A student at the University of Illinois was charged with a felony hate crime and disorderly conduct after he allegedly hung a noose inside an elevator in a campus residence building.
Sophomore Andrew M. Smith, 19, was charged Tuesday after the noose was discovered early Sunday morning in Allen Hall.
Champaign County Assistant State’s Attorney Kristin Alferink said that Smith found the rope in the elevator and tied it into a noose on the spot, according to CBS 42. University spokeswoman Robin Kaler said that a woman who claims to have been with Smith at the time came forward to the university.
Smith told university police that he “only spent about 30 seconds thinking about his actions” and that despite the backlash on social media, he didn’t think his actions required turning himself in, Alferink stated.
Smith’s attorney, Audrey Thompson, described him as a student with enough credits to graduate this year and said that he has a 3.79 grade point average.
“The university does not condone acts of intolerance, bias, or prejudice,” Kaler said in a statement.
