YouTube personality's account of attack near gay club questioned
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles YouTube personality said he was brutally assaulted after a night out at a gay club, but the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department says they weren't able to substantiate his claim - and say deputies later saw him injuring himself in a jail cell.
Calum McSwiggan, 26, is well-known for his LGBT lifestyle YouTube channel, reports the Los Angeles Times. In an Instagram post, McSwiggan claimed he was assaulted by three men early Monday after leaving a Los Angeles gay club.
McSwiggan posted a photo of himself from a hospital bed with visible injuries, 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 to my forehead, I've never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye," McSwiggan wrote.
But in a statement obtained by Crimesider, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said deputies who responded weren't able to substantiate McSwiggan's claim that he was attacked. They say McSwiggan had no visible injuries, and he was later arrested after police say they saw him vandalizing a car.
After McSwiggan was booked and photographed, according to the sheriff's department, he was placed in a cell by himself at the West Hollywood station. Deputies then saw him injuring himself with the handle and receiver of a payphone inside the cell, police say.
I've been told to say nothing before court tomorrow but staying silent here is killing us. If you're a friend just DM me for the truth.
— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) June 29, 2016
Staff called medical personnel who transported McSwiggan to a hospital for treatment. The Sheriff's Department released the mugshot of McSwiggan "taken prior to deputies seeing Mr. McSwiggan injuring himself" in which he has no visible injuries.
When asked by Crimesider whether McSwiggan told deputies he suspected the alleged attack was a hate crime, a deputy said the office isn't commenting apart from the statement they released.
McSwiggan was booked on a count of vandalism with property damage greater than $400 and held on $20,000 bail, reports the Times. He was later released with a citation to appear in court, the paper reports.
McSwiggan told the Los Angeles Times he was advised not to publicly comment until a Wednesday court appearance. Via Twitter, he said, "staying silent here is killing us."
"As soon as our lawyers give us the all clear we will explain everything fully," he tweeted.