Hate-Crime Charges Weighed in Clementi Suicide

ABC’s Good Morning America reports that prosecutors in New Jersey are considering hate-crime charges for Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, the Rutgers University students who live-streamed the gay sexual encounter of fellow freshman Tyler Clementi, who later killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

According to GMA, prosecutors are weighing charges of bias intimidation for Ravi and Wei, who already stand accused of invading Clementi’s privacy. At issue is whether the sexual orientation of Tyler motivated the students to invade his privacy.

GMA reports evidence on Twitter, where Ravi told his followers about having a gay roommate before school even started. He directed readers to a profile on JustUsBoys.com, where subsequently Clementi, posting under the handle “cit2mo,” appears to have complained about invasions of privacy via a video camera in his dorm room.

At a press conference Thursday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, an avowed opponent of marriage equality, said, “I don’t know how those two folks are going to sleep at night, knowing that they contributed to driving that young man to that alternative.”

Watch the GMA report.