Tag: violence

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Philadelphia: One Member Of Gay-Bashing Mob Fired From Catholic High School

NBC Philadelphia is reporting that some of the members of the mob who are “persons of interest” in the attack on two gay men last week which sent them to the hospital with severe injuries were alumni from Archbishop Wood High School in nearby Warminster, PA.

One of the persons of interest was also the assistant basketball coach at Archbishop Wood before the school dismissed him from his duties Wednesday, according to a school spokesman.

“He was not a teacher at the school but serving as a coach on a contract basis. He was terminated this evening and will not be permitted to coach in any Archdiocesan school,” the spokesperson said. “We expect all those who work with students in our schools to model appropriate Christian behavior at all times.”

UPDATE: The AP is reporting that the assistant basketball coach, Fran McGlinn, resigned from his position at the school when confronted about the allegations, and was not fired. One has to wonder – if innocent, why would McGlinn resign so quickly after being identified?

Four of the alleged attackers arrived at the police station to give statements accompanied by their lawyers.  One lawyer told the press that the vicious attack was in self-defense because one of the two gay men threw the first punch.

Right, because two gay men when confronted by a homophobic mob like to instigate a fight on a dark street when they are outnumbered 6 to 1.  Makes perfect sense.  I’d like to see the mob’s defensive wounds…

The high school, Archbishop Wood High School, issued this statement in regard to the attack:

Earlier today, Archbishop Wood High School became aware that some of its former students were allegedly involved in the assault of two men in Center City last week.

This afternoon, administrators communicated with the entire Archbishop Wood school community to make it emphatically clear that the school does not, under any circumstances, tolerate or condone the violent and hateful behavior displayed by those who took part in this senseless attack.

Administration also stressed that Catholic schools are centers of learning where students are expected to treat each other in a Christ-like manner at all times and that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. The actions of those who took part in the attack are reprehensible and entirely unacceptable. They are not an accurate reflection of our Catholic values or of Archbishop Wood High School.

Watch the report from the Philadelphia NBC affiliate below:

(via JMG)

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Philadelphia Police Release Video of Suspects in Brutal Hate Crime Attack

This is very important regarding the brutal attack of two men in Philadelphia this past weekend that left sent the victims to the hospital, one of whom had to have his jaw wired shut due to a fractured jaw.

Please watch the video and read this info from the Philadelphia Police Department:

On September 11, 2014, at 10:45 pm, the complainant, a 28 year-old male, along with a friend, a 27 year-old male, were on the 1600 block of Chancellor Street when they were approached by a group of unknown white males and females.

As the group approached the complainants they made disparaging remarks about their sexual orientation. The group then attacked the complainants holding them while other members of the group punched them in the face, head and chest.

During the assault one of the complainants dropped his bag containing his cell phone, wallet and credit cards.

When police approached one of the suspects picked the bag up from the ground. The group then fled and were last seen north on 16th Street towards Walnut Street.

Both complainants were transported to Hahnemann Hospital for multiple injuries. One complainant was treated for fractures and deep lacerations to his face requiring surgery and his jaw wired shut.

Suspect Description: A group of approximately 10-12 white male and females all in their early 20′s “clean cut” and well dressed. One suspect was described as having a husky build, brown hair, wearing a brown shirt and shorts.

If you see these suspects do not approach them, contact 911 immediately.
To submit a tip via telephone, dial 215.686.TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.
All tips will be confidential.

If you have any information about this crime or these suspects, please contact:
Central Detective Division
Det. Domenic #9140
Det. Waring #8101
215-686-3047
DC# 14-09-036141

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Two Philadelphia men beaten in apparent hate crime

Two Philadelphia men were attacked and violently beaten in what is being labeled a hate crime.

Investigators say a gay couple was walking in Center City when they were stopped by a group of people and brutally beaten on the corner of 16th and Chancellor. Both of the victims are now recovering from serious injuries, including one man having his jaw wired shut due to severe fractures.

