Tag: hate crime

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Nebraska: Omaha Man Arrested For Stealing/Burning Rainbow Flag

Twenty-three year old Cameron Mayfield of Omaha, Nebraska has been arrested for stealing a neighbors rainbow flag and burning it in the street.

Via Gay Star News:

Ariann Anderson and Jess Meadows-Anderson, a married couple who live next door, said it went ‘beyond vandalism or a threat’ as it was a ‘direct attack’.

‘It’s just a reminder that hate is still out there,’ they said.

The two women woke up just after midnight on Sunday morning (1 March), believing their home was being burglarized.

When Meadows-Anderson rushed downstairs to check on their two girls, her wife saw a van drive off.

When they woke up again, they went to a window to see a man running down the street with what looked like a burning stick.

They then both realized he was burning their rainbow flag.

‘You almost feel bad for a minute,’ Meadows-Anderson told WOWT. ‘He’s a young man and he made a hate-filled, drunken mistake that will have a lasting effect on his life and his family.’

Later that day, a new, bigger, brighter Pride flag was flying on their front porch.

Mayfield is facing a 2nd degree felony arson charge and a separate charge for resisting arrest.

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NYC: Two Years Probation For Gay Basher At Madison Square Garden

One of 8 men who attacked a gay couple leaving a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in May 2013 has plead guilty to the hate crime. He will receive two years probation.

Martin Martinez was arrested in October 2013, four months after he and a group of Knicks fans came across Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins walking arm-in-arm on Eighth Avenue, according to police. The group of fans hurled homophobic slurs at the then-couple and beat them, breaking Porto’s nose and Atkins’ wrist, authorities said.

Porto, 29, said he approved of the guilty plea. “I actually his respect his honesty,” he told DNAinfo. “I think that speak volumes on whether or not he’s actually learned something.”

Martinez, who was 25 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment in the second degree, a hate crime with a promised sentence of two years probation, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.

The misdemeanor involves physical contact based on “belief or perception regarding such person’s race, color…or sexual orientation,” according to the penal code. Martinez’s sentencing is set for March 30.

But Porto said that Martinez was only one of eight friends who ganged up on him and his boyfriend that day.

He plans to file a civil suit against all those he said participated.

“Their identities are known,” Porto said, but could not specifically identify each individual in the video. “They got surveillance footage, they know where they sat, they know who bought those tickets, they know everything.”

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FBI Study Shows 20% Of Hate Crimes Due To Sexual Orientation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its annual Hate Crime Statistics report today which revealed that 20% of hate crimes in 2013 were due to bias based on sexual orientation.

Of the 1,402 hate crimes in 2013 based on sexual orientation, 60.6% were classified as anti-gay bias.
 
The total number of reported hate crimes in 2013 (5,928) was down slightly when compared to 2012 statistics which saw a reported 6,573 hate crimes.

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Philadelphia City Council Passes Hate Crime Measure By Vote 16-1

Alleged attackers in Philadelphia gay-bashing

While Pennsylvania’s hate crime bill may be stalled in committee, the city of Philadelphia has passed it’s own version of the legislation:

City Council unanimously approved a measure on Thursday that would make it a crime to harm someone because of sexual orientation, gender identity, or disabilities.

The proposal was triggered by the Sept. 11 assault on a gay couple in Center City.

In that case, police arrested three people but could not charge them with a hate crime because neither state law nor the city code makes it a crime to harm someone because of sexual orientation.

The measure approved Thursday, expected to be signed into law by Mayor Nutter, calls for up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 for crimes committed against a person because of sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

(via Philly.com)

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Inside Edition Covers the Philadelphia Gay-Bashing

Inside Edition covers the Center City gay-bashing:

She’s the pretty daughter of a police chief, but 24-year-old Kathryn Knott is now on the other side of the law after a network of civilian sleuths used social media to track her down.

Surveillance video was their only clue. A group of preppy-looking 20-somethings were on a Philadelphia street. Just moments later, there was a brutal assault on two gay men.

Three people have been charged.

These two guys and Kathryn Knott, whose father, Karl, it turns out, is the police chief in a suburban Philadelphia town. They all deny any wrongdoing.

Her social media profile shows a photo of her drinking from a bottle of Fireball whisky.

One tweet reveals she once used her father’s position as police chief to get special treatment.

She tweeted: “A guy ran me off the road. Called my dad ran his license, and got him ticket #lovemydad (@kathryn_knott)”

And: “Dad just let me kick down a door on a raid. Epic”

At an emotional rally protesting the attack, Caryn Kunkle, a friend of the two gay men who were beaten said they are slowly recovering.

Kunkle said, “One of the victims still has his jaw wired shut. He will have it wired shut for another seven weeks. They are both on a liquid diet. Neither one of them can eat solid food.”

There won’t be any more tweets from Kathryn for a while. Her Twitter page has been taken down.

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In Defense of Kathryn Knott

Friend of gay bashing suspect Kathryn Knott says "We all know people have been calling each other faggot in fights for years."

I’m not so sure this is an effective “defense” of Center City gay bashing suspect, Kathryn Knott.

Apparently from the sister of one of Kathryn Knott’s best friends:

“We all know people have been calling each other faggot in fights for years.”

With “friends” like these, who needs enemies? This kind of rhetoric isn’t going to help anyone.

This “sister of a friend” seems to be saying that the word “faggot” was only used as a general term like “asshole” or “jerk.”

