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Former University of Hartford student Brianna Brochu, 18. (West Hartford Police Department/AP)
A former student at the University of Hartford has been charged with criminal mischief and breach of peace after bragging online about contaminating her roommate’s belongings with bodily fluids, including rubbing dirty tampons on her backpack and putting her toothbrush “places where the sun doesn’t shine.”
Eighteen-year-old Brianna Brochu appeared in court Wednesday. A judge banned her from the campus in central Connecticut and ordered her not to have any contact with her former dormitory roommate, Chennel Rowe, pending the conclusion of the case, according to the Hartford Courant.
Authorities told the Courant that Brochu, who is white, also faces a hate-crime charge stemming from the alleged actions against her roommate, who is black.
Last month, Brochu allegedly wrote on Instagram that she finally “got rid of her roommate,” whom she referred to as “Jamaican Barbie.”
“After 1½ month of spitting in her coconut oil, putting moldy clam dip in her lotions, rubbing used tampons [on] her backpack, putting her toothbrush places where the sun doesn’t shine, and so much more, I can finally say goodbye Jamaican Barbie,” the post read, according to court records obtained by Heavy.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Brochu posted pictures, including one of a bag stained with a “reddish brown substance” that she later acknowledged was “period blood,” one of a food container filled with a milky substance and one of hair extensions with the caption, “This b—- legit bought a box of f—ing hair.”
[Three Dartmouth professors accused of sexual misconduct]
University of Hartford President Greg Woodward said in a letter Wednesday to the campus community that following the “deeply disturbing situation,” Brochu is no longer a student at the school. He said the university took immediate action once it learned about the allegations, notifying campus authorities and the West Hartford Police Department, which opened an investigation on Oct. 18.
Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Brochu was arrested Saturday after telling police that she started to lash out at Rowe after she posted videos of Brochu sleeping and teasing her for snoring, according to court documents.
She told police that she did lick Rowe’s “plate, fork and spoon,” rub a used tampon on her backpack and mix Rowe’s lotions together, but she said that everything else she bragged about online was not true, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Brochu had not yet been assigned an attorney in the case.
Rowe recounted the ordeal Monday in a Facebook Live video, saying that she had been experiencing throat pain for weeks and did not know why. She told police earlier this month that a nurse had advised her she had a “bacteria present in her throat” and Rowe suspected it was caused by “Brochu tampering with her personal items,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Rowe said in the Facebook video that she learned about Brochu’s social media post when she was approached by a former neighbor and two resident assistants as she was switching dorm rooms.
As a young African American woman I don’t want to become another statistic. When it comes to college incidents/crimes…
Posted by Jazzy Rowe on Monday, October 30, 2017
The university president called the incident “deeply upsetting.”
“One of our students was the alleged victim of bullying and her story was shared across social media,” Woodward said Tuesday in a letter to the campus.
“The incident has brought about accusations of racism, and I want you to know that I hear and share your anger and frustration,” he said. “Acts of racism, bias, bullying, or other abusive behaviors will not be tolerated on this campus. I pledge to do everything in my power to work with our community to address related concerns together.”
Woodward said the University of Hartford “is not exempt from issues facing our society and world” and encouraged others to come forward with concerns.
“We must strive every day to practice understanding, tolerance, inclusion, and grace,” he said. “I know that you will join me in this critical mission.”
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It also provided fodder for him to shift the public focus away from the special counsel investigation that unveiled criminal charges against three former campaign aides this week. But in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Mr. Trump adamantly denied being concerned about the indictments.
“I’m not under investigation, as you know,” he said in a brief telephone call. Pointing to the indictment of his former campaign chief, Paul Manafort, the president said, “And even if you look at that, there’s not even a mention of Trump in there.” Noting that Mr. Manafort was charged with financial crimes stemming from his lobbying business, the president added: “It has nothing to do with us.”
Mr. Trump, a lifelong New Yorker, wasted little time Wednesday morning assigning fault for the attack along the bicycle path. “The terrorist came into our country through what is called the “Diversity Visa Lottery Program,” a Chuck Schumer beauty,” he wrote on Twitter. “I want merit based.”
