> spokeswoman Ashley Barbera said in a statement.
> 
> Police reported Todd's claims Thursday, as a photo of
> her injuries made
> it onto numerous blogs and news sites. By Friday, police
> said they had
> found inconsistencies in Todd's story. They gave her a
> lie-detector
> test, but wouldn't release the polygraph results.
> 
> Police interviewed Todd after she contacted police
> Wednesday night and
> again on Thursday, Bryant said. They asked her to come back
> Friday,
> ostensibly to help police put together a sketch of the man.
> Instead,
> detectives began interviewing her.
> 
> "They just started talking to her and she just opened
> up and said she
> wanted to tell the truth," Bryant said.
> 
> Police suspected all along that Todd might not be telling
> the truth,
> starting with the fact that the "B" was backward,
> Bryant said.
> 
> "We have robbers here in Pittsburgh, but they
> don't generally mutilate
> someone's face like that," Bryant said. "They
> just take the money and
> run."
> 
>  
> 
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