Dharun Ravi, who was charged with invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and numerous other counts after his Rutgers University roommate Tyler Clementi killed himself, refused to take a plea deal today. Ravi's lawyer said, “Simple answer, simple principle. He’s innocent. He’s not guilty. That’s why he rejected the plea.” more ›

Luis Vieira, 47, and his partner, Richard Vieira, 39, were on their way into a White Castle in Stapleton, Staten Island around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday when they noticed a group of about 40 black youths, male and female, walking in the middle of the street. The couple proceeded inside, and were sitting enjoying their burgers when one of three of the youths entered. Luis Vieira tells SI Live that as he watched them come in, one of the youths asked him, "What the fuck are you looking at, fag?" more ›

The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating five different attacks on Asian women in the Lower East Side. The victims are ages 50-71 and WCBS 2 reports, "Police say the five assaults on Asian women took place over the last ten days within a nine-block area right near the Williamsburg Bridge." more ›

A grand jury has cleared an NYPD officer and three other men of assault charges in the case that saw the alleged black victim accusing the group of four Hispanics of being racially motivated in their attack. 52-year-old Darryl Jackson had said that the men called him the n-word and told him to "go back to Africa" in the Sunday morning altercation at a Roosevelt deli that he says involved them beating him with a bat. But a physician could not find evidence of a bat attack. The DA said, "Different people saw various portions of the incident and nearly all of them managed to see something completely different." Jackson told reporters, "What proof did they need? For me to be dead? I feel like I'm a victim twice." He plans to file federal charges claiming that his civil rights were violated. Officer Juan Nunez, who has has been on modified duty since being charged, will now return to the force full time. Fernando Mateo, president of Hispanics Across America, said of the decision, "We must stop invoking the word hate whenever a person of color is involved in an altercation." more ›

The story around the possible hate crime attack on a Q train the other night seems to be made for the season. Not only does it come while subway violence is a big topic, it also involves a group of Jewish subway riders being called "dirty Jews" and "Jew bitches" and attacked by people who cried, "Happy Hanukkah, that's when the Jews killed Jesus." And here's the kicker: The only person who stepped in... more ›

Police are investigating an attack on a Brooklyn-bound Q train as a possible hate crime. A group of people (WNBC says they were on their way home from Hanukkah celebrations) were called anti-Semitic phrases and then beaten up by another group of ten people at Canal Street. The Post has some more details: Apparently one of the attackers "made anti-Semitic remarks about Jews killing Jesus, saying, 'This is a Christian country.'" But the father of... more ›