An openly gay YouTube star is claiming that he was brutally beaten by three men in West Hollywood, but police have compelling evidence that injuries to his face and head were likely self-inflicted. For one thing, the complainant, 26-year-old Calum McSwiggan, was arrested for vandalism on the night he called for police assistance, and his booking photo shows no injuries of any kind.
A post to Instagram by McSwiggan tells his version of what went down:
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But the Los Angeles Times notes:
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that deputies responded early Monday to McSwiggan’s report of assault after leaving a West Hollywood nightclub. But the Sheriff’s Department said that deputies at the scene “were unable to substantiate the assault,” according to a statement.
Deputies then placed McSwiggan, 26, under arrest about 2:30 a.m. Monday after he allegedly vandalized a car along Santa Monica Boulevard near Robertson Boulevard, in the heart of the city’s LGBT nightlife district.
McSwiggan was booked on a count of vandalism with property damage greater than $400 and held on $20,000 bail, according to jail records.
As noted previously, he showed no obvious facial injuries when he was brought to the station house. In addition to which, there’s this:
Once inside a solo jail cell, McSwiggan “was then observed injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
He was taken to the hospital for treatment. McSwiggan was released from custody just before 9:15 p.m. Monday with a citation to appear in court at a later date.
Was McSwiggan attacked? It’s possible, though if he was, he was not seriously injured. Ultimately, this fantasy is just the latest in a growing list of hoaxes concocted by members of one or another protected class who are unhappy at the lack of legitimate persecution of their kind. It’s a pretty sick business when you get right down to it.
