A Ferris State University student says he was coerced by a right-wing Washington lobbyist and podcaster and another conservative social media personality into making up false claims he was sexually assaulted by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Twenty-one-year-old Hunter Kelly put out a statement Tuesday denouncing his earlier claim, saying he has never met the Democratic presidential candidate. “The Detroit News” reports the student added that the accusation against the mayor on the Medium blog site was the work of lobbyist Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Burkman is standing by the allegations, posting on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that he believes the original story and says the mainstream media bullied Kelly and his family “into submission.”
