A 21-year-old man from Utah, Richard “Rick” Jones, was the apparent victim of a series of vicious anti-gay hate crimes.

The openly gay business owner in Delta, Utah reported to local authorities that he was attacked and beaten at his family’s pizza business before the attackers held him down and carved the words “die f*g” into his arm. However, lawyers for the man have now come forward and released that the entire ordeal was faked and that it was actually Jones who had carved the words into his own arm. Now police are considering filing charges against Rick Jones for falsely filing police reports and reckless burning. So how did it all begin?

The Washington Times reports that a series of anti-gay “crimes” took place against Richard Jones beginning in April 2015. The first attack left the young businessman with a bruised face and the words “die f*g” carved into his arm. After the seemingly horrifying anti-gay attack, Jones troubles did not end. Five days after the apparent hate-fueled assault, Jones’ home was vandalized with the same harmful words. On June 10th, the “attacks” came to a head when a molotov cocktail was thrown into the family’s home and their pizza business was robbed of $1,000 and spray painted.

The apparent anti-gay hate crime left members of the rural Utah community frightened, but it seems the fears were unfounded as Richard Jones’ lawyer has admitted that the entire series of horrifying events were created at the hands of Jones, not an anti-gay hate group.

According to the Gephardt Daily, the Millard County Sheriff’s Office has released a statement regarding the anti-gay hate crimes in the community and deemed the case closed. According to the release, Richard Jones falsely reported the incidents and had faked the crimes at hand, including carving the words “die f*g” into his own arm.

“The investigation has come to an end today with the admission of Richard (Rick) L. Jones, Jr to having staged all of the incidents. We are working with the Millard County Attorneys Office to determine the next step. We urge community members to continue to be supportive of the Jones family.”

Jones’ lawyer claims that the young man’s actions were a “cry for help” and that the man is seeking mental health treatment. What do you think about the revelation that Richard Jones had done these unspeakable acts to himself? Should harsher charges be filed against the troubled man for falsely reporting a hate crime?

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