University Students Allegedly Behind 'We Hate The Blacks' Chants Arrested

A viral tweet led to the arrests of two university students in the United Kingdom Thursday, the BBC reported. The story was set into motion when Nottingham Trent University student Rufaro Chisango tweeted a video of male students outside her dorm room door shouting racist chants while verbally sparring with other students in the process.

The most audible chant in the video is "we hate the blacks." Chisango later tweeted that the video did not catch further chants reportedly along the lines of "blacks go back to picking cotton."

The alleged incident happened Monday night and Chisango reported it to residence hall reception Tuesday. However, the university did not receive a report until Wednesday. Chisango expressed her frustration at the delay, per the BBC report.

"I just want the appropriate action to be taken," Chisango said.

On Thursday, the Notts Police announced it had apprehended the two 18-year-old suspects who were allegedly responsible for the racist chants. According to the BBC, they have both been suspended by Nottingham Trent University until the matter is resolved.

The story spread rapidly on social media, with Chisango's initial tweet getting tens of thousands of likes and retweets. The outpouring of support for her was enough to generate a Twitter moment.

Police data recently indicated that hate crimes, race-related and otherwise, had risen significantly in the U.K. since 2016. There were nearly 1,500 hate crimes at or near schools in the 2016 and 2017 academic years. Hate crimes related to race and ethnicity were the most common, rising by 48 percent in that timespan. Across the pond, the United States has also saw an increase in hate crimes in recent years.