by Tom Pappert | The Tennessee Star
Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) did not respond to a Wednesday inquiry from The Tennessee Star seeking more information to corroborate her previous claim that she and 17 students suffered a “series of hate crimes” on the Rhodes College campus in 2002.
Rhodes College Campus Safety similarly has yet to respond to requests for comment about the alleged hate crimes, nor have they supplied any documentary evidence including police reports, after Crockett claimed she and the other students were sent racist letters to their campus mailboxes.
Crockett’s office told The Star on Tuesday the racist mail was assembled using letters cut out of magazines and newspapers.
A statement from Rhodes College to The Star on Wednesday acknowledged the school’s senior leadership has changed in the last 20 years, but claimed “the information we have suggests some racially motivated incidents occurred in that timeframe that led Rhodes to take affirmative steps to ensure Rhodes is a welcoming and inclusive campus.”
Rhodes College did not answer specific questions from The Star, including whether there is evidence of a hate crime investigation in 2002, if records exist of an attorney being retained by the institution, or if there is evidence Crockett reported a hate crime to authorities.
Crockett’s office did not respond to a Wednesday inquiry by The Star that sought to determine whether the letters still exist and are in her possession. Her office likewise did not respond when asked for a copy, or to provide details about other students who were alleged victims of the hate crimes.
The Memphis Police Department (MPD) told The Star on Wednesday that they had no record of Crockett reporting a crime at Rhodes College in 2002. However, the MPD suggested that the college may have the information if MPD was not involved in the investigation and raised the possibility of another student filing a police report instead of Crockett.
Crockett originally asserted she was “the victim of a series of hate crimes” at Rhodes College in her junior year, claiming to Darling Society in a 2020 interview that she and a “handful of other Black students” were subjected to hate crimes to the extent that Rhodes College “brought in The Cochran Firm” to assist.
The current owner of The Cochran Firm told The Star he had “no idea” about the veracity of Crockett’s claim, as the practice recently changed hands and most of those practicing in senior positions in 2002 are no longer living.
In a separate 2021 interview, Crockett first revealed the alleged hate crime involved letters and claimed some of the students additionally had their vehicles vandalized in a Rhodes College parking lot, though her office did not repeat this claim in its previous response to The Star.
Crockett remains in the news after she moved to trademark the phrase “bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body,” which she used to insult Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) during a profane argument in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Democrat used the phrase after Greene questioned whether Crockett’s vision was obstructed by her lengthy eyelashes.
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett” by Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.