UNC Hate Crime: Quinn Matney, UNC Student, Says He Was Branded In Hate Crime (UPDATED)

UPDATE:
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Department of Public Safety has determined that this alleged hate crime was false. For updates on this breaking story, continue reading here.

***
ORIGINAL POST:

A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill freshman says that he was a victim of a hate crime on campus.

Quinn Matney told NBC 17 he was walking near his dorm April 4 when a man pressed a "scalding hot piece of metal" on his wrist and said "Here's a taste of hell, you fucking fag."

The man fled after Matney punched him. Matney, who is gay, told the Daily Tar Heel that the branding left him with burns so serious that he lost feeling in his thumb.

The Tar Heel also reports that UNC has been "largely silent" about the attack:

University officials did not officially comment until a post on Alert Carolina on Monday evening, a week after the incident.

"A very blatant hate crime against a GLBT individual occurred on this campus, and we only heard about it by word of mouth," [JGay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight Alliance Co-Chairman Jeff] DeLuca said.

[...]

UNC plans to report the incident as a hate crime to the federal government, Chancellor Holden Thorp said in an formal notice e-mail to students Monday.

WATCH: NBC 17 report

Comments

[Rooster Coburn]

06:10 PM on 04/18/2011

Here's another one.
Bloomfield ATM Robbery At Knifepoint Was Made Up, Police Say.
http://www.wtae.com/r/17789356/detail.html

[KDMac]

10:13 AM on 04/14/2011

The only apology I'm interested in hearing is Quinn's.

[PaulHenderson]

09:31 PM on 04/13/2011

For all the self-righteous fools who challenged my immediate assertion that this little boy was LYING, apologies will will be accepted starting NOW!

[Rich711]

09:38 PM on 04/13/2011

That is about as likely to happen as a maniac Christian zealot running around college campuses at night with a branding iron marking those he sees as sinful. Although if you add a creepy mask you'd have an awesome antagonist for horror movies.

[Rational Thought Plz]

06:43 PM on 04/14/2011

Haha I really like that idea. It could be no worse than most of the horror movies they make these days.

Disclaimer: Im not envisioning the movie as anti-gay, im envisioning it as anti-"sin".. I wonder if Kevin Smiths Red State is actually similar to your idea?

[Rational Thought Plz]

12:19 AM on 04/14/2011

Im still waiting on mine as well. I am apparently a Homoph0be for immediately realizing the story made no sense. Was nice how a couple people who "know" him stopped by to proclaim his innocence then disappeared after it was proved a hoax.

[Rich711]

06:00 PM on 04/13/2011

When you think about it, the campus police REALLY tried to do this kid a favor by not reporting it and claiming to not writing down his correct phone number. But obviously after being hounded by the GLBTQ Assoc and his father calling about why a police officer still hadnt contacted them about filing a police report they were forced to take his fraudulent report. Obviously someone at campus police or campus medical knows what it looks like when a kid gets high and passes out with his crack pipe in his hand.

[fratricide08]

05:31 AM on 04/14/2011

Oh my God. I hadn't even thought of that but it makes perfect sense -- everything from how he got an infection from a sterile object (anything hot enough to burn is sterile but many hours passing especially stoned can allow infection in) to why he needed to supply a false story and seemed more keen about his explanation being accepted than about worrying that he was the victim of a violent attack (he just seem like he cared but he did care about his story/excuse).

[Daisytoo]

03:33 PM on 04/13/2011

1.) Since this guy committed a "hate crime" against himself, can he sue himself for damages?

2.) Since he also has committed a 'hate crime' against Christians, can Christians sue him for damages?

[Rich711]

05:19 PM on 04/13/2011

I think UNCs GLBTQ Assoc. that was so outspoken about this attack should make a statement about how they are addressing the hatred toward Christianity that so many GLBT&Q consider an acceptable form of bigotry. If students are asked to stop verbal attacks against students sexuality or even use the phrase "That's Gay" than verbal attacks against students faith should also be considered unacceptable.

[Daisytoo]

05:28 PM on 04/13/2011

I agree. Of course he//ll will freeze over before that happens - which takes nothing whatsoever away from your valid point.

[Marlo Stanfield]

01:37 PM on 04/13/2011

I had a sneaking suspicion that this would be like the woman who threw acid on herself or the woman who carved an "O" on her forehead and claimed Obama supporters did it to her.

This guy should go to jail. He likely filed a false police report and he certainily made it more difficult for legitimate victims of hate crimes to be taken seriously and to seek justice. I am actually supportive of hate crimes legislation, but when people try to abuse the process, there must be consequences.

[JtownesquireAgain]

01:23 PM on 04/13/2011

Just anotehr attention-seeker. I hope they finish the "investigation" and when they come to the conclusion that he has lied, they carry through with prosecuting him. I'm in no way homophobic or otherwise opposed to gay rights, but I am opposed to those who use issues for their own personal gain at the expense of legitimate victims. This guy has made it harder for legitimate victims of hate crimes to be taken seriously and believed. He needs to do some time.

