The Ingham County prosecutor has closed an investigation into what was once alleged to be a hate crime. There won't be any charges - and the family of the victim, who claims he was beaten up because he was Jewish - is apparently OK with that.
MSU student Zachary Tennen made the explosive charges after claiming he was assaulted on August 26th.
19-year-old Tennen originally claimed several people beat him up, made Nazi salutes and stapled his mouth shut at a house party on the 500 block of Spartan Avenue. He said at the time that no one intervened or helped him.
The prosecutor says that East Lansing police interviewed more than 50 witnesses - and at one time, said there was a possible suspect or person of interest in the case. Investigators also said that based on their findings, it did not appear to be a hate crime. They say it all started over a woman.
"She said he was touching her making her feel uncomfortable, she was telling him to stop and that he wouldn't stop," said Captain Jeff Murphy with ELPD. "The person then warned him, if you don't stop, I'm going to punch you. Apparently he didn't and then he got punched."
"After reviewing all of the evidence submitted by the Police Department, I have reached the conclusion that no charges should be issued at this time," said Stuart Dunnings in a press release. "I believe there is no evidence that any ethnic/religious/racial bias was involved in this incident."
The Tennen family apparently agrees.
Through a letter from a family attorney, the family says is "is cognizant of the fact that substantial resources were expended to investigate these allegations and that there is insufficient evidence of a hate crime to go forward with a criminal prosecution."
"The Tennen family is grateful for the professionalism of law enforcement and the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office in conducting a full and fair investigation of this matter and believes that justice will be best served by closing the investigation at this time," the statement read.
