Man becomes mayor of town called Hell, bans straight people, gets impeached — all in one day

A sign near Hell, Michigan. A sign near Hell, Michigan. Photo: Andy Sacks / Getty Images Photo: Andy Sacks / Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Man becomes mayor of town called Hell, bans straight people, gets impeached — all in one day 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A popular YouTube personality named Elijah Daniel found out firsthand just how vicious politics can be.

Daniel, who in a stunt he says was inspired by Donald Trump's presidential run and subsequent policies, says he spent two days calling small towns in the United States requesting to be their mayor.

The effort wound up working. He eventually found a small, unincorporated town in Michigan that would allow him to be Mayor of the Day — something anyone with a little cash to spare can do while visiting Hell — so he traveled there, signed some documents, and it happened:

As of today, August 30th, 2017 I am the legal mayor of Hell, Michigan. This is real. I am the mayor of Hell. pic.twitter.com/J7fuaLnFKV — former mayor elijah (@elijahdaniel) August 30, 2017

However, the 72 residents of Hell were probably not expecting that Daniel would begin making drastic changes with his limited time in office. The first thing he did while serving as acting mayor: ban all heterosexuals from entering Hell.

"I love straights, but my #1 priority is the safety of my town. Until the heterosexual threat has been reviewed we cannot allow them to enter," he wrote on Twitter. "I am the first U.S. mayor to ban heterosexuality but I hope my act of bravery will inspire fellow politicians to ban straights as well."

Those who were heterosexual and wanted to enter Hell still could, Daniel explained in the document— if they agreed to undergo "new vetting measures to keep radical heterosexuals out of our town." Those heterosexuals already in Hell could also stay, but only if they agreed to a deposit of $84,000 (ensuring their abstinence for a year).

The proclamation, Daniel told the Huffington Post, was a commentary on Trump's controversial travel ban, which many have noted appears to disproportionately affect Muslim visitors and immigrants. "My ban is a copy-and-paste of Trump's Muslim ban," he said, "but with heterosexuals instead."

I'm literally the First Lady of Hell pic.twitter.com/XU8Vb8HtiH — Christine Sydelko (@csydelko) August 30, 2017

The mandate was apparently not very well received. Only an hour later, Daniel wrote on Twitter, "I've been informed that I've been impeached as mayor of Hell."

He wasn't too bothered. Noting that everyone who becomes mayor of Hell gets impeached anyway (as it is a tourist attraction), he says the unceremonious ousting was "not a problem."

"Most of the people who visit are same-sex couples who want to be married in Hell."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

