Political Attack Hoaxter in Custody

Update: KDKA reports that Ashley Todd is in custody, facing charges. She admits there was no robbery, but claims she doesn't remember how the backwards "B" got on her face. I can help out with this one: You put it there!

She also is claiming a history of mental problems, a likely precursor to a criminal defense. The helpful Twitter updates, which put a nice red bow on her story, might make that defense hard to swallow.

Update: Pittsburgh's KDKA is reporting that Ashley Todd admits her story about being attacked and mutilated by an apparent Obama supporter was a hoax:

Police sources tell KDKA that a campaign worker has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter "B" in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.

The commander added that Todd will face charges; but police have not commented on what those charges will be.

According to police, investigators working on the interview process detected several inconsistencies in Todd's story that differed from statements made in the original police report.

Questions are emerging today about the credibility of the account given by a McCain supporter who claimed to have been disfigured during a mugging in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Ashley Todd told police that she was attacked at around 9pm Wednesday night, and that the attacker became enraged when he saw her McCain bumper sticker, and carved the letter "B" into her cheek. The implication is that the "B" was for "Barack Obama."

It is now being reported that police intend to administer a polygraph test, as some elements of Todd's story don't appear to be holding up. Even conservative blogger Michelle Malkin has her doubts:

She refused medical treatment after reporting the incident to police. Why on earth would she do that?

I share my reader Kathy's suspicions on this. She writes:

Notice how the "B" is backwards on the right cheek......if you were looking in a mirror and put it on your own face

...And yes, as many readers have pointed out, it's also the neatness and superficiality of that "B" that also raises red flags. See my police officer reader's e-mail below.)

As I reported last night, Todd also posted Twitter updates before the attack that were oddly prescient, to sat the least.

atodd: Oh the blog I will be making soon... Its been a rough night #litf08 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:52:58 +0000 *

atodd: Pretty sure I'm on the wrong side of pittsburgh Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:45:59 +0000 *

atodd: Stubbornly searching for a bank of america to avoid ATM fees. Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:23:21 +0000

Although the Twitter updates, at face value, support her claim, they also show that she drove around for 40 minutes looking for a Bank of America ATM, when there was one 6 miles from the Citizen's Bank ATM where she ended up. They also show that she was wary of the neighborhood she was in, yet still managed to get snuck up on.

You can see more about Ashley Todd's online networking and blogging here, including a blog entry from several months ago in which she speculates about becoming the victim of a political assassination.

Malkin and others deserve some credit for exercising restraint with this story. If it does turn out to be a hoax, it is a particularly ugly one. Stay tuned for updates.

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