POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

What follows is taken from an article written by Lynh Bui for the Washington Post:

A white University of Maryland student accused of fatally stabbing a black student who was visiting the campus has been charged with a hate crime after authorities reviewed his phone and social media activity, prosecutors said.

A Prince George’s County grand jury on Tuesday handed up the hate-crime charge against Sean Urbanski, who already faced a murder count in the May slaying of Richard Collins III. . . .

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks declined to say exactly what evidence of an alleged racial motive was found. But she said federal and local law enforcement officials have been sifting through Urbanski’s phone and other digital devices, as well as his social media activity, and uncovered “lots of digital evidence.” She said Collins’s killing was “unjustified and premeditated.” . . .

Collins’s slaying sparked national outcry after police announced that they were investigating Urbanski’s connection to a Facebook page called Alt-Reich: Nation. . . .

Collins and two friends were at a bus stop on the U-Md. campus in College Park on May 20 when Urbanski approached them at around 3 a.m., police said. Urbanski told Collins, “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you,” according to police charging papers. Collins refused to move, police said. That’s when Urbanski pulled a knife and stabbed Collins, police said.

Urbanski ran from the scene but was quickly found nearby with a folding knife in his pocket, police said. The entire incident was caught on video . . .

Collins, 23, had been commissioned into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant and was set to graduate from Bowie State University just days before he was killed. , , ,

The incident further heightened racial tensions at U-Md., which had reported several race-based incidents throughout the campus in previous months. The university launched new initiatives aimed at reviewing and improving how it investigates them.

Bui’s complete article is available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/u-md-student-to-face-hate-crime-charge-in-fatal-stabbing-on-campus/2017/10/17/a17bfa1c-b35c-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm&utm_term=.8baa4f4deef0.