He was doing it to get attention. He thought because he was part of a very popular show that people would take his word for what happened. He forgot that he reported it and police dig pretty deep to find the answers to any crime. I thought it was pretty strange from the start because it happened in Chicago at 2 a.m. and it was one of the coldest nights of the season, plus most hate crimes don't take part of a noose and put it around someone's neck. He also hates Trump and that's why he threw in the MAGA hate and quote he said.
I'm glad the police found out the truth because this could have been pretty bad in race relations, but some TV persons will never tell the truth and still push the lies.