‘Looksmaxxing’ influencer ‘Clavicular’ brings barking dog to court as 'support mechanism': expert
Braden Peters, 20, better known as the "looksmaxxing" influencer "Clavicular," walked up to court with a barking dog ahead of his arraignment in a Massachusetts courtroom on Thursday.
Peters appeared in Orleans District Court and entered a not guilty plea on charges relating to an alleged rape. A court clerk confirmed to Fox News Digital that he posted $10,000 bail relating to the charges.
The incident allegedly involved a 17-year-old victim that occurred in 2025 at his family's Cape Cod home.
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Former criminal defense attorney and Fox News Contributor Ted Williams said Peters arriving at court with a dog was not necessarily unusual.
"I don't think it's really out of the ordinary for a defendant to show up at court and the dog is left outside on a leash at a specific location or left with a person," Williams told Fox News Digital.
Williams said the dog could have served as a source of support for Peters ahead of the court appearance.
"There are people who are more attached to their dog than they are attached to a human being, believe it or not, and that may be just his support mechanism — the dog," Williams said.
What would be unusual, Williams said, is if the animal were allowed inside the courthouse under normal circumstances — as dogs or animals of any sort are not permitted in courts, he said.
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Peters has amassed more than 1 million followers on his Instagram account and is known for rating people's looks via livestream and providing "advice" like surgery and personal training.
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In this specific case, Fox News Digital previously reported the teenage victim told investigators she messaged Peters online looking to connect and make content – to which he allegedly sent for an Uber to pick her up and bring her to his house.
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He allegedly served her alcohol and she got drunk to the point where police said she was unable to consent to sex.
On Wednesday, Peters’ attorneys filed a memorandum asking the court to release him on cash bail, arguing he was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community and offering to surrender his passport and have no contact with the alleged victim.
He was not jailed awaiting Thursday’s arraignment; he appeared in response to a summons and then posted bail.
READ IT: Braden Peters’ defense memorandum for his release.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Peters' attorney David Meier said in part:
"Braden Peters categorically denies these allegations."
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He went on to say, "The fact that these allegations first arose in June 2026 when the complainant and her Florida attorney appeared together at the Chatham Police Department just days before filing an amended civil lawsuit seeking thousands of dollars from Mr. Peters speaks for itself."
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This is not Peters' first run-in with the law. He was previously arrested in Florida on battery charges in Kissimmee after a reported fight between two women at an Airbnb property.
The Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital on Thursday's court proceeding, citing the pending case.