Looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular charged over alleged alligator shooting

Controversial influencer Clavicular has been charged in connection to an alleged alligator shooting in the US during a livestream.

Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Eric Peters, was charged with unlawfully discharging a firearm at a wildlife sanctuary on 26 March in the state of Florida. Two other men also were charged in the alleged shooting.

Clavicular, 20, is an influencer and streamer, known for his "looksmaxxing" content that chronicles him going to extreme lengths to try to enhance his looks - from using steroids and testosterone, to hitting his face with a hammer.

The BBC has contacted his lawyer for comment.

Several US outlets have reported a statement from his lawyers which says that Peters was "following the instructions of a licensed airboat guide", and that "no animals or people were harmed" during the incident.

The charges relate to an incident Clavicular captured during a video livestream, appearing to show multiple gunshots being fired into swamp water from an airboat in the Everglades Wildlife Management Area, west of Miami, according to Miami-Dade County court records.

Hours after the livestream was broadcast, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it was "aware of a video depicting individuals in the Everglades on an airboat who appear to be discharging at an alligator".

The commission did not specify whether it was referring to Clavicular's video. Court documents also do not detail whether an alligator was harmed during the alleged shooting.

The charges were filed against Clavicular and two others on 29 March.

Under Florida law, illegally discharging a firearm in public can lead to imprisonment of less than one year and a $1,000 fine (£735).

Clavicular was separately arrested in south Florida on battery charges in March, accused of instigating a fight on social media between two women then sharing it on social media.

Clavicular regularly clocks millions of views for his looksmaxxing content shared on social media - TikTok, Instagram, and Kick, a streaming platform.

Medical experts have criticised extreme versions of looksmaxxing, which Clavicular calls "hardmaxxing", for causing physical harm and lacking scientific evidence of its benefits.

YouTube blocked two of Clavicular's video-sharing channels after a set of battery charges were laid against him.

Last month, he was taken to hospital after appearing to collapse at a Miami nightclub during a livestream.