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Judge says teens hanging noose not a hate crime

Posted at 6:27 AM, Dec 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-14 06:27:30-05

A judge claims two teens accused of hanging a noose outside a middle school in Anne Arundel County did not commit a hate crime.

A Maryland judge found 19-year-old John Havermann guilty of trespassing at Crofton Middle School but didn't charge him with a hate crime. 

He was seen on video with 19-year-old Conner Prout who already pled guilty to a misdemeanor hate crime in the case. 

Maryland law defines a hate crime as something done to a person and not a school community.