Calls for hate crime charges against Kentucky student arrested for racist attack as she posts $10k bail
Sophia Rosing, 22, was seen on video using a racial slur against another student and told the arresting officer she has ’lots of money’ and gets ‘special treatment’, police said
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Calls are mounting for a University of Kentucky student who was arrested after a viral video captured her assaulting and hurling the n-word at Black students to face hate crime charges.
Sophia Rosing, 22, was arrested on Sunday night at the Lexington-based university after campus police were called to one of the dormitories for an incident involving a physical and verbal altercation brought on by the young woman.
She has since posted $10,000 bail, reportedly with help from her parents, and withdrawn from the university as demands grow for prosecutors add hate crimes to her charge sheet.
Video of the brazen attack spread like wildfire on social media, showing the inebriated 22-year-old using a racial slur against a Black student who was working at the dormitory’s front desk on Sunday morning before attempting to strike her.
“Could you stop?” asks the victim, in a video that was captioned with, “what I had to deal with at work”. The student was working an overnight shift at the campus residence, university President Eli Capilouto told students in an email Sunday, NBC News reported, and the video was shared shortly after the arrest and quickly went viral.
“Nope,” Ms Rosing responded after being asked to stop by the Black student. “You’re a n***** and you’re a b****,” said Ms Rosing, a racial slur that the arrest citation claims she would go on to use “200 times” over the course of the arrest.
“I do not get paid enough for this,” says the victim, as she attempts to fight off the 22-year-old’s attempts to strike her.
The senior at the Kentucky school reportedly told arresting officers as she was being taken to the Fayette County Detention Center shortly after the early morning call was placed that she has “lots of money” and gets “special treatment,” according to the arrest citation, Fox 19 reported.
After attempting to get the intoxicated student to sit in a chair, the arrest citation notes that she then kicked the arresting officer and “bit their hand”.
In sum, Ms Rosing faces charges of alcohol intoxication in a public place, fourth-degree assault without visible injury, second-degree disorderly conduct, and third-degree assault on a police officer or probation officer, according to Kimberly Baird, the Fayette County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
On Monday, Ms Rosing pleaded not guilty to all of the charges brought against her as she appeared via video link to her first court appearance from the Fayette County Detention Center, WKYT reported.
Ms Rosing’s parents, Jill and Don Rosing, attended their daughter’s hearing and by Monday evening, the bail for the 22-year-old northern Kentucky native had been posted as she was seen leaving the detention centre, the Daily Mail reported.
As part of the 22-year-old bail conditions, she is required to not have contact with the victims in the alleged attack and is banned from Boyd Hall – the residence where the incident occurred – and from drinking alcohol.
Footage of the viral attack garnered the attention of civil rights attorneys, namely Ben Crump, who argued that there were grounds to add a hate crime charge against the 22-year-old student.
“22-yo University of Kentucky student Sophia Rosing has been arrested for attacking and repeatedly calling a student worker racial slurs. Rosing’s racist attacks are vile! She needs to be charged with a HATE CRIME in addition to the several charges she’s facing!” tweeted the nationally recognised civil rights lawyer, who has taken on prominent cases such as leading the George Floyd family legal team and cases for people affected by the Flint water crisis.
While appearing in court on Monday, Ms Rosing was referred to as “Jane Doe”, as she was originally booked in the Kentucky Department of Corrections’ records since officers at the time of her arrest were unable to ascertain her identity.
Outside of the possible criminal charges that Ms Rosing faces, the University of Kentucky has responded to the incident by stating that they are in the midst of carrying out a review as they reach out to potential victims impacted by the altercation, Mr Capilouto said in a statement.
“To be clear: we condemn this behavior and will not tolerate it under any circumstance. The safety and well-being of our community has been — and will continue to be — our top priority,” he said.
In reviewing the footage of the video that appears to show the assault, university’s president defended the victim, noting that she acted “with professionalism, restraint and discretion” while he condemned the actions of the attacker.
“The video images I have seen do not honor our responsibilities to each other. They reflect violence, which is never acceptable, and a denial of the humanity of members of our community. They do not reflect civil discourse. They are deeply antithetical to what we are and what we always want to be as a community,” the university’s president said.
As of now, Ms Rosing remains enrolled in the university and the institution says that it legally cannot comment on the disciplinary status of a student.
The University of Kentucky said in a statement shared on their social media channels that the Office of Student Conduct and the Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity are conducting immediate reviews.
“We are aware of this incident. The video is deeply offensive, and we take it very seriously,” the statement read, adding that more details would be released “as we know more”.
The Independent has reached out to authorities for more information and it is unclear if Ms Rosing has retained an attorney for representation.