What happened to Morgan Bettinger? Activist Zyahna Bryant's false accusations ruined White student's life
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After ruining a White student's life by alleging she overheard her threaten to drive them over, a well-known Black Lives Matter activist eventually acknowledged she might have misheard. In July 2020, during the George Floyd protests in Charlottesville, Zyahna Bryant, 22, said she overheard fellow University of Virginia student Morgan Bettinger threatening demonstrators by suggesting they'd "make good speedbumps."
Bettinger maintains that she didn't say the comparable thing to the truck driver blocking the road as a threat, despite having acknowledged it during a student misconduct trial. According to reports, Bettinger said, "It's a good thing that you are here because otherwise, these people would have been speed bumps."
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What happened to Morgan Bettinger?
On July 17, 2020, Bettinger was traveling eastbound from work when she noticed a dump truck blocking the street. As a result, the then-student drove around the truck because she didn't think it was totally blocking the junction. She stated she was unable to turn around when she noticed the road was blocked. The truck driver beckoned her over as soon as she parked and stepped outside. The driver claimed Bettinger said the above-mentined statement during a brief conversation they had, as reported by Reason.
She then strolled around the truck to observe the protesters after they became aware of her and started filming. A handful of the demonstrators started to follow her as she took a picture and went back to her car to phone her mother. Bettinger, whose late father was a police officer, claims she was simply expressing her relief that the truck driver, who shall remain nameless, was there to guard the demonstrators. She claims she did so out of relief that his presence decreased the likelihood of a repeat of the notorious 2017 Unite the Right rally in the city, where anti-racist activist Heather Heyer was ran over and killed by a white supremacist.
'She then called the police and started crying'
Even though it was later claimed that Bryant had only heard about the comment about speed bumps secondhand, Bryant initially insisted on Twitter that Bettinger had actually threatened her and others. She tweeted, "The woman in this truck approached protesters in #Charlottesville, and told us that we would make 'good speedbumps. She then called the police and started crying saying we were attacking her."
On a profile that is now turned to private, the accusation quickly gained popularity. The fact that Bettinger was immediately identified and that her late father had been a police officer further infuriated her detractors. Bryant and others are urging Bettinger to be given a harsh penalty or expulsion, as reported by Daily Mail. As a result, Bettinger was bullied in college and even stalked in her hometown, which made her fear for her safety.
Despite not being able to support Bryant's assertion regarding Bettinger's motivations, the UVA Judiciary Committee subsequently determined that Bettinger had made a valid threat. Even casually using the terms during the anti-racism demonstrations in the summer of 2020, according to its "jurors," would result in penalties, as per reports.
Bryant might have misheard Bettinger
Additionally, Bryant complained to the school's Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (EOCR), claiming that Bettinger had made the racial slur five times and had treated Bryant unfairly. Three of the five charges, according to EOCR, could not be substantiated, and Bryant later acknowledged that she might have misheard Bettinger say the'speed bumps' assertion that caused her reputation to be ruined. The investigation, which was produced in response to Bryant's complaint, revealed the most damning fact: it was highly unlikely that the activist had heard Bettinger make the remark. No witnesses were able to confirm Bryant's account of what happened, as per reports.