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The West Hollywood gay dad who assaulted a MAGA influencer on video will not face charges after completing a “pre-filing diversion” agreement with prosecutors, his attorney said Thursday.
David Vulin, 32, was caught on video hitting conservative streamer Ryley Niemi back in April, and police arrested him on suspicion of battery and vandalism.
Niemi had asked Vulin and his husband, who were out with their young child, if they had heard of “statistics coming out that gay men are much more likely to commit child molestation,” and asked if the two men had paid $50,000 to a woman to get pregnant.
Vulin signed the agreement with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which ensures he will not face criminal prosecution. It’s unclear what the terms of the agreement are.
The family said they were relieved by the ruling but disappointed that “the person who provoked this encounter with hate speech then filmed and monetized it, faces no consequences.”
“But we’re determined to turn this into something meaningful,” they said. “Anthony is working with state legislators on a bill to hold rage-bait creators accountable for the harm they cause.”
Niemi, who said David Vulin broke his camera as well, expressed shock at the ruling to the Los Angeles Times. He believed David should have been charged with felony assault.
“This wasn’t a normal battery. I walked away 500 feet,” Niemi said. “He hit me in the back of the head and gave me a concussion.”
He said he’s mulling filing a civil lawsuit against the couple.
The conservative influencer added that he asked similar questions to other people that day and no one reacted the same way the Vulins did. Niemi said he only asked the question because “they brought their baby out to the gay clubs at 9 p.m.”
He believes there’s a double standard at play here.
“If they said something to me about how being conservative is bad, and I punched them, I really don’t think I’d get off the hook for that,” he said.