Anatomy of a Fake Hate Crime

Preface

Two years ago I published a report summarizing my investigation into a fake hate crime perpetrated by Julie Ohashi in 2023. You can review my findings along with the associated police report and police body camera video here. Ohashi’s fake hate crime directly targeted the citizens of Livingston County. The perpetrator clearly intended to use her hate hoax to smear our county as racist.

On July 14, 2025, I released another investigative report. This report focused upon a fake hate crime that occurred in 2021. In both instances the media had a field day smearing our citizens as racist. And in both instances the media chose to ignore the final result — both hate crimes were phony. The media’s suppression of the truth makes them co-equal partners in these hoaxes.

I am posting my investigative reports here for public viewing as it is doubtful that the media will publish the truth. As time permits, I will publish further fact-finding regarding the history of race in Livingston County. This history is largely overshadowed by the conduct of one man, former KKK leader Robert Miles (D).

Introduction

In 2021, Renay Gedeon publicly opposed the possible cancellation of the Howell Melonfest because, as a vendor, she depended on the event for income. You may recall that Howell leaders were considering cancelling Melonfest that year due to the inclusion of “drag queen bingo” at this family friendly event. However, Gedeon’s situation took a controversial turn when she claimed that her farm had been vandalized due to her support of including drag queen bingo at Melonfest. Desiring to maximize media attention, she framed this vandalism as a racist hate crime, used her story to gain sympathy, and asked for donations to repair the damage to her farm.

While eager to report Gedeon’s version of the story, the media failed to report the whole story. As it turned out Gedeon did not own a farm. The so-called vandalism to her farm was a ruse. Gedeon used this ruse in an attempt to fraudulently raise money to repair her non-existent farm. Importantly, not one single media outlet ever informed the public that, because of her fraud, Gedeon eventually pleaded guilty to filing a False Report of a Misdemeanor.

Background

A few months ago, during a meeting of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners, a citizen asserted a fake hate crime was perpetrated in Green Oak Township a few years ago. This caught my attention, as I had previously investigated and authored a report about a fake hate crime perpetrated near Hartland Township, which is in my County Commission District.

Being curious, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the police incident report associated with the Green Oak Township incident. Over the years I have observed it is best to corroborate any potentially controversial allegation by reviewing primary source information.

I was not surprised to learn that, like the Hartland Township “hate crime victim,” the Green Oak Township “hate crime victim” had a casual relationship with the truth. In both instances local law enforcement thoroughly documented each “victim’s” fabrications and distortions. And in both instances the (fake) news media, without doing any of their own fact-checking, accepted each “victim’s” story as the truth and published stories slandering an entire county as racist.

This report analyzes the Green Oak Township fake hate crime and reveals the complicity of the news media as they used this fake vandalism to promote their leftist narrative that citizens of Livingston County are racist.

Note: To gain the fullest understanding it is recommended that you read the Ohashi report prior to reading this Gedeon report.

The Gedeon report is here. This report is in PDF format.

The police report associated with the Gedeon hate hoax is here. This report is in PDF format.