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Gay YouTuber Calum McSwiggan going to court over fake hate crime claim

Gay YouTuber Calum McSwiggan going to court over fake hate crime claim

After gay British YouTuber Calum McSwiggan breathlessly told his fans that he’d been gaybashed in West Hollywood and had been treated badly by the police, officers quickly told a completely different version of the story. Now the would-be celebrity is going to get another moment in the spotlight – this time inside of a California courtroom as he faces charges for filing a false report.

McSwiggan posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed on Instagram on June 28, saying, “The authorities should have been there to help and protect me but instead they treated me like a second class citizen. With three broken teeth and six stitches in my forehead, I’ve never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye.”

A spokesperson for the West Hollywood Police Department said that McSwiggan’s claim of being attacked by two men near the popular gay bar The Abbey wasn’t true. They say they examined McSwiggan at the scene and he had no visible injuries – and released photographs to prove it.

Instead, the police allege that McSwiggan filed a fake report and had actually been arrested that night for vandalizing a car in the bar’s parking lot. Back at the police station, McSwiggan was “observed injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone inside the cell,” according to the spokesperson. Officers took McSwiggan to the hospital for treatment where he was given stitches on his forehead; none of his teeth were broken.

McSwiggan later admitted he hurt himself and vandalized the car. He is due to appear in court on September 26; he has already pled not guilty to the charge.

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