WASHINGTON — A young Michigan man claims he became an unwitting participant in a plot by right-wing provocateurs Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman to smear Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

Hunter Kelly, 21, said he was offered an opportunity to help President Donald Trump get re-elected — but ended up the face of a false sexual assault allegation that Kelly claims he wanted no part in.

"I am, from the bottom of my heart, truly sorry for everyone involved in the very serious #MeToo movement," Kelly said in a statement Tuesday. "I will continue to use my voice and HONESTY to make a difference. Jack Burkman may have promised me a lavish lifestyle, but at a price that would cost me the two most important things to me: honesty and integrity."

This is the first attempt from the right-wing duo to inflict a damaging accusation against a 2020 presidential candidate. Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is a rising star in the Democratic primary, who has dominated headlines by exceeding first quarter funding expectations and creating viral moments during a number of televised town halls.

Wohl, a Trump supporter, admitted to attempting to starting disinformation campaigns against Democratic candidates going into the 2020 elections during an interview with USA TODAY in February. Shortly after that story was published, Twitter banned Wohl. Wohl had created fake Twitter accounts to carry out his plans, a violation of the site’s terms of service. In addition, Wohl earlier this year created a plot to accuse special counsel Robert Mueller of sexual assault — something that also turned out to be a hoax.

According to a statement by Kelly, Wohl reached out to Kelly about a month ago on Instagram and Signal, the secure messaging app.

More:Twitter bans Trump-supporting hoaxster after USA TODAY exposé

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Wohl, however, claimed in an interview with USA TODAY that it was Kelly who reached out to Wohl after he began "investigating rumors" of possible misconduct allegations against Buttigieg. Wohl did not disclose where the rumors came from, proof of the rumors or past correspondence with Kelly to corroborate his claims. Wohl acknowledged his past hoaxes as "things of the past."

On April 25, Wohl and Kelly had their first conversation over the phone, in which Wohl told Kelly that he could assist in gathering opposition research on Buttigieg, according to the statement by Kelly.

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The 21-year-old agreed, prompting Wohl to book a plane ticket on April 27, according to Instagram messages supplied by Kelly. Wohl sent Kelly a plane ticket to fly from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Baltimore the following day.

Afterwards, Wohl and Burkman picked Kelly up from the Baltimore airport and then traveled to Burkman’s Arlington, Virginian home, according to Kelly. At Burkman's residence, the conservative duo proceeded to present Kelly with an article that Kelly thought was “just a draft,” detailing the allegations against Buttigieg, Kelly said in his statement.

"I told him I was not sure how I felt," Kelly said of the draft post in the statement, adding that shortly after he messaged Wohl "via the Signal application that I was incredibly uncomfortable and not on board with their plan."

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Kelly claimed in a statement that he woke up Monday morning to the post on Medium of an accusation of sexual assault, in which a man appearing to be named "Hunter Kelly" accused Buttigieg of sexual assault. The article was also promoted by a twitter account with the handle @RealHunterKelly, and the same name as the post and with Kelly's photo.

Wohl presented USA TODAY with photos of Kelly along with his school ID and Michigan driver's license, claiming they were taken to send to Medium to confirm that Kelly authorized the post and that it was not fake after the website reached out to the account that created the post. Kelly did not comment on the photos and Wohl did not provide proof that Medium asked for the photos.

The accusation did not take long to appear on right-wing sites like Big League Politics and the Gateway Pundit. Within hours, though, the sites published updated stories with Kelly's latest comments. Within 24 hours, both Twitter and Medium had taken down those “Hunter Kelly” accounts by the time of publishing. Twitter and Medium have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Kelly in a statement Monday evening said the allegation was fabricated. According to Kelly, Burkman and Wohl wrote the draft article and statement without talking to him.

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Kelly told USA TODAY in a text message that Wohl and Burkman were behind the effort and confirmed that they were the men when shown pictures of them.

Recognizing what had happened, Kelly said in a statement that he confronted Wohl and Burkman about it. He saidthey told him that leaving Burkman’s home was “not an option,” and offered to give gifts to Kelly if he cooperated and signed a statement certifying that the allegations were true. Kelly reluctantly signed the script after he said he wanted to leave and expressed concern that the statement was false. He then fled the Burkman home once his sister, who lives near Washington, arrived to pick him up.

Wohl and Burkman presented USA TODAY a copy of the signed “statement of fact” signed by Kelly detailing the allegations, with Burkman claiming that Kelly was his “client” as a lawyer. However, the “statement of fact” was also inconsistent with the original Medium post, saying that the alleged assault happened in Washington, D.C., whereas the Medium post said that the assault happened in Michigan.

The conservative pair in interviews with USA TODAY maintained that they believed Kelly's claim, but could not offer evidence further than the signed statement. Wohl said without evidence that he believes Kelly's "family is pressuring him to make increasingly audacious claims to attempt to portray himself as, unfortunately, a victim of us."

Burkman and Wohl declined to answer additional questions.

Buttigieg dismissed the accusations to reporters on Monday.

"I'm sure it's not the first time somebody is going to make something up about me. It's not going to throw us," he said. "Politics can be ugly sometimes, but you have to face that when you're in presidential politics."

Erin Perrine, deputy communications director for the Trump campaign, distanced the president's 2020 campaign from Wohl's and Burkman's hoax.

"This had nothing to do with the campaign and we condemn fake allegations, whether they are against candidates for president or nominees for the Supreme Court," Perrine said in a statement.

Political commentators and consultants on both sides of the aisle denounced Wohl's latest scheme.

GOP consultant Rick Wilson tweeted Monday: "The Wohl's aren't a family. They're a continuing criminal enterprise." Wohl has not been charged with a crime.

Matt McDermott, a member of the campaign board for the LGBTQ Victory Fund, campaigned for Buttigieg off of the fake allegations.

"Want to counter bigots like Jacob Wohl? Join me. RT and drop Pete Buttigieg $10," McDermott tweeted.

One fellow Democratic presidential candidate also came to Buttigieg's defense.

"Hey @PeteButtigieg hang in there. Don’t let the bastards get you down," Rep. Tim Ryan tweeted in regards to the assault hoax.