Tag Archives: Hate Crime

Austin rally for anti-gay hate crime victim planned for Saturday

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GetEQUAL TX is holding a March Against Hate event in Austin on Saturday for one of the victims of an anti-gay hate crime last Friday.

Andrew Oppleman was ordering pizza at a food truck during Austin Pride with friend Nick Soret when a man began asking Soret if he was looking at him. The man became enraged and attacked Soret, so Oppleman stepped in.

Oppleman was hit so hard six of his teeth were knocked out and it was believed he would need oral surgery for his fractured jaw. Austin police are investigating it as a possible hate crime.

Oppleman will talk about his experience at the event, which begins at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Republic State Park. Attendees will then march to the Capitol at noon and listen to speeches at 12:30 p.m.

Other speakers include Michael Diviesti of GetEQUAL TX, Chuck Smith of Equality Texas, Paul Huddleston of Austin Pride, Sami-Di Williams of Grrlz Will Be Boiz, as well as victims and community members.

Oppleman’s story, as told in the press release announcing the event, is below:

My name is Andrew Oppleman and this is my story…

Little did I know, last Friday night Sept 22th 2012, I’d be changed forever.

I was in town for Austin Pride. It was one of my many trips to enjoy all that Austin has to offer; great entertainment, outdoor recreation and most of all the people; laid back and easy going. My welcome started like this…My buddy Nick Soret was ordering pizza at 4th and Colorado at about midnight as I just arrived from a 3 hour drive from Houston. As I waited for Nick to grab his pizza and leave, another patron started screaming at Nick “What are you looking at?” over and over again. As he grabbed Nick’s hot pizza and threw it on Nick’s face, arm and body the man proceeded to start punching him. I immediately tried to quell the suspects rage and told the man to “STOP HITTING MY FRIEND!” With that he turned around and pushed me down into the construction on the street. I got up and as I turned back to the Pizza Truck I was immediately met with the amazing force of his fist hitting me square in the mouth. I then saw the man wildly punching Nick’s skull, and body as Nick fell to the ground in a fetal position trying to protect his face and head. As quickly as it started the suspect ran away, while his friend who is an Austin local just stood there and laughed as blood gushed from my mouth. I then spent 8 hours at Brackenridge Hospital. In the end Nick sustained a black eye, a busted and bruised lip and additional bruises on his body. I left Austin with a busted lip and 6 missing teeth.

I invite you to join us and the rest of the Austin community this Saturday at 11:45am at Republic Square Park to raise awareness and March Against Hate to the Capitol. Spread the word to take Austin back!

 

—  Anna Waugh

Possible hate crime casts shadow over Austin’s Pride weekend

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Two gay men were attacked Friday night as Austin’s Pride celebrations were under way, leading them to believe they were targeted for being gay.

Nick Soret and a friend were on 4th Street getting pizza at a food truck when a man to them started asking them what they were looking at.

Soret told Austin’s KVUE when he picked up his pizza, the man beat him with it, burning him.

The man then punched his friend in the face when he tried to intervene, and attacked Soret, cutting his lip and bruising his arm before leaving the area.

His friend has a fractured jaw and will likely need surgery.

Soret said he thinks they were attacked because he and his friend are gay.

“He thought I was checking him out or he thought I was looking at him and so for that, he knocked all my friend’s teeth out, he punched me in the face,” Soret told KVUE.

Austin police are investigating the attack. The pizza trailer had a surveillance camera on it, so police expect to find the man soon.

“It was done just out of meaness and I think prejudice. It was unprovoked. We did not provoke him, we did not engage him. We didn’t do anything,” Soret said.

News of the attack spread through Austin over the weekend and cast a shadow on the Pride festivities. Soret, who has lived in Austin for 20 years, said his sense of security is now gone.

Watch KVUE’s report below.

Continue reading “Possible hate crime casts shadow over Austin’s Pride weekend” »

—  Anna Waugh

OKC hate crime victim meets with FBI

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Jon Ferguson’s car

The victim of an apparent hate crime in Oklahoma City last weekend met with the FBI for several hours on Wednesday.

