Image source: WGRZ-TV video screenshot
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Hate hoax accusation: N-word, KKK, swastikas spray-painted on car. But authorities say the owner did it.
November 17, 2020
Messages in support of President Donald Trump's re-election — and against Black Lives Matter — also decorated the BMW X5
A vehicle was discovered last month spray-painted with the N-word, KKK, and swastikas, as well as messages in support of President Donald Trump's re-election — and against Black Lives Matter — in North Buffalo, New York.
Image source: WGRZ-TV video screenshot
But now authorities say the owner of the BMW X5 carried out the vandalism, WGRZ-TV reported.
What are the details?
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn last week said 18-year-old Clifton Eutsey allegedly spray-painted his own car and is facing multiple charges, the station said:
- third-degree insurance fraud, a felony;
- falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor;
- offering a false instrument for filing, a misdemeanor; and
- falsifying business records, a misdemeanor.
The graffiti also included a homophobic slur, and the car's windshield was smashed, the Buffalo News reported. The police report also said sugar was poured into the gas tank, WGRZ added.
Image source: WGRZ-TV video screenshot
Eutsey was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled for a Jan. 11 felony hearing, the station said, adding that if convicted on all charges, Eutsey faces up to seven years in prison.
Frank LoTempio III, Eutsey's attorney, entered a plea of not guilty on his client's behalf, the News reported, adding that Flynn said there's video evidence to support the fraud allegation.
"Behave out there, Mr. Eutsey," City Court Judge Shannon Heneghan said, according to the paper.
More charges
Eutsey faces felony charges in a separate incident, WGRZ said, adding that Buffalo police officers allegedly found him in possession of two loaded, illegal firearms during an Oct. 24 traffic stop.
He was arraigned on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon as well as traffic violations, including driving without a license, the station said.
Eutsey posted bail — set at $20,000 cash or bond, or $10,000 partially secured bond — and was released, WGRZ reported. He's scheduled for a Jan. 4 felony hearing on the latter charges, the station said.
Anything else?
TheBlaze has extensively reported on hate crime hoaxes:
- In July, a former commissioner candidate in Oregon admitted to police that he wrote a racist letter to himself that he previously claimed was left in his mailbox.
- In June a black man was charged with tagging the campus of Salisbury University in Maryland with racist graffiti five times between last October and February of this year, which authorities characterized as a "hate crime."
- And here's a look at 20 hate crime hoaxes in the age of Trump.
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Sr. Editor, News
Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
DaveVUrbanski
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