Democrats are dredging up the long-debunked Duke Lacrosse rape hoax to paint Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s newly appointed Chief of Staff, as a defender of sexual predators, according to a scathing editorial in American Thinker. The accusation hinges on Miller’s 2006 writings as a Duke University student, where he argued for due process amid a media frenzy that presumed the guilt of white lacrosse players falsely accused of assaulting a Black stripper.
The Case That Won’t Die
The Duke Lacrosse scandal unraveled spectacularly in 2006 after prosecutor Mike Nifong was found to have withheld exculpatory DNA evidence and lied to the court. The accused players were fully exonerated, Nifong was disbarred, and the accuser, Crystal Mangum, later admitted to fabricating the story. Yet, as the American Thinker piece notes, progressive narratives still treat the case as emblematic of systemic racism—despite Mangum’s 2024 confession and her subsequent imprisonment for an unrelated murder.
Miller’s Unpopular Stand
At the time, Miller was virtually alone in calling for restraint, penning a student newspaper column that emphasized presumption of innocence. Now, that stance is being recast as evidence of his alleged extremism. The article highlights how Democratic leaders, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, have labeled Miller a ‘xenophobe’ and ‘reckless extremist,’ while left-wing activists have targeted his family with threats so severe they fled their home.
A Pattern of Weaponized Outrage?
The editorial draws parallels to other high-profile hoaxes—like the Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin cases—where initial narratives of racial victimhood collapsed under scrutiny but remained politically useful. It frames the attacks on Miller as part of a broader Democratic strategy to demonize conservatives, arguing that the left ‘hates Republicans with a deranged passion that blinds them to human decency.’
Whether this latest salvo gains traction remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: 18 years later, the Duke Lacrosse case is still being fought—not in courtrooms, but in the trenches of political warfare.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/11/stephen-miller-defended-rapists/