A Haven Middle School student has been charged after three nooses were found on the school’s campus in Evanston last month, according to police.
The student, who is not being named because he is a juvenile, has been charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, police said.
Police said the Cook County state’s attorney’s office reviewed the evidence and declined to add a hate crime charge “because the actions and motive of the involved juvenile did not meet the legal, statutory elements of a hate crime.”
The nooses were found hanging from a tree in the school’s recess area on May 13. They were found there after students at Haven had staged a sit-in to protest staffing changes.
Police said witness interviews, surveillance footage and cellphone videos led to the identification of the student responsible.
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