ALBANY, N.Y. – Three University at Albany students who lied about a racially motivated attack on an Albany bus now face criminal charges after they refused a plea deal that would have required an apology.

Ariel Agudio, Asha Burwell and Alexis Briggs, all black, stirred a race controversy on campus in January when they alleged they were targeted in a race-based attack on a city bus and reported the incident to police as a hate crime, the Albany Times Union reports.

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Police confirmed a scuffle occurred between the three girls and several white passengers on a late night bus route known by students as the “drunk bus” on Jan. 30, but surveillance video showed it did not occur as the women alleged in 911 calls to dispatchers and statements to police.

“It was a racial crime,” Agudio told dispatchers after the attack, according to Fox News. “They were calling us (N-word) and all this stuff … And if someone doesn’t come down and take this down or something, I’m going to call the news.”

Burrell wrote on Instagram that “a whole bunch of guys started hitting me and my two friends, punching us in the head,” and alleged the bus driver “let the bus sit at the stop at the social science building while my friend got beat in the head by white guys.”

The incident was cited as an example of the “broader cultural failure to stick up for women of color” and sparked race rallies at the school in support of the women.

After police reviewed the bus video, cell phone videos, and spoke with numerous witnesses, they learned the girls were full of baloney, and set the record straight.

“The video and audio evidence and the statement of every witness demonstrate that no male struck these women,” university police said in a statement. “The evidence indicates they were actually the aggressors in the physical altercation, and that they continued to assault the victim despite the efforts of several passengers to stop them.”

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The girls pleaded not guilty to charges in March, and were in negotiations for a plea deal last month but could not come to an agreement with Albany County District Attorney David Soares.

“Soares’ office sought to have the women to apologize as part of the plea agreement to the charges lodged in City Court,” according to the Times Union.

The case was then sent to a grand jury, which indicted the girls on multiple charges. They’re now scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, WAMC reports.

From the Times Union:

Under the indictment, Agudio of Huntington on Long Island faces one charge of assault, three counts each of attempted assault and falsely reporting an incident, all misdemeanors, and three counts of harassment, all violations.

Burwell, who is also from Long Island, is charged with one misdemeanor count of assault, four misdemeanor counts of falsely reporting an incident and one count of harassment, a violation.

Briggs of Elmira Heights in Chemung County is charged with one misdemeanor count of assault and two misdemeanor counts of falsely reporting an incident.