For two whole weeks, Iowa City police combed the city in search of the three racist white men who allegedly jumped black University of Iowa student Marcus Owens and hurled racial epithets at him.
But it turned out that their efforts were for naught, because the instigator of the alleged hate crime turned out to be Owens himself.
“What happened involved Owens — fueled by alcohol — engaging in or instigating three separate fights early May 1,” reported The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette.
The paper added that Owens was seen on surveillance camera “acting aggressively, shoving and pushing and yelling” in all three incidences.
“We very quickly learned through video evidence that the events as reported by Marcus just did not happen,” Iowa City Police Department Capt. Troy Kelsay said Tuesday at a news briefing. “Marcus was not even present yet at the bar at the time he reported he was assaulted.”
Mark Megahan