After a video of his drag racing antics in Beverly Hills went viral earlier this week. . .
Qatari royal Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani told police he had diplomatic immunity upon questioning.
Prince Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani formerly sponsored the Al-Anabi drag-racing team and is reportedly the son of the previous emir of Qatar.
But he lied and that lie is a federal crime in the United States.
His lie was revealed after local police conferred with the United States' State Department.
"It's against a federal law for someone to claim diplomatic immunity when they don't have it, so we're looking at that and then we're also looking at the reckless driving," Beverly Hills Police Chief Dominick Rivetti told Reuters.
While it remains unclear whether the prince was driving one of the offending vehicles, it is clear he falsely claimed immunity.
He, or some connected to him, also is accused of threatening this journalist's life.
"He told me verbatim, ‘I could have you killed and get away with it.' I told him, 'the press is allowed to be here on the sidewalk on a public street.' He said, ‘(Expletive) America’ and threw a cigarette at me,” Jacob Rogers told NBC4 .
It seems the investigation got a little too hot for the prince, so he fled the country.
The vehicles involved in the incident were a yellow Ferrari LaFerrari and a white Porsche 911 GT3.
The Porsche model is reported to be valued at about $130,000 and the Ferrari at anywhere from $1.5 million to upwards of $5 million.
So what happens next?
“Our officers are on the alert for the vehicles seen in the video, and are prepared to take enforcement action including issuing traffic citations, impounding the vehicles and arresting individuals when appropriate. We have stepped up enforcement for reckless activity in the neighborhood where the incident took place.” said a police statement.
It's doubtful the prince will be detained but any chance for an apology?
