Stabbed for looking neo-Nazi? No, he had cut himself

Joshua Lee Witt was arrested in the United States for filing a false police complaint after admitting that he had accidentally cut off his hand and not been attacked by a black man as he had alleged.

A man alleged to have been stabbed in Colorado for having a haircut associated with neo-Nazis was arrested by police after admitting he lied to agents. Accused of making a false claim, he may be sentenced to up to one year in prison, in addition to paying a fine of more than $ 2,650 (almost € 2200)

His story had wide repercussions in the American media, especially the conservatives, who used the case as an example of the violence of leftist activists. The alleged stabbing occurred shortly after a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville ended in violence.

On August 16, Joshua Lee Witt, 26, told police that a black man had attacked him with a small knife in a restaurant parking lot, after asking "are you one of these neo-Nazis?" According to his version of the facts, the cut in the hand resulted from an attempt to block the knife to protect itself. The "suspect" was described as a sixteen-year-old black man who was wearing a green T-shirt and blue pants.

Police in Sheridan, Colorado, said the story seemed strange right from the start, as the parking lot in question is very busy and no one else has reported the attack. Later, although in the photos he shared on Facebook he apparently had a lot of blood, the wound was really small. The publication on this social network (meanwhile deleted) was shared thousands of times.

The video surveillance images also showed no attack - and a person who seemed to match the attacker's description was cleared. Although Witt said he had been targeted because of having a haircut associated with neo-Nazis, the truth is that he no longer had this hairstyle (which was seen in the Facebook profile photo).

Finally, a video of a sports shop near the restaurant showed Witt to buy a small knife. Confronted by police, he admitted he cut himself while in the parking lot.