“I can’t say enough good things about the FBI,” Cimarron Alliance Executive Director Scott Hamilton said. “The investigation is moving forward.”

He called the FBI thorough and intentional.

On Saturday, July 21, Jon Ferguson was awakened by his car alarm. When he got to the alley behind his house, he found two men vandalizing his car. They saw him, threw an incendiary device into the car and fled.

Ferguson was hit by either flames from the device or something burning from his car. He suffered burns on about 35 percent of his body but has been released from the hospital.

Fire department arson investigators have been looking into the attack, not the police department.

Hamilton said that one told him it was standard procedure and another told him police may get involved later on.

Although police have not ruled hate out as a motive, Hamilton decided to bring in the Justice Department when police declined to investigate.

The FBI took Ferguson’s clothes he was wearing on Saturday for lab tests.

Unlike the community in Portland, Texas, that rallied around the families of recent hate crime victims, Hamilton said, “The vitriol surrounding this is astounding.”

“Call Cimarron Alliance if you’ve been the victim of a hate crime,” Hamilton said.

—  David Taffet

Gay OKC man’s car fire-bombed in apparent hate crime

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Jon Ferguson’s car

Members of the Cimarron Alliance, an Oklahoma City LGBT rights organization, plan to meet with the FBI on Wednesday afternoon about a possible hate crime that happened in the city on Saturday.

Jon Ferguson said he was awakened by his car alarm on Saturday morning at his Northwest Oklahoma City house. When he got up he found two men in the alley vandalizing his car. “Fag” was scrawled across the hood of the car.

As he approached the men, Ferguson reported that one of them threw an incendiary device into his Camaro, which burst into flames.

Hamilton said Ferguson isn’t sure whether the flames burned him or if it was debris flying from the car. He called 911 and jumped in the shower, which may have kept his injuries from becoming more severe, but he has burns on about 35 percent of his body.

“He will have some scarring,” Hamilton said.

Police are not calling it a hate crime at this time.

“This is still being handled as arson,” Hamilton said. “It made sense to get the FBI involved early.”

OKC’s News 9 reported on the incident.

—  David Taffet

How to get tickets for YFTCC fundraiser

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Vigil that inspired the fundraiser

In Friday’s paper we printed a brief about a fundraiser Youth First Texas Collin County is running to raise money for Crime Stoppers in connection with the murder of Mollie Olgin and the shooting of Kristene Chapa. But we forgot to let you know how to get tickets.

Go here to get tickets on the Collin County Gay and Lesbian alliance website.

YFTCC youth Kris Wong, who will attend Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall, came home from the Dallas vigil held for Olgin and Chapa energized to do something. With YFTCC volunteer Lisa Mashigian, they put together the bowling fundraiser with the goal of raising $1000. With three weeks preparation time, they hope to get 60 people involved.

“The response from Collin County LGBTQA organizations and people has been wonderful,” Mashigian said.

CCGLA has set up a payment system and is sending the event out to its members. Equality Texas, BB&T, Business Network of Collin County, YFT Dallas and other individuals have made donations to the gift bags. Collin County employee resource groups have also been notified.

Mashigian said that this is not just a Collin County event and hopes to see a good turnout.

—  David Taffet

Fort Worth’s Brite Divinity School holds vigil for teen lesbian couple shot in S. Texas

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Participants bow their heads during the vigil on June 29.

Oak Lawn wasn’t the only place in the DFW area where a vigil was held for the teenage lesbian couple who were shot in a park near Corpus Christi on June 23. Mollie Olgin, 18, was killed, and Kristene Chapa, 19, remains hospitalized.

Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth held a vigil on its campus Friday. The vigil was led by Brite’s Executive Vice President and Dean Joretta Marshall and professor Stephen Sprinkle. Both are openly gay.

