Man who claimed he was beaten for being gay admits he made it all up after police receive video of him hitting HIS OWN head after back-flipping off a curb

Joseph Baken, 22, initially told police he was beaten up because he is gay

His story was picked up by anti-homophobic websites and gained national attention



Days later, video emerged that showed the wounds were self-inflicted

A young man who told police he was beaten up in a would-be hate crime appeared in court today admitting that he made the entire incident up.

The story of Joseph Baken travelled from Missoula, Montana across the country when a picture of his scratched and bruised face made waves on the internet.

Now, Baken has declared in court that he made the false police report after video surfaced of him attempting to do a back flip and failing.



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Before and after: Joseph Baken told police that he was beaten up (right) by three people because he was gay but he later admitted that he falsified that statement only after video evidence emerged

Police say that Baken initially claimed three men beat him early Sunday after he went into a Missoula bar, announced it was his birthday and asked if anyone knew where he could find a gay bar.

Photos of Baken's badly bruised face were posted on an anti-homophobia Facebook page and other sites, and the case prompted widespread support from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The site alleged that the fictitious assailants used anti-gay curses targetted at Baken's homosexuality.



'Nobody deserves this, especially no just because of your sexuality,' the organizers wrote on the Wipe Out Homophobia page.

Shortly after the case began to rise to national attention, police received an anonymous video of Baken attempting to do a backflip off of a street curb and subsequently hitting his face on the sidewalk.

As a result, he was charged with filing a false police report, to which he plead guilty on Wednesday.

Flip fail: Video emerged of Baken attempting to do a back flip on a Missoula, Montana curb

Police officer Scott Brodie says the decision to file charges was partially due to the fear and anger prompted by his claims.

Now the same anti-homophobia sites are criticizing Baken, saying that he was making light of an issue that is extremely serious to many who are true victims of hate crimes.

The only shining examples in this case? The Missoula police and officials who Montana activists are praising for their swift and sharp response to the claims.

'The city of Missoula should be proud of the way it responded, and we will continue to work toward including assaults that target Montanans based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in the legal definition of hate crimes in our state,' Jamee Greer of the Montana Human Rights Network told the local Billings Gazette.



VIDEO: Watch Joseph backflilp onto his face... courtesy of the Missoula Independent ...



