Who knew that Juicy Smollett is enrolled at Stanford?

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'Pathological Liar' or 'Brave' Victim? The Curious Case of the 'Islamophobic Hate Crime' at Stanford

“On November 3, 2023, a Syrian computer science student left a pro-Hamas sit-in protest at Stanford University. Students hoped to set a record for the longest campus sit-in. But it didn't take long before an act of violence tarnished the event. As he was leaving the sit-in, Abdulwahab Omira was injured by a white man driving an SUV as he crossed one of the campus's many traffic circles. The white man wearing glasses yelled at him, "F**k you and your people!" A hate crime was immediately reported to the Stanford Department of Public Safety, which quickly fired off a campus bulletin about the drive-by hate crime. 

“Protesting students called immediately for the university leadership to condemn the attack perpetrated by the white man, whom the victim, Omira, said he'd confronted on campus before. That same man — that driver — aimed for him, Omira said, and gunned the engine to causes maximum damage. It was nothing less than a scandal. A senseless attack. An international incident. Students demanded action. They got it from the media and university. 

““The Stanford Department of Public Safety issued an alert hours later. "Community Advisory-Hit and Run Hate Crime," the headline read. The alert related Omira's recitation of the facts: "The victim reported that the driver made eye contact with the victim, accelerated and struck the victim, and then drove away while shouting 'f*** you people.' The victim is an Arab Muslim student at Stanford."  Another person who had met Omira at a previous protest told a San Francisco TV reporter that he believed Omira was targeted by the white man because of the shirt he was wearing. He said the shirt read "Damascus" in Arabic. 

…. ABC News reported that "Omira told ABC News by phone on Monday that he remains in the hospital and is suffering pain, bruises on his side and loss of sensation in his foot."

“Even as he was treated in the local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, Omira was philosophical, indeed maganimous, toward his attacker and Islamophobes everywhere.”

ABC News reported its discussion with Omira:

I never imagined becoming the victim of a hate-driven attack. His hateful screams ... still echo in my ears.

...As I lay in my hospital bed, grappling with a reality I had never imagined, I reflect on the importance of spreading love kindness, and compassion in a world that seems to be steadily succumbing to hatred and prejudice. This ordeal has solidified my resolve to advocate for love, understanding and inclusivity. I implore everyone reading this: let us collectively denounce hatred, bigotry and violence. Let us take the time to understand one another, to celebrate our diversity, and to stand united against the forces that seek to divide us.

He stated he'd been harmed in other, more profound ways beyond the physical:

The physical wounds will heal with time, but the emotional scars -- the feeling of being targeted solely because of my physical appearance, heritage and beliefs -- are likely to linger.

“CNN and AOL highlighted Omira's magnanimity with this headline: "Muslim student struck in Stanford hit-and-run calls for love, compassion, from hospital bed." 

On November 21, Doug Emhoff (Mr. Kamala Harris) and U.S. Ambassador at Large Rashad Hussain met with Omira at Stanford to offer their support of Omira's "brave resolve." Emhoff somberly intoned, "No one should live in fear of being targeted for who they are. We must continue to fight back against Islamophobia and hate of every kind." 

But there's a problem with the story. 

“Since the incident, if there was one, queries to police agencies investigating the hate crime have gone unanswered except for the statement that they're no longer overseeing the investigation or they're on vacation. We've heard nothing about  arrests or witnesses. There is no information about CCTV confirmation of the attack, if such records exist. How many tips have come into the tipline on campus? No answer. An email to Omira's campus address went unanswered. Somewhere along the line ABC News changed its story about Omira, removing most of his bedside quotes included from its original story and truncating his heroic statements for some reason. 

There's been only one storyline: that this brave and brilliant student is fortitude unblemished. 

And:

[W]hy do Omira's fellow classmates think he's full of it?

Immediately after the drive-by Islmophobic attack, the Stanford Review, an alternative campus newspaper, reported that students offered a completely different take on our "brave" Stanford Islamist. They said that he was a "pathological liar" who had reported "another incident last year, which was also sent out in an email to the student body."

In other words, they believe Omira is at the very least a fabulist.

 [T]he claim that he was a victim of a hate crime appears dubious. Students who know Omira personally refer to him as a “pathological liar,” and are deeply concerned that his story was fabricated. The Review confirmed this information with multiple students familiar with Omira. 

[S]tudents are increasingly concerned about the validity of the victim’s claims, and believe that Omira’s claim of a hate crime is likely fabricated. Multiple students describe Omira as a “pathological liar.” They also claim that he was also an alleged victim of another incident last year, which was also sent out in an email to the student body, in which “a stranger tapped a Middle Eastern student on the shoulder, called him a terrorist, and told him to ‘go home.’” The Review has confirmed these accounts with multiple students. 

Those who know Omira also maintain that he has lied about and fabricated many other aspects of his life. In an Instagram post from 2019, a user who met him shared the life story that Omira had told him—the “craziest story” he had ever heard...

“That "craziest story" they'd ever heard involved Omira being kidnapped and held hostage by Syrian dictator Bashar Assad's henchmen, which, if you're in The White Helmets, doesn't seem so crazy. 

It is odd that there is no social media record that I can find that this incident happened — except the vice president's husband's visit and the "good" word of a media, such as ABC, that has disappeared some of its reportage.”