Another fabricated hate crime, this time by a gay man who claimed to have been beaten outside a bar.
Via NY Daily News:
A 22-year-old Montana man who told cops he was beaten up by gay-bashing thugs while club-hopping on his birthday — igniting calls online for protest against homophobic violence — made the whole thing up and actually injured himself, he admitted.
Joseph Baken, of Billings, suffered the bruises and cuts to his face when he smashed it against a curb while attempting to stick an Olympic-style backflip in the street, he said….
Photos of Baken’s battered face were posted on Facebook, Tumblr and other social media sites, prompting an outcry against homophobic violence and calls for protest.
However, a tipster sent a video to the Independent that showed Baker trying to impress his pals by doing a backflip off a curb sometime around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Baker flubbed the stunt and landed on his face.
The newspaper passed the video on to police, and Baken quickly copped to lying about getting jumped.
Missoula police said they decided to file charges in-part because Baken’s story caused so much outrage.
The fact that the fake hate crime was gay bashing isn’t what is important — there is a deep history of fake hate crimes based on race, sex, religion, and so on.
If there had been no video to expose the fraud, would this have been another teachable moment in which we were told to look inward to examine who we are as a nation and culture?
(language warning on video)
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Comments
Underscores yet again that truth is the greatest threat to the Left, which explains why they lie so much. The common sense approach is to always have the camera at the ready to record what really happened. It’s a reliable means of defeating a world filled with Chico Marx impersonators: “Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?”
BTW, here’s some solid advice concerning bars generally: If you wanna stay out of barroom fights, then stay out of barrooms.
So this guy decided to file a false police report even though he knew there were at least three eyewitnesses to the fact that he caused the injuries himself? Not the sharpest tool in the shed, is he?
Glad to see at least one of his friends had sufficient integrity to expose this fraud.
Exactly right, but that’s not where the problem is, unless I misread the Professor’s story. Here’s the problem: “The newspaper passed the video on to police, and Baken quickly copped to lying about getting jumped. Missoula police said they decided to file charges in-part because Baken’s story caused so much outrage.” That of course asks the question: what’s the other part of ‘in-part’?
Otherwise, my problem is with a police department that permits some lying, klutzy, loser to file charges WHEN THEY KNOW THEM TO BE FALSE. Once again, the problem is with authorities who do the wrong thing for the wrong reason – because they are afraid of the crowd reaction. Are there any who give a damn about doing anything besides playing to the crowd. Our institutions, public and private, are all a wreck – and it starts at the top, everywhere and always.
The charges are AGAINST Baken.
You don’t file charges against unknown people.
Thank you for the clarification, and most sincere apologies and more, to the Missoula PD for a job well done. I assumed the charges had been placed against your “specific business and possible suspects in the allegations” who the PD, properly IMHO, had left nameless. So, good on them all. As to my wrecked institutions and the trouble “starting at the top, everywhere and always,” I’m staying with that for now.
The Missoula Independent reports that Joseph Baken, 22, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and a $300 fine after he admitted to police that claims he was beaten outside of a local bar by at least three men over the weekend had been fabricated. The jail time was suspended.
“The decision to file criminal charges was due in part to the sense of fear and anger that quickly developed after Baken had identified a specific business and possible suspects in his allegations,” Missoula Police Lt. Scott Brodie said in a statement cited by the Billings Gazette. “Joseph Baken was contacted by Missoula police detectives and during a subsequent interview he admitted that the alleged assault against him did not occur as it was reported.”
When you don’t know what you’re doing,
Best not to “do it” when you’ve been drinkin’
Best not to “do it” when concrete might play a role in your gig
Yeah, but….but….but what about “Never let a good crisis (or failed stunt) go to waste” mantra of the left?
The American public keep falling for it, so why quit doing it? It’s working for them.
If you hate yourself is that a hate crime?
A Liberal Crime Wave!!
What happened to common sense?
I mean really, what does it take for a gay man to get his ass kicked these days? Other than by doing it themselves, that is.
I keep hearing about how awful it is for gays in this country, yet they can’t even come up with a real gay-bashing group of thugs? SUCH A TERRIBLE COUNTRY.
