Calum McSwiggin is a popular YouTube star whose videos focus on "social justice" for gays and lesbians.
So it should be no surprise he's in jail right now for faking a hate crime.
Posting a photo of himself in the hospital on Facebook, McSwiggin claimed:
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. 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. All I can do is thank my wonderful friendsRiyadh K, Melanie Murphy and Doug Armstrong for being with me the whole way. I'd be lost without them. Right now I don't feel that I'm in the right place to talk about this but I will be addressing this fully in the future.
One problem. He faked the entire episode.
When McSwiggin and two friends called police to claim they were violently assaulted by an anti-gay mob, officers could find no evidence of any attack, or any injuries to the "victims."
But they did find McSwiggin vandalizing a car, and promptly arrested him.
His mug shot shows a clean and uninjured McSwiggin.
Determined to become a social justice celebrity, McSwiggin began beating himself in the face with the handle of a pay phone in the jail's holding cell.
He was taken to the hospital to treat his facial injuries, where McSwiggin took a "selfie" and claimed the injuries were the result of an anti-gay mob.
He has not taken down the now-debunked Facebook post.