Mr. Schumer responded from the floor of the Senate, noting that after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush brought Mr. Schumer and Hillary Clinton, then the other Democratic senator from New York, to the White House to demonstrate national unity.
“President Trump, where is your leadership?” Mr. Schumer asked. “President Trump, instead of politicizing and dividing America, which he always seems to do at times of national tragedy, should be bringing us together and focusing on the real solution — antiterrorism funding — which he proposed to cut in his most recent budget.”
At a news conference updating the public about the attack, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York chided Mr. Trump for his Twitter posts, saying they “were not helpful,” were not “even accurate” and “tended to point fingers and politicize the situation.”
“You play into the hands of the terrorists to the extent that you disrupt and divide and frighten people in this society,” said Mr. Cuomo, who is a Democrat. “And the tone now should be the exact opposite by all officials on all levels. This is about unification, this is about solidarity.”
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At his own public appearance later in the day, Mr. Trump took aim again at the diversity lottery visa program. “Diversity lottery — sounds nice,” he added. “It’s not nice. It’s not good. It hasn’t been good. We’ve been against it.”
Responding to questions by reporters, he said he was open to transferring the suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, from civilian courts into the military system set up for foreign terrorists.
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“I would certainly consider that,” he said at the beginning of a cabinet meeting. “Send him to Gitmo, I would certainly consider that, yes.”
Likewise, he vowed to toughen prosecution and punishment of terrorists without specifying how. “We need quick justice and we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now,” Mr. Trump said. “Because what we have right now is a joke and it’s a laughingstock.”
No one arrested on American soil has ever been sent to Guantánamo Bay, and no one captured on foreign soil has been sent there since 2008. Transferring the suspect from New York would raise a host of thorny constitutional and legal issues, and Mr. Trump seemed to be speaking off the top of his head since federal prosecutors later moved to process the suspect in civilian courts.
Asked later about his comment on Guantánamo, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, dismissed it as notional, saying that “he wasn’t necessarily advocating for it, but he certainly would support it if he felt like that was the best move.”
By the end of the day, the president came under criticism from conservative allies for not declaring Mr. Saipov an enemy combatant, which would have allowed interrogators more freedom to question him without granting him the rights of a civilian defendant. “The Trump administration missed an important opportunity to send a strong message to terrorists and make America safer,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. “This is a huge mistake. Very sad.”
The diversity visa program cited by Mr. Trump was created in 1990 by a bill supported by Mr. Schumer, passed by bipartisan votes and signed into law by a Republican president, George Bush. Mr. Schumer supported getting rid of the program as part of a comprehensive immigration plan crafted by eight lawmakers and passed by the Senate in 2013. But the plan was blocked in the House by Republicans who objected to other elements they considered amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who has broken with Mr. Trump, came to Mr. Schumer’s defense on Wednesday. “Actually, the Gang of 8, including @SenSchumer, did away with the Diversity Visa Program as part of broader reforms,” Mr. Flake wrote on Twitter. “I know, I was there.”
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The program creates a class of immigrants called “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. About 50,000 diversity visas are distributed annually, or roughly 5 percent of the total green cards issued by the United States. Nearly 14.7 million people applied last year, meaning less than 1 percent of those who seek such visas receive them.
The program has been a target of conservatives, who proposed eliminating it in legislation endorsed in August by Mr. Trump that would crack down on legal immigration. The legislation would slash legal immigration to the United States in half within a decade by sharply curtailing the ability of American citizens and legal residents to bring family members into the country.
In his remarks, Mr. Trump stressed that he wanted “merit-based” immigration, suggesting that Mr. Saipov was admitted without consideration about whether he had skills that could benefit the United States. In fact, the program requires applicants to have a high school education or be employed for at least two years in jobs approved by the State Department.
Mr. Trump, who during last year’s campaign called for a complete ban on all Muslims entering the United States, has long sought to tighten the borders. He has signed several versions of the travel ban aimed mainly at predominantly Muslim countries even as courts repeatedly intervened.
Uzbekistan was not among the countries targeted for “extreme vetting” but Ms. Sanders said “that may be something that’s looked at.”
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