The gay community was rocked by the recent beating of a gay man and popular YouTuber, Calum McSwiggan, 26. McSwiggan has now been charged with making a false police report after investigators concluded that he was not attacked and caused the injuries to himself. In a case reminiscent of the recent hoax by a gay minister, McSwiggan went to social media and created a firestorm over his alleged victimization.
McSwiggan claimed on Instagram that he was left with three broken teeth and six stitches in his forehead — injuries documented from the hospital. Friend Riyadh Khalif tweeted that he was with the 26-year-old at the bar that night, but that his friend was attacked when they were separated. Khalif speculated that the attackers were hunting for a lone gay man to attack and may have been following their posting on social media to track them.
McSwiggan wrote on social media that “Last night was the worst night of my life and I’m really struggling to find the words to talk about it . . . After one of the most wonderful weekends at VidCon we went out to a gay club to celebrate, and towards the end of the evening I was separated from my friends and beaten up by three guys.” He decried how police treated him as “second class citizen” when he made his claim and that “I’ve never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye.”
The police issued this alternative account:
Deputies from West Hollywood Station responded to and investigated the report by Calum McSwiggan that he was assaulted by three males after leaving a local nightclub early Monday morning. Responding deputies were unable to substantiate the assault. Mr. McSwiggan, who had no visible injuries, was subsequently arrested after deputies observed him vandalizing a car in the 8900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. After being booked and photographed, Mr. McSwiggan was placed into a cell by himself at West Hollywood Station. Mr. McSwiggan was then observed injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone inside the cell. Medical personnel were summoned and Mr. McSwiggan was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Mr. McSwiggan’s booking photo was taken prior to deputies seeing Mr. McSwiggan injuring himself. That booking photo is attached.
It was the mugshot that proved the critical evidence behind the charges. Obviously the eyewitness accounts are equally damaging. It is perplexing how someone could injure himself in a jail without realizing that such an act would be observed and likely filmed.
If true, this is a particularly sad and disgraceful crime. Gays, lesbians and bisexual people face serious threats of violence and a hoax only serves to reinforce critics who question the need for added protections.
If found to be true, what do you believe should be the punishment for such an alleged hoax.
These fake hate-crimes are so common now that Calif should just pass a law legalizing them, so that we don’t have to read about them anymore and law enforcement doesn’t have to waste resources investigating. In fact, Calif should have a state holiday where everyone spends the day whacking themselves in the head and applying bandages and complaining that Donald Trump did it.
@gameover
I hope I have your command of prose when, or if, I ever hit 88! Kudos!
Sooo, if they wuz just talking about grand kids, howcum everybody had to leave the plane???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeky – I read somewhere that Lynch does not have grand-children and with those legs I am not sure she is playing golf.
That would be poor little Chelsea – not pour. I will say that before some sharp-eyed poof reader says it for me. Cut me some slack, I will be 89 in August and reminiscing about Ol’ Bill is my hobby.
I believe BIll clinton’s conversation with Loretta was about grandchildren. It went like this. “Loretta, my little Charlotte’s future is in your hands. Look at her Daddy, Marc – his hedge fund just went belly-up when he was misled by some bogus info furnished HIllary by Sid Blumenthal about how Greece was going to make a comeback .Listenin’ to that crap caused hedge investors to lose $325 million and Marc gets the blame for it. Realistically, who can blame Marc for believin’ that? That boy is a fragile sort, given to requiring ski-bum vacations to get his head together to cope with married life and now he has to depend on Chelsea to make ends meet until he can get back in the game.
Why little Charlotte’s own Grand-daddy Mezvinsksy has done 5 years’ hard time in Stony Lonesome for mail fraud, tax fraud and wire fraud – and even me, although I still say it depends on what the meaning of is, is. When I said I did not have sexshul relations with that woman, Ms.Lewinsky, I still maintain I did not. There is a difference between “havin”‘ and just “acceptin'”, at least in Arkansas.Then I had to pay $800,000 to Paula Jones, for her “to get back her good name”. Ain’t no name in Arkansas worth $800,000 but I paid it, not to drag pour little Chelsea through the mud of a trial. Speakin’ of draggin’, Carville said it best – you only had to drag a hunnerd dollar bill through a trailer park to find the likes o’ that Jones woman. Then I got accused unfairly of lying to a Grand Jury and had to give up my law license. You might say I been rear-ended a lotta times on the Boulevard of BrokenTail-Lights, I been through it all and survived. I’m just a Grand-daddy now.
As we sit here today, I look back on when I nominated you for Circuit Court Judge – that was a proud day. The only thing that could make me prouder is when HIllary has a chance to further advance your career and assure you life-long employment as a Supreme Court Justice and don’t you worry about Bader-Ginsuburg’s robes bein’ skimpy on you. HIllary will see that you get some roomy enough for you to sit through many an Abortion Rights hearing, if she has to have BMW car covers dyed black to do it.. Takin’ all this into consideration, I know you want to do what is best for my little grand daughter who may some day be President, herself.