Sprinkle said he believed it was the only vigil for Olgin and Chapa held on the campus of a divinity school. Brite President Newell Williams issued a pastoral response that was read at the vigil. The full text is after the jump.

Continue reading “Fort Worth’s Brite Divinity School holds vigil for teen lesbian couple shot in S. Texas” »

—  David Taffet

Lesbian bartender assaulted in Austin bar now says attack could have been a hate crime

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Gina Adams

An Austin lesbian was out on the town celebrating a friend’s birthday June 25 when she said a bartender threw her on the ground and beat her.

Gina Adams, who works at a nearby bar, said she and her friends were bar hopping when she asked a male bartender at the Lodge Bar if they had drink specials after saying she worked at Rusty’s bar, according to Fox 7.

The man motioned for her to come around to the other side of the bar and then grabbed her, threw her on the floor and beat her repeatedly.

“He looks at me, grabs me and just throws me right behind the bar, doesn’t say a word to me. I try to get up and he threw me down again and he did this like four or five times,” she told Fox 7. “He had no reason, no reason at all. He didn’t know me I didn’t know him.”

Police were called and arrested the bartender for assault, but Adams told the Austin station she thinks it could have been a hate crime because the bartender could have assumed she was gay or thought she was a man hitting on him.

Although the police report doesn’t indicate the attack was motivated by bias, Equality Texas Deputy Executive Director told the station Adams could still report it as a hate crime.

“There may have been indicators of bias not noted on the night of the incident just because it didn’t click for her then,” he said. “If it clicks for her now then that’s what needs to be documented in the report and they can revisit and look at evidence from the scene.”

Watch the video below.

Continue reading “Lesbian bartender assaulted in Austin bar now says attack could have been a hate crime” »

—  Anna Waugh

Nearly 100 attend Dallas vigil for teen lesbian couple shot in South Texas (photos, video)

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More than 75 people gathered at the Legacy of Love Monument at Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue at sunset on Saturday, June 30 to remember the teenage lesbian couple shot last week in Portland, Texas. Many brought candles and flowers they left on the monument.

The rally was organized by Daniel Cates, North Texas regional coordinator for GetEQUAL.

Norma Gan, congregational care minister at Cathedral of Hope, began the rally with a prayer for Mollie Olgin, 18, who was killed, and Kristene Chapa, 19, who remains hospitalized.

The first speaker, Equality Texas Executive Director Dennis Coleman, said attacks on the LGBT community are increasing.

“I wish I could tell you these horrific attacks were a diversion from the norm, but I can’t,” he said.

He listed a number of recent incidents in Texas including a teen suicide that was the result of bullying.

“People are gathering at vigils like this one and saying ‘enough,’” Coleman said. “Demanding children — all children — be safe. This is a dark day for our community.”

Continue reading “Nearly 100 attend Dallas vigil for teen lesbian couple shot in South Texas (photos, video)” »

—  David Taffet

Arlington police arrest 1st suspect in anti-gay hate crime; 4 others expected to turn themselves in

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Daniel Sibley

Arlington police have arrested one teenager and expect four more to turn themselves in after video footage identified them as suspects in a vandalism spree June 10 that included anti-gay slurs spray-painted on a lesbian couple’s SUV.

Sgt. Christopher Cook said Wednesday during a press conference that Fort Worth teen Daniel Sibley, 18, was arrested Tuesday. He is in custody on a $2,500 bond.

Cook explained that two surveillance cameras on residences captured several teens spray-painting derogatory images and words on homes and cars in a total of 13 incidents. The second video captured the vehicle information and led to the identification of five teens ages 16-18.

Cook said the two other adults have attorneys and will be booked into jail Wednesday afternoon. A female juvenile is also expected to turn herself in. Police are still trying to contact a female adult.

All suspects will be charged with the state jail felony of criminal mischief for damage ranging from $1,500-$20,000.

The punishment for a state jail felony is 180 days to two years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. If the classification is enhanced by the hate crime statute to a third-degree felony, the teens could face two to 10 years behind bars in addition to the fine.