Ask a gay about packs of black teens. They’ll beat the crap out of a gays but it is seldom reported as a hate crime. The media hasn’t figured out how to spin the conflicting narratives.
If it’s so awful for homosexuals here, why are we a refuge for those from other countries?
Back in my younger, wilder days … that’s a variant of what we used to call a “curb kiss.” 🙂
It’s nice to see that one of them had the integrity to call the police.
Consider for a bit how dark this really was.
The original act was just stooooopid, and drunk people do stupid things…even on national TV (which is another subject).
But, having done that, this guy then conceives this whole riff where he will go to the police, and lie about being attacked because of his queerness (I’m taking the word back, btw).
Now, consider the ripples in society that lie causes. And consider the effects it could have on the lives of people. And what motivated that lie. What led that liar to frame it.
This IS a really BIG teachable moment.
Now, if only the current occupant of the White House would be exposed, once and for all, for the fake he is.
He’s no President. He’s a COGW (Community Organizer Gone Wild)!
… as well as a SCOAMF.
In my book he’s a hero for helping to curb hate crime.
Like you, he cracks himself up…!!!
Of course it’s a teachable moment. It MIGHT have been a hate crime. It COULD have easily happened in a hateful, homophobic country like the USA, populated by Christians and Chick-fil-a’s!
By “using this opportunity” (“quotes” for leftist cliches) we can “raise awareness” by “educating people” about “the evils of hate, bigotry, and homophobia” as practiced by “right-wing” folk.
Just like the fake memo accusing Bush 43 of being AWOL all the time: it was fake, but we should treat it as real, because it fits the “true” (i.e., false, left-wing agenda-driven) narrative.
If this fool was thinking of using his fake hate crime to call himself a “hero” for “gay rights”…
Epic. Fail.
Somewhere, in the headquarters of a certain chicken sandwich company, somebody’s having a good ole’ laugh at this fool’s expense right now…
But it was a teachable moment.
It teaches us to question how many “hate” crimes actually
occur.
It also teaches us that opposing their agenda is not a
“hate” crime.
Why did this make me think of the Charles Stuart case–the Boston man who shot his wife, killing her and their unborn son, but blamed an unknown/non-existent black guy? Perhaps the Professor will need a subdivision of the Saturday Night Card Game for these events. Does “homophobia” trump racism?
Who knew Issac Newton was a homophobe.
A hate crime was committed, this gay man is guilty of it. Our laws regarding false reports are a farce. He should be serving the maximum term for a hate crime.
He’ll probably get another fat lip in jail. (That is, if Mayor Bloomingidiotberg doesn’t interfere with his prosecution.)
Good that one turned him in … to a newspaper, not police.
If one tries to burn a business down (arson) and gets caught and the fire is put out, what would the punishment be? This guy going to the police, had intent to inflict harm on either the business or the city or the less liberal society in general. He should have served his 180 days.
Any word from the bar hopping dem. Montana guv yet? He’s the one with the expertize of all aspects we need to hear from.
The flip wasn’t the only thing that flopped.
Im convinced alot of these “issues” that create hostility between the expected folks are “wag the dog” inventions.
The DUllards over at Democraptic Underground really got this one shoved up their poopers.
Funny. As. Hell.
I give it a 10.0 – because he stuck the landing.
Damn homophobic curbs. They’re all over the place.
This incident was a “teachable moment” from its inception. The video is evidence that the testimony of one of the witnesses is true. The video changes the lesson to be extracted from the moment.
The lesson I am taking is that Americans don’t like the use of a lie for political purposes.
[…] Moment Is This Post Trying to Achieve? Posted on August 9, 2012 3:30 pm by Bill Quick » If there were no video, would this have been a teachable moment? – Le·gal In&mi… The fact that the fake hate crime was gay bashing isn’t what is important — there is a […]
This is a welcome outcome which should increase scrutiny of a de facto standard where guilt is presumed.
Except when the seriousness of the charge outweighs the validity of the charge.
What a loser. Uh oh, HATE CRIME!!!
FACT:
In the history of bar fights in Montana, there has never been an instance when the instigator does not call the other guy a faggot.
I don’t think being actually gay is a requirement.