From the local NBC affiliate:

Sources tell NBC10 the 27-year-old and 28-year-old victims were walking from a restaurant in the area of 16th and Chancellor around 10:45 p.m. Thursday.

Suddenly they were approached by a visibly intoxicated group of two men and six women.

Witnesses say someone in the group asked, “Is this your fucking boyfriend?” When one of the victims told them yes, the group allegedly attacked them, punching and kicking them in the face, head and chest.

Police say one of the suspects then 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.

Anyone who was in the area at the time is urged to contact police if you think you have any information that might be useful.

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San Francisco: Castro District resident Bryan Higgins attacked, left brain dead

Bryan Higgins, known to friends and family as Feather Lynn, was brutally attacked over the weekend in the Castro District of San Francisco.

Sadly, violent crime has recently been on the rise in the Castro.

Feather’s body was discovered early Sunday morning, unconscious and lacking any identifying belongings. After community outreach by the police, a family member came forward and identified Feather.

From The Castro Biscuit:

Yesterday, police declared the case an attempted homicide after evidence was introduced that suggested Feather was brutally attacked which reports say led to a fatal brain aneurysm that has left him on life support.

The SFPD has little details on a suspect and is asking for the community’s help in tracking down a white male in his late 20′s and early 30′s who was wearing a dark colored hoodie who was captured on Muni and surrounding businesses’ security footage around the time of the assault.

Feather was taken off life support today at 3:33 PM PST. At that same time, a vigil was held at Duboce Park, near where Feather was attacked, to celebrate and remember his life.

Feather’s husband, Brian Haggerty, spoke to The San Francisco Bay Guardian on Feather’s condition:

“Right now, we are just concerned with his spirit, and making sure everyone has a chance to say goodbye,” he said. “Too many factors came together in this situation. But the truth is he has left us.”

Anyone who may have been in the vicinity of Duboce and Church in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 10th, – or have any details that may be related to the crime – please contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text TIP411 with “SFPD” at the start of the message.

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Pittsburgh police officer under investigation for punching teenager at Gay Pride event

A Pittsburgh police officer has been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation after he was caught on video punching a teenage girl who had been confronting Christian protesters during the city’s gay pride event.

From WPXI:

According to the criminal complaint, Ariel Lawther was fighting with a man named Eric Moore. The officer involved said when he went to break the fight up, he was pushed and kicked. The complaint stated that the officer, “pulled the woman out and grabbed her hair and punched her in the stomach a few times.”

Channel 11’s Pamela Osborne spoke with Jenny Kenny who recorded the alleged incident.

“From the very beginning, he grabbed her neck and he shouldn’t have done that,” said Kenny.

Channel 11’s Rick Earle reported that sources say the woman involved was arrested and is facing several charges, including resisting arrest.

Lawther posted $5,000 bail and has since been released from the Allegheny County Jail.

According to several witnesses, the girl did not assault the police officer. Watch the clip below. The alleged assault starts around 3:00. You don’t see the very beginning seconds of the altercation, but it is hard to imagine that in two seconds the officer was assaulted to the point of justifying the force used here.

(via JMG)

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Atlanta: Transgender women beaten on train as passengers watch

Disturbing news from Atlanta as a video recording shows two trans women being harassed and beaten on a MARTA train.  Not only does the video capture the violent attack on the women, but the fact that no one on the train moved to help.  Instead, many stood by recording the attack on their phones.

The altercation began when the two trans women were verbally abused by men on the train.  The exchange quickly escalated into kicking and punching, leaving one of the women stripped and completely naked.

From the Advocate:

“[They] just kept of asking us was we real,” Janell Crosby, one of the women involved in the attack told WSB TV. “Like really trying to get us. ‘Are you real?’ ‘Are y’all this or that?’ Just trying to embarass us.”

“They were trying to find out if we are men or women,” Tyra Woods told reporters, noting that the verbal harassment began while the women were waiting for the train to arrive. “I shouldn’t have to disclose who I am to an innocent person who I’m not even interested in talking to.”