A racial slur was spray-painted on a vehicle, but Cook said it not being reported as a hate crime because the man who owned the car was Caucasian. He said based on the statement from Sibley that the teens saw a sticker on the lesbian couple’s SUV – which featured two female caricatures with a child and pet – and made an assumption that they were gay before vandalizing the vehicle.

Arlington police Chief Will Johnson

Acting police chief Will Johnson said it was clear that the incident involving the lesbian couple was hate crime from early on because the words “queers” and “faggot” were spray-painted on their SUV.

“A crime of hatred is not only a crime against an individual but it is a crime against the community,” he said. “Early in this investigation it was clear that hateful and biased language was used to damage property at multiple locations. It was equally clear that at least one of our 13 victims was targeted specifically because of their sexual orientation.”

He said the incident would be reported to the FBI as a hate crime and that authorities would continue to investigate and prosecute hate crimes in Arlington in the future.

“We are committed in Arlington to prevent all crime especially crime that was committed for no other reason than possibly toward hatred,” Johnson said. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated, it will be fully investigated — and to the fullest extent of the law prosecuted.”

Kim Lovering said she and her partner were woken up by police early Sunday morning, June 10. Neighbors had already called police but she said her family was unaware of the vandalism to their SUV. She said she was grateful her son, not yet 2, was too young to understand what happened.

From the police presence to Johnson calling her later that day to check on her family, Lovering said she was impressed by the support from the community and police.

“They stood behind us,” she said. “It was really a huge relief that something like this was handled the right way. And I’m glad it’s our city.”

As for the arrest and suspected capture of the remaining suspects, she said it will help her sleep at night and hopes the teens’ arrests will change their attitudes.

“I’m so thankful for the way this turned out just for our safety and peace of mind,” she said.

Fairness Fort Worth President Tom Anable praised the police response, calling it a “textbook” example of how police should respond and engage with the community.

Anable said anti-gay slurs are “so offensive and dehumanizing” and “will never go away,” adding that the quick identification and arrest of suspects send the message that hate crimes won’t be tolerated anymore.

“It’s nothing new for us. What is new is having a dialogue with law enforcement and the FBI,” he said. “I can’t say enough about how well the Arlington Police Department handled this. … It is absolutely textbook perfect.”

Anable said his organization has reached out to the Human Rights Campaign to try to bring national attention to “how things can go right.”

“The citizens of Arlington should take great pride in their police department and the quality of their city,” he said.

HRC released a statement Wednesday applauding Arlington PD for “responding swiftly and thoroughly.”

The full HRC statement is below, along with video from the press conference.

Continue reading “Arlington police arrest 1st suspect in anti-gay hate crime; 4 others expected to turn themselves in” »

—  Anna Waugh

Arlington PD says Grand Prairie penis grafitti not linked to its case that included anti-gay slurs

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After reviewing the evidence of two vandalism sprees this week in Arlington and Grand Prairie, police don’t believe they are related.

The first spree occurred early Sunday morning with 10 residences in the 1100 block of Crowley Road defaced with hateful words and crude images, Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Richard said. The words “faggot” and “queers” were also spray-painted on a lesbian couple’s car. While Richard said it “looks like a hate crime,” police aren’t calling it a hate crime yet until they complete their investigation and identify a motive.

Then on Tuesday, Grand Prairie received 10 reports from residents in the 900 block of Furlong Drive and 2700 block of Triple Crown Lane. Many of the images were penises, GD detective Lyle Gensler said. Because the Arlington incidents had just occurred and penises were used in both cases, he said police thought they could be linked and would compare the images.

Richard told Instant Tea Friday that “based on the evidence, it does not appear that these cases are connected.”

Gensler said it was most likely teenagers who committed the Grand Prairie vandalism, but Arlington PD hasn’t elaborated on the leads it is pursuing.

Stay tuned to Instant Tea for updates.

—  Anna Waugh