[Jason N]

01:26 PM on 04/13/2011

"This guy has made it harder for legitimate victims of hate crimes to be taken seriously and believed. He needs to do some time."

Agree 100%.

[Rich711]

12:09 PM on 04/13/2011

I bet someone wishes they didnt have such a unique name now that the dozens of links will come up anytime anyone googles him for the rest of his life. Maybe he will change his name to Liar McDramaqueen.

[KDMac]

10:09 AM on 04/13/2011

Where are all the apologies?

[Daisytoo]

05:38 PM on 04/13/2011

Don't you know? Being a Lefty means never having to say you're sorry.

[Jaxy]

05:53 PM on 04/13/2011

I suppose that in your twisted alternate reality, you can decipher who a "Lefty" is, just by reading that said person is gay. Apparently, the terms "GOProud" and "Log Cabin Republican" just whooshed right by your brain.

The GOP's War on Ejookayshunz claims another veek-tum.

[SOD]

02:47 AM on 04/13/2011

Here is what I've been trying to post since the story broke:

The burn suffered by the young man would have required that the hot implement be applied for more than a brief touch, unless the implement was a freshly heated red hot branding iron.

Considering it was the alleged victims punch that led the alleged assailant to cease his attack, why was his punch delayed so as to permit the required ongoing contact?

If the alleged assailant did indeed have a freshly heated red hot branding iron, how was he transporting it?

I suspect the young man burned himself and didn't want to admit it at the hospital. College students do stupid things and try to cover them up on a daily basis.

I require more convincing evidence.

[KDMac]

10:06 AM on 04/13/2011

The question is, was this an accidental burn that he decided to blame someone for, or was the whole thing intentional?

[TexasTreader]

10:27 AM on 04/13/2011

They love their drama.

[SOD]

01:46 PM on 04/13/2011

These are important questions indeed. However, they are not as high a priority as determining whether or not the wound was a result of an assault.

I'm saddened by how easily people are duped. I'm also very disappointed in how my analysis, which was a purely objective, was censored by HP from the beginning and my opinion was characterized as bigotry by the complaisant sheeple.

[Rich711]

01:40 AM on 04/13/2011

Is it still a hate crime since he made false allegations against Christians? If a redneck staged a crime and blamed a Muslim to generate hate toward Islam it would be treated as a hate crime. The law should treat him equally.

[Jason N]

11:55 AM on 04/13/2011

"Is it still a hate crime since he made false allegation­s against Christians­?"

Nowhere in the article above do I see him blaming Christians. Nor do I see any such claim in the linked article. Of course, you Christians see yourselves as victims 24/7 so why should this be different?

[Rich711]

12:38 PM on 04/13/2011

Youre right, the stories now that it are fake are removing a lot of his now bigoted remarks. Go back 24 hours and look at the remarks he made in different interview. Its one of the reasons so many didnt believe him. The more attention he got the more elaborate the incident as well as things that were said and how fiercely he fought back became in his mind. It was framed and reported as an attack by a radical Christian.

[Rich711]

12:40 PM on 04/13/2011

"You Christians" I see you share the same bigoted opinions.

[whatwasthat]

12:21 PM on 04/13/2011

yup!

[MrEguy]

10:06 PM on 04/12/2011

UNC: Reported hate crime on student based on sexuality is false

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/apr/12/7/unc-report-assault-student-based-sexuality-false-ar-942669/

[nhr 215]

09:00 PM on 04/12/2011

This didn't exactly sound credible from the beginning. I mean who goes around branding people? And in terms of just the physics/mechanics of the situation it is kind of ludicrous.

[SOD]

02:33 AM on 04/13/2011

That's what's I thought from the start. I laid out a pretty good analysis very early on in the day.

I suspect HP read my comment and realized they had been had, and instead of letting my comment post they are still blocking it.

They essentially buried the objective analysis until they were able to act as if they uncovered the truth.

Now that's journalism ;)

[Daisytoo]

10:36 AM on 04/13/2011

I suspect it was because your analysis didn't meet the necessary PC criteria here at HP.

Me? I knew he was lying because of my work w/trauma victims - he just didn't ring true. His wound was most likely a result of sado-masochism gone wild. If "hate crimes" were in and of themselves logically valid (which IMO, they are not) then this poor guy should be charged w/a crime against himself. Hope he gets the help he needs.

[kochspaymeincash]

08:03 PM on 04/12/2011

Not again.

[alguien]

07:30 PM on 04/12/2011

i saw this story posted on towleroad this morning and my BS detector immediately started going off. the whole incident is right out of ashley todd land (the chick who carved the backwards "B" into her cheek for those of you whose memories have lapsed).