Beloit College student falsely reports hate crime incident

BELOIT, Wis. (WMTV) -- A Beloit College student was arrested by Beloit police after police say he lied about a hate crime incident on campus.

Beloit police were investigating multiple hate crimes at Beloit College. On January 27, an anti-Semitic note was slipped under a dorm room door.

On January 30, 20-year-old Michael Kee reported his dorm room door and nearby wall were spray painted with a bias symbol and phrases related to his religion and ethnicity.

Police say Kee confessed he was responsible for the spray painting.. He allegedly told police he saw how the campus community came together after the first reported incident and wanted similar attention.

"The false report by Kee may only serve to delegitimize other victims of these types of egregious offenses," says the Beloit Police Department. "However, we believe it is important for our community to know that Kee’s incident does not diminish our resolve going forward with these reported incidents and any other reported crimes of this nature. Detectives are continuing to work diligently to ensure all efforts are made to identify the involved suspect(s)."

Beloit College released a statement saying, "This situation does not diminish the college’s resolve in resisting xenophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, and Islamophobia that aims to intimidate and silence its targets. The Beloit College investigations of hate crimes continues."

Kee was arrested for obstructing, disorderly conduct, and criminal damage. His arrest has been forwarded to the Rock County District Attorney's Office for charging consideration.