The d-lineman who punched the guy, and hurt him, didn't have a ski mask or a pipe (presumably).
Is there a crime of premeditated assault? I don't know. How could it be known that that guy was planning to do anything? I assume a lot of the players didn't do anything. There probably weren't enough frat wimps to punch. (Disclosure, I was a Beta Theta Pi).
I mean, I can't speak to premeditated or your early question about why there have been no charges. It sounds like a lot of Idaho folks are frustrated with the pace of the internal investigation. Quotes from a Spokesman article back in February making clear that SOMETHING happened that was an issue, and charges are still somehow pending --
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Dean of Students Blaine Eckles wrote to one of the injured students in an email Monday that the school has opened an investigation into the fight. In the email, he said the incident was “a tumultuous event involving a lot of people,” and that the student was “on the receiving end of some physical altercations.”
“While I don’t know why this occurred, I want to make sure you are okay,” Eckles wrote. He then encouraged the student, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, to respond to officials reaching out about the incident to assist with the investigation, and offered resources for mental health help.
Director of Athletics Terry Gawlik said she and the school’s football coach, Jason Eck, are aware of the incident from Saturday that involved members of the football team and that they are currently prioritizing the health, safety and wellbeing of their athletes.
“We are working together to bring resolution to this situation,” Gawlik said.
None of the players have been suspended and Gawlik does not know how many players were involved, she said.
Beta Theta Pi President Michael Farris said their chapter is cooperating with police and the university at this time. They are “looking to get this issue properly and promptly handled so that our fraternity and the Greek community do not have to continue to worry about the football players acting in this criminal manner,” Farris said via email. He declined to go into detail about the fight due to the ongoing investigation.
Moscow City Attorney Mia Bautista declined to comment because the case is also under investigation with their office.
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You and many others on this board know far more than me about the law. From a layman's point, it seems like there is a criminal investigation ongoing that leads to all parties intelligently not talking.
If there had been a campus and/or police investigation that cleared the players of wrongdoing, then they would have certainly screamed to the heavens that the football team did not commit a large scale pre-meditated attack. There would be media articles if the University or criminal investigation had reached a conclusion that crimes had happened. So the only assumption is that the investigations must be ongoing on both fronts, in my estimation.
Part of me wants us all to remember our experience with kids being accused and found guilty in the media and internet when they were found innocent in court, and part of me is really frustrated that it seems like if it happens in Missoula we get all the media attention and our own city turns on the football team before anybody gets more facts. I guess I have a lot of thoughts about these situations, and I don't totally know how to reconcile them, if I am truly honest.
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