UPDATED 4/27 BELOW THE FOLD

Some commenters who read this post on the U.S. Attorney’s decision to drop charges against Philip Cooney (MSB ‘10) want more clarification about that decision and the reporting in my recent article on the subject, and I’m happy to oblige (sorry it took so long, but it is, after all, the last week of school). Keep in mind that this analysis is only based on my reporting on the case since last fall and a four month stint working at a legal magazine covering a variety of court cases, so nothing in here is gospel.

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The U.S. Attorney’s office of the District of Columbia dropped all charges against Philip Cooney (MSB ‘10) relating to an assault that occurred last fall which attracted controversy on and off campus.

Cooney was charged with bias-related assault by the Metropolitan Police Department last September, but the U.S. Attorney reported that “subsequent investigation raised doubts as to … whether based upon available evidence we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant in this case was the person who actually committed the assault.”

“Philip was always completely innocent of the charges against him and the dismissal of the case has vindicated him entirely,” Danny Onorato, Cooney’s lawyer, wrote in a statement. “To know Philip Cooney is to know a young man of exemplary character who was wrongfully accused in this case.”

The U.S. Attorney’s office has indicated that they continue to consider the assault, in which a male Georgetown student was beaten by an assailant who shouted anti-gay slurs, a criminal act. Cooney was originally implicated in the assault through a Facebook.com profile and, later, a police photo line-up. During the pre-trial period, the prosecuting Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Mary Dobbie and Joseph Spurber, determined that they would not be able to firmly establish that Cooney was present at the time of the assault.

Neither Cooney nor the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office were available for comment. It is not clear at this time if any investigation into the assault will continue.

For the Voice’s comprehensive coverage of the case, click here. Check this blog and Thursday’s edition for more information on the dropped charges.

The latest news about the bias-related incident that spurred Monday’s campus rally: The as-yet-unidentified victim found alleged assailant Philip Cooney (MSB ‘10) not just on Facebook, but also in an MPD photo line-up. Here’s Sam Sweeney’s web exclusive. Be sure to keep an eye on the blog and Thursday’s edition of the paper for more news on this developing story.

- Tim Fernholz, Editor in Chief

Look, I don’t want to be “that guy”, but how are we all forgetting what happened at Duke University last fall? I shouldn’t have to remind anyone about that case, but I will. Three innocent students were prematurely indicted by an out-of-line rogue attorney, and his manipulation of evidence captivated the entire country while completely destroying the lives of those kids.

And though this is to an admittedly smaller degree, at least on the national scale, it seems like the same kind of case. It’s the accused’s word versus the word of the accuser. How can we arbitrarily side with the accuser just because the media has so willingly done so? And as for using Facebook as a way to identify someone who attacked you in a flash in the dark of night? Please.

Despite what this looks like, I’m not taking sides, but it seems I’m about the only person remaining neutral. As far as I can remember, people in the United States are always innocent until proven guilty, and nothing at all has been proven. While hateful slurs have no place in our society, due process does, and we need to heed the lessons learned from the Duke case and wait this out before we destroy the potentially good name of one of our own.

-Justin Scott, staff writer

GU Pride held a rally in Red Square today in response to the hate crime allegedly committed by a Georgetown student in early September. Thursday’s Voice will have more coverage of the rally, as well as any developments with the alleged assailant, Phillip Cooney (MSB ‘10). Until then, why not enjoy some pictures from our Flickr account?

This poster was hung up during the rally. It’s not clear through the paint, but underneath it says, “Why Can’t You Just Be Normal.”

On the left, a speaker at the rally.

-Will Sommer, blog editor

Metropolitan Police arrested Georgetown student Phillip Cooney Wednesday in connection with an anti-gay hate crime, according to police chief Kathy Lanier.

According to the MSNBC article, on the September 9th a gang of men yelling homophobic insults attacked a man on 36th Street. The victim checked Facebook, found Phillip’s profile, and thought his attacker and Phillip had more than a passing resemblance. Looks like that annoying guy you know who won’t get a Facebook account because he says it’ll limit his career prospects was right, if indirectly.

The real question is, if Phillip’s guilty, who were his gay-bashing cronies? I doubt a Georgetown student would cruise Washington for homophobic partners-in-crime, so other Hoyas would seem like natural accomplices. If all his friends have alibis, Tucker Carlson has a history with this sort of thing.

Phillip’s either gone underground with his Facebook account or deleted it. I guess not all Georgetown students have the guts to thumb their noses at police on social networks.

-Will Sommer, blog editor