Air Force Academy Closes Investigation Into Alleged 'Hate Crime'

April 2, 2010

Author: Lance Benzel

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette

http://www.gazette.com/articles/academy-96589-air-force.html

Air Force Academy officials said today they may never know who left a large wooden cross at the campus’ recently constructed Earth-centered worship circle – or why.

Investigators closed their probe into the Jan. 17 incident a little more than a month after it began, saying they exhausted efforts to find the person or people responsible, said Capt. Corinna Jones, an academy spokeswoman.

Among the mysteries left unsolved: Whether the cross was an act of religious intolerance, an innocent mistake, or something in between.

“For it to be a hate crime, you have to know the motives,” Jones said.

The cross – consisting of two railroad ties propped against a boulder - was reported by Tech Sgt. Brandon Longcrier, an academy staff member who presides over a dozen cadets who follow pagan and other Earth-centered religious traditions.