Suspected hate crimes follow Jena 6 news

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Authorities in several U.S. states are investigating a spate of suspected hate crimes in the wake of a highly publicized racial incident in Louisiana.

Brian Levin -- executive director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino -- said at least a dozen hate crimes have occurred nationwide following national publicity about the co-called Jena 6, USA Today reported Wednesday.

"Any time you have a case that receives national notoriety, you see an uptick in copycat offenses," Levin said.

The Jena 6 are six black teenagers who face criminal charges for an attack on a white student in reaction to the placement of three nooses on a high school campus tree. The ground under the tree had been known as a gathering place for white students only, and the nooses appeared after black students gathered there after clearing it with school administrators.

Levin said the recent appearance of a noose at the University of Maryland and other apparent hate crimes are cases of others attempting to capitalize on the notoriety of the Jena 6.

"Those prejudices are already there for the most part, and what the Jena incident did was give them a green light on repeating this novelty," he said.