A Navy veteran who claimed he was stabbed for looking like a neo-Nazi actually stabbed himself, police told The Guardian.
Police arrested Joshua Witt, 26, after he admitted to Colorado police that he lied about his story that a black man attacked him in the parking lot of a Steak ‘n Shake for having a haircut that is associated with new-Nazis.
Witt said he was recently discharged from the U.S. Navy and fabricated the story so that Veterans Affairs (VA) would pay for his medical bills, CBS Denver reported.
On Facebook, Witt posted photos of his bloodied hand and jeans. Witt said he was stabbed while trying to block an alleged knife attack with his hands.
“[So] apparently I look like a neo-nazi and got stabbed for it,” read the caption of the Facebook post. The photos quickly went viral and was shared tens of thousands of times.
Sheridan Police Chief Mark Campbell told The Washington Post on Monday that they were immediately skeptical of the story when Witt’s first instinct was to call his grandmother as opposed to 911. Authorities also said there were no witnesses of the attack near the parking lot.
Police questioned a homeless man who had the same physical description that Witt gave to authorities. However, when asked to pick him out of a line-up, Witt was unable to do so.
Campbell also said at the time of the alleged attack, Witt did not have a haircut that resembled that of a ne0-Nazi.
Witt later admitted that he fabricated the story and, in fact, accidentally stabbed himself with a knife he had purchased at a Sportsman Warehouse.
Witt was charged Aug. 24 with making a false report and faces up to a year in jail and a $2,600 fine.
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