EXCEPT, according to multiple accounts, the altercation began with one of the mob asking if the couple was gay, to which the men replied “yes.” So, the use of the word “faggot” would have been in play referencing the men’s sexual orientation from that point out.

That would be the altercation that put two men in the hospital, one with a fractured orbital bone and jaw. The jaw injury was so severe that it has to be wired shut for 8 weeks.

Meanwhile, there doesn’t seem to be any proof or photos released that would indicate the suspects charged with the assault needed to fear for their own safety.

The two men’s injuries were so severe, police initially thought there had been a shooting considering the amount of blood at the crime scene.

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Accused Gay-Bashing Suspect Kathryn Knott Fired From Hospital Job

Gay-bashing suspect Kathryn Knott

One of the alleged attackers in a brutal assault on a gay couple in Center City was fired from her job at a local hospital Thursday.

Abington Health announced that 24-year-old Kathryn Knott was fired from her job as an Emergency Room Tech late Thursday afternoon.

“Effective today. September 25, 2014, Kathryn Knott has been terminated from her employment at Abington Health,” the hospital said in a statement.

Knott had tweeted several pictures of x-rays and other private medical files of patients during her time as an ER tech at Abington Health. This could be a serious violation of HIPPA laws.

Knott, the daughter of Chalfont, Pennsylvania Police Chief Karl Knott, is one of three suspects charged with the beating of a gay couple on September 11.

Knott, Kevin Harrigan, 26, and Philip Williams, 24, are free on bail less than a day after they surrendered to police.

Authorities arraigned Williams, Harrigan and Knott on aggravated assault, conspiracy and other related offenses early Thursday morning and the group left their Center City jail cells a short time later, according to officials.

(via NBCPhiladelphia)

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Philadelphia City Council Poised to Pass Hate Crime Ordinance

A new city hate crime ordinance introduced today by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and Councilman Jim Kenney looks sure to pass as the proposal was co-sponsored by the entire city council.

The measure comes just weeks after the brutal gay-bashing in Center City on September 11th that left two men hospitalized, one requiring his jaw to be wired shut for 8 weeks.

From Buzzfeed:

“We value diversity and diversity matters, and for those who don’t get it, there’s a price to be paid,” Reynolds Brown told BuzzFeed News when reached by phone. “Right at the door, all of the members get it and understand the value in putting forth this important measure to close this loophole in the law.”

She said she can “predict quite confidently” the ordinance will pass and be signed into law by Mayor Michael Nutter. “I can’t say that about too many pieces of legislation,” she added.

The Philadelphia proposal would ensure that hate crimes based on a victims actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability will carry consequences in addition to existing criminal charges such as up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, according to the councilwoman.

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Philadelphia: Three Suspects Charged In Violent Gay Bashing

Arrest warrants have been issued and charges filed in the brutal gay bashing incident of almost two weeks ago in Center City Philadelphia.

With charges ranging from aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy and reckless endangerment, three Bucks County residents – two men and one woman – will be charged for the violent attack of September 11, 2014, on two gay men.

From NBC Philadelphia:

District Attorney Seth Williams issued the arrest warrants for Philip Williams, 24; Kevin Harrigan, 26; and Katherine Knott, 24. No word yet if any of the trio surrendered to authorities.

“I would like to thank the police for their thorough investigation and the public for the outpouring of information and tips in this case,” said Williams. “This vicious attack shocked the entire country. An assault on people because of their sexual orientation has no place in Philadelphia.”

Police say one of the suspects also snatched a victim’s bag containing a cellphone, wallet and credit cards. The group then fled in an unknown direction.

“It was a bunch of screams at first,” said witness Geoff Nagle. “…a lot of punching and kicking.”

Another witness, who asked to remain anonymous, says he heard the group screaming homophobic slurs.

“It was surprising that it happened in front of me, I never witnessed a hate crime based on that,” the witness said.

Here’s a report from the local NBC affiliate summarizing the violent episode:

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Pennsylvania State Sen. Jim Ferlo Comes Out At Hate Crimes Bill Rally

State Rep. Brian Sims of Pennsylvania speaks at press conference for adding LGBT protections to hate crime law

The recent vicious gay bashing that took place almost two weeks ago in Philadelphia has spurned renewed interest in state legislators to add sexual orientation to the state’s hate crime law.

Although there appears to be wide bipartisan support, the GOP-controlled Senate has not shown much interest in bringing the legislation to a vote.

From ABC6:

State Senator Larry Farnese of Philadelphia says the fact that there are only a few days left before the end of the current legislative session is no excuse to keep Senate Bill 42 from getting passed.

Farnese said a press conference this morning, “We can do a separate session or a special session on booze, we’ll do a special session on pensions. Why can’t we do a special session on equality?”

Senate Bill 42 and House Bill 177 are measures designed to expand Pennsylvania’s hate crime law to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens.

Representative Brian Sims of Philadelphia, who is also a member of the LGBT community, says the fact that this issue is still being debated in Harrisburg is nothing short of outrageous.

Sims says, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Get used to it. There’s a million of us in this state, and we deserve the same rights and the same protections as everybody else.”

Senate Bill 42 was drafted by Senator Jim Ferlo of Pittsburgh, who took the opportunity to formally come out.

“Hundreds of people know I’m gay. I just never made an official declaration. I never felt I had to wear a billboard on my forehead. But I’m gay. Get over it. I love it. It’s a great life,” Ferlo said.