Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has been falsely accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old university student in a stunt...
Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has been falsely accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old university student in a stunt allegedly made up by two right-wing trolls.
The claims surfaced on Monday when Hunter Kelly, a student at Ferris State University in Michigan, appeared to publish a post on Medium that claimed he was sexually assaulted by Buttigieg in February.
Despite that post and a Twitter account under his name that tweeted details of the so-called abuse, Kelly came out hours later to deny ever being sexually assaulted by Buttigieg.
He said the Twitter and Medium accounts bearing his name were fake and that he had nothing to do with the false abuse narrative.
A Republican source told the Daily Beast that conservative lobbyist Jack Burkman and conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl were behind the fake allegations.
The source accused the right-wing duo of trying to convince several young men to go public with fake sex assault allegations against Buttigieg in recent weeks in a bid to derail with his 2020 campaign.
Burkman and Wohl have refused to comment.
Buttigieg, who is openly gay, is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and is a former Navy Reserve officer who served in Afghanistan.
He is one of several Democrats to put their name forward to be the presidential candidate. Buttigieg has already won over voters and many skeptics with his intelligence and an articulate yet plain-spoken speaking style.
A Republican source told the Daily Beast that conservative lobbyist Jack Burkman (left) and conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl (right) were behind the fake allegations
The claims surfaced on Monday when Hunter Kelly, a student at Ferris State University in Michigan, appeared to publish a post on Medium that claimed he was sexually assaulted by Buttigieg in February
A Twitter account under the student's name, which also bears his photos, posted a link on Monday to the Medium article with the title: 'Pete Buttigieg Sexually Assaulted Me'. A follow up tweet also asked his followers to pray for him as he prepared to do an interview about his 'horrific experience'
He's also shown an ability to inspire voters of different ages with a message of hope and 'a new generation of leadership' and has been able to raise millions more than many of his Democratic rivals.
On the campaign trail on Monday, Buttigieg said the allegations were made up.
The Medium post, which was first published Sunday night, has since been deleted.
The initial post, which appeared under Kelly's name, falsely claimed that the student had been sexually assaulted by Buttigieg in February.
The post didn't offer exact details of the so-called abuse but said that coming forward with the allegations was the 'toughest thing' he has had to do.
It detailed that he had contemplated suicide, hadn't slept for the past three days and had vomited eight times.
A Twitter account under the student's name, which also bears his photos, posted a link on Monday to the Medium article with the title: 'Pete Buttigieg Sexually Assaulted Me'.
A follow up tweet also asked his followers to pray for him as he prepared to do an interview about his 'horrific experience'.
Kelly came forward on Monday afternoon to say that he was not behind the post and that the Twitter account was fake.
'I was not sexually assaulted,' Kelly wrote on his Facebook account. 'It's important for everyone to know that I was not sexually assaulted and would never falsely accuse anyone.
Kelly came forward on Monday afternoon to say that he was not behind the post and that the Twitter account was fake. He also denied ever being sexually assaulted by Buttigieg
'To keep it brief for now - I was approached by a political figure to come to DC to discuss political situations from the standpoint of a gay Republican.
'When I arrived they discussed Peter Buttigieg and started talking about how they would be working a campaign against him. I went to bed and woke up to a fake Twitter @RealHunterKelly and an article that I in no way endorsed or wrote.
'I have since left and am working on a formal statement to give to everyone including the Buttigieg family.'
Kelly went on to tell the Advocate that Wohl and Burkman had flown him to Washington D.C. on Sunday. They picked him up from the airport and he stayed at Burkman's home.
He said the two men discussed the need to end Buttigieg's campaign but Kelly said he never agreed to the tactic they used.
Kelly claims he went to bed and woke to find the false story and Twitter account already peddling the fake narrative. He said his sister and brother-in-law immediately came to get him from D.C.
It is not the first time Wohl and Burkman have been embroiled in a fake sex assault allegations.
The duo were accused of being involved in the bizarre plot to smear Robert Mueller as a sexual abuser last year.
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