A popular YouTuber accused of hitting a police officer with his car and then speeding away vehemently denounced the charges filed against him in a fierce and emotional outburst during his video conference court hearing.
“I have everything right here, and it’s all falsified,” Erik Conover said during his arraignment, WMUR reported.
Conover, a YouTuber with nearly three million subscribers who records tours of luxury real-estate properties, faces attempted murder and other felony charges for allegedly hitting a New Hampshire police officer, then driving off and leading police on a multi-county chase on Saturday, March 15.
According to the Conway Daily Sun, an officer attempted to pull Conover over after spotting his Jeep going 55-60 mph in a 35 mph zone. Conover refused to pull over and continued driving, even brake-checking the officer at one point. When Conover finally stopped, the officer parked his police cruiser in front of Conover’s Jeep.
The cop got out of the car, walked behind Conover’s Jeep, and ordered Conover to step out of the vehicle, authorities claim.
Instead of complying with the officer’s order, Conover backed his Jeep up, pointed it at the cop, then barrelled right through him and sped off. The officer went over the hood of Conover’s Jeep, was thrown up 40 feet, and suffered a leg injury, police reports stated.
Conover drove another 28 miles before officers caught up with him and made an arrest.
In addition to the attempted murder charge, Conover faces first-degree assault against a police officer, second-degree assault, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon — all felony counts — plus misdemeanor charges of conduct after an accident, disobeying an officer, and reckless driving.
Authorities requested the judge presiding over Conover’s case to keep Conover in jail until his first court appearance, citing the attack on the cop as well as his “egregious” and “extremely dangerous” behavior.
Conover also alleged that police had the wrong guy in custody, noting he’s from New York City and not New Jersey as authorities noted.
“This seems to be a massive misunderstanding,” Conover said. “I’m exactly who I say I am. I’m a YouTuber.”
During his court appearance, Conover denied every allegation and claimed he was “being treated like an animal” in jail.
“If anyone dares try to test my mental competence, I will eviscerate every single person with my intelligence right now,” he said during a Zoom conference for his arraignment. “And that’s not being egotistical.”
He recited the Lord’s prayer with curse words and then gave thanks to his attorney.
When his parents joined the video conference, he cried out to them.
“Mom, thank God, look at me!” Conover yelled.
“Erik, Erik, Erik,” Conover’s mother said as her son cried during the hearing. “They’re here to help you,” she said of his attorneys.
The state requested that Conover be kept in preventative detention, but Conover’s attorney wanted his client released on personal recognizance, arguing that he’s not a danger to the public and needs to return to his profession as a content creator.
“He works as a full-time YouTuber with 2.8 million followers,” attorney Nicholas Howie said. “He does that on a daily basis, and obviously, being held in jail will prevent him from continuing his profession.”
The judge ordered that Conover remain in jail without bail pending a probable cause hearing on March 25.
Two days before the police chase, Conover was arrested for DUI and was released on personal recognizance. He denied those charges, as well.
“I’ve been sober from alcohol for 1,558 days, so to press me on a DUI, I’m a public figure,” he said.
The description for one of his last YouTube videos, titled “How I Got Sober from Alcohol,” states that Conover was “1,556 days sober from alcohol” as of March 14, just one day after his DUI arrest.
The description for his YouTube page states: “This channel explores homes built for energetic resonance and human expansion. From luxury estates designed with frequency-based intelligence to real estate infused with ancient wisdom and quantum design principles, these are the spaces shaping the future of conscious living.”
