Hate Crime Hoax? Trans Activist Charged with Arson of His Own Home

A trans activist whose home burned in August, 2017, in what was quickly determined to be a case of arson now stands accused of setting the blaze himself in what's being called a hate crime hoax, reported Detroit Free Press. The charges have drawn comparisons to "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett allegedly hiring two men in a staged bias crime attack, multiple media outlets said.

54-year-old Nikki Joly, a resident of Jackson, Michigan, had accomplished remarkable achievements in the area of LGBTQ acceptance, including working toward a local non-discrimination ordinance, organizing the city's first Pride celebration, co-founding a community center, and being named as the city's Citizen of the Year in 2018, a Washington Times story said.

The city's director of police and fire services, Elmer Hitt, told the press on Feb. 25 that authorities "determined it pretty quickly to be arson," but it wasn't until about a year later that charges were brought against Joly, who is due in court next month.

The Washington Times reported that the arson report in the case took note of several examples of circumstantial evidence, including surveillance video that showed Joly purchasing gasoline the same day his house burned and a timeline of events that indicated "a window of less than five minutes for another person to enter the residence, splash gasoline around, ignite the fire, and then leave without being seen."

A story in the New York Post reported that Joly took to social media in the wake of the blaze to tell supporters to "be very angry," but not to direct that anger toward violence. "Use that anger to force good! Use that anger to make change."

The Detroit Free Press quoted another individual who spoke to the press on Feb. 25. "Real hate crimes are on the rise," said Oakland University Associate Professor of Sociology Graham Cassano, who went on to express concern that, "When someone comes along and fabricates a hate crime, it calls into question people who have really experienced these things."

The article cited FBI numbers showing that hate crimes have spiked since 2016, with a rise in 2017 of 17%. Of that increase, the story noted, 60% of reported hate crimes were related to race, with sexual orientation weighing in as a close second, at 16%.

Multiple news sources noted that Joly's five pets – two German Shepherd dogs and three cats – were killed in the blaze.