Late last month, we reported on an attack at Harvard Law School where someone “affiliated with HLS” attacked a student “while also uttering a homophobic slur.” We now know that a student on leave from the law school, Naod Nega, 27, was charged with a hate crime following the attack. According to police documents, Nega is being charged with assault and battery to intimidate, with bodily injury.
As reported by Law.com, more details are emerging about the attack:
Nega was reportedly threatening students on campus with a baseball bat and using homophobic slurs, Jeremy Warnick, director of communications and media relations for the Cambridge Police Department, told Law.com in an email Thursday. Warnick also said Nega allegedly punched a law student in an unprovoked attack and intimidated them due to their sexual orientation.
The violence allegedly did not end with the incident at the law school:
Cambridge police officers served the arrest warrant at a local hospital, where, as a patient, Nega allegedly assaulted at least five employees during his stay while spouting racial slurs, Warnick said, adding that, due to public safety risk concerns documented by hospital staff, he was transported directly to Cambridge District Court from the hospital by our officers on Jan. 27 for arraignment.
Nega has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and he was ordered to undergo treatment and evaluation at a local hospital. He is scheduled to appear back in court for a status hearing on February 16th.
Harvard Law Student Charged With Hate Crime Over Attack on Fellow HLS Student [Law.com]
Earlier: Harvard Law School Student Attacked While Assailant Hurled Slurs
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
