Gay Father Won't Face Charges After Punching MAGA Influencer Who Accused Him of Pedophilia
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office has dropped criminal charges against a father who assaulted a conservative influencer, after the influencer approached the family and falsely implied the gay couple were more likely to commit child abuse.
A gay father will not face criminal charges after assaulting a conservative influencer who approached him and his husband, falsely implying they were more likely to commit child molestation due to their sexual orientation. David Vulin, 32, will not be prosecuted for the incident that occurred in April in West Hollywood.
Conservative influencer Ryley Niemi approached Vulin and his husband, Anthony, while they were with their son, Ante. Niemi, who has nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram and is associated with Turning Point USA, recorded a video of the encounter. In the video, Niemi confirmed the couple were gay and that the child with them was theirs. He then asked, "Have you ever heard about the statistics coming out that gay men are statistically much more likely to commit child molestation?"
Anthony Vulin responded by saying, "No, that sounds crazy." When Niemi continued to question their parental status by asking, "Don't you think it's weird that you guys have a child, but neither of you are a woman?" Anthony replied, "No." Niemi did not cite any sources for his claims. Research on the sexuality of offenders indicates that the majority of men who molest children are heterosexual or bisexual, not homosexual.
David Vulin then confronted Niemi, telling him, "Who are you? You're going to fking get your ass kicked. Fk you," and appeared to shove the influencer. Niemi later claimed Vulin also asked if they paid a surrogate to have their child.
Later that evening, Vulin encountered Niemi again further down the street. Vulin then attacked Niemi, punching him repeatedly in the head. Niemi claimed he suffered a concussion and that one of his cameras was broken. Vulin was subsequently arrested on suspicion of battery and vandalism.
However, Vulin's case was referred for pre-filing diversion, and the criminal charges have since been dropped. Niemi reportedly expressed surprise at the decision and stated he would consider filing a civil lawsuit. The Vulins expressed relief at the ruling but believe Niemi should be held accountable for provoking the encounter. They also noted that Niemi had told them he was with CNN when he approached them, which they later found to be untrue.
The Vulins are now working with state legislators on a bill to hold creators of provocative online content accountable for the harm they cause. West Hollywood Mayor Danny Heng previously described the incident as "unjust," stating that "trolls came to our city and disrupted our way of life and they attacked him for clickbait purposes."