“Nobody tried to help. They were all standing up on chairs videotaping,” Crosby told the GA Voice. “That’s how it ended up on so many [web]sites. I told one cop who was following us to the gate. He acted like he didn’t want to hear from us. He didn’t write any statement or anything.”

According to transit authority spokesman Lyle Harris, an investigation into the incident is under way, albeit with less than full cooperation.

“We will not tolerate this kind of behavior on MARTA,” said MARTA spokesperson Lyle Harris. “We are now taking this under investigation. The MARTA Police Department is looking at what happened on that tape to see if we can determine who was involved and what happened and we will take every action.”

The viral exposure of the video has apparently led to the arrest of one of the men, 34 year old Luther L. Thomas.

I really urge people to watch the original unedited version of the video, which can be seen here. While disturbing, it’s important that Americans understand the degree of humiliation transgender people face every day.

Watch the WSB TV report below.

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Violence and crack-down on LGBT activists already at Sochi Olympics

And so it begins.

The Russian online news site Grani reports that ten LGBT activists were arrested by Moscow police at Red Square today as they waved rainbow flags and sang the Russian national anthem.

According to text messages from the arrested Russians to a Swedish activist who was also arrested but was released first, the police beat two of the activists still in custody and threatened them with sexual assault.

A text message transcript via Buzzfeed:

Me:: “We didn’t sign anything. Are you all still there?”
Them: “Yes, in cage. They beated [sic] two of us”
Me: “Oh no, who? What can we do? Can you keep reporting? Are all of you in the same cage?”
Them: “Two queers [were beaten]. Before that they took us upstairs and said that we have to suck their cocks’ and that we have to be burned. When we said that we gonna complain. So they bring us back to cage. So we dont let them close it without paper, pen and their names. So they beat two of us and then used cuffs.”
Them: “Yes we are together. Now we are singing.”
Them: “They beated [sic] our people again – cause we asked to let our public defender come to us. They didnt give us any docs.”

All ten have now been released.

The activists say they believe police learned of the protest in advance by tapping their phones.

(via JMG)

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Documentary: Dispatches – Hunted

While the PR machine in Russia is trying to put on it’s best face, Channel 4 in Britain has aired a chilling documentary detailing the violence and dehumanizing acts occurring in Russia at an unimaginable frequency to LGBT Russia citizens.

Footage includes some of the thousands of mental and physical acts of torture.

From the YouTube description:

On the eve of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia is officially welcoming gay athletes and spectators. But in a country where it’s thought only 1% of gay people dare to live completely openly, it appears to be a hollow gesture.

This extraordinary Dispatches documentary has gained unique access to the vigilante gangs that target gay men and women. The film depicts a country troubled by disturbing violence and distressing intimidation.

Six months after the Russian parliament unanimously passed a law to protect children from ‘non-traditional’ relationships, this film explores the terror that gay people in Russia are calling ‘hunting season’.

You can watch the full report below. It may disappear at anytime though. If you think things like this don’t really happen – watch.

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Video: Russia declares gay bashing newest Olympic sport

Via press release:

The video is the newest fundraising tactic by the Russia Freedom Fund, which aims to raise a million dollars by the end of the Olympics to support LGBT Russian activists.

The video was produced by the Fair Games Project, an Indiegogo campaign launched by filmmaker Michael Rohrbaugh.

Athlete Ally is one of the producing partners on the video as well.

Other fundraising tactics for the Russia Freedom Fund include a new national initiative called Uprising of Love: Pride House 2014, where restaurants, bars, and clubs will donate $1 of every drink sold from 9 p.m. to midnight to the fund. It takes place during tomorrow’s Opening Ceremonies.

In addition, Melissa Etheridge released a new single last week and will donate 100% of the profits to the fund.

The significance of the Russia Freedom Fund is that it’s the only way Americans can directly support LGBT Russian activists.

(via JMG)