The occurrence of a hate crime in any community is a source of fear for people in that community and I want to be very clear about the context in which this particular incident happened so that people are able to respond and move through queer spaces in the city with a better sense of context. To respect the anonymity of the two other individuals who were assaulted I will refer to them as “A” and “B” in this account. 

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MY ACCOUNT:



Shortly after midnight, I was standing outside Jacques Cabaret with A. I was calling A a ride home, and we were waiting for his car to arrive. We had been outside for roughly 2-5 minutes when we were approached by a group of men who I understood to be straight and had just exited the bar. They began to joke with me about who I looked like and attempted to engage me. I responded “Not tonight guys, have a good night and get home safe.” The men became visibly and audibly agitated when I refused to engage with them. At some point, I recall one of them saying something to the effect of “what’s the problem?” and offering me a “fist bump”. 



I continued to refuse to engage with him when I noticed B standing closer to the entrance of the bar. I recall B asking quietly something to the effect of “Is there a problem?” or “Are they bothering you?” I understood this question to be directed at me in reference to the men who were getting increasingly aggressive with me. I answered affirmatively and I recall B putting his body in between myself and the men. From where I was standing, I could only see the back of B’s head but my understanding was that he was attempting to de-escalate the conflict. At some point, I recall B’s body jolting back toward mine indicating to me that he had been pushed or punched. 



From this point on, the conflict escalated into a multi-person fight. I remember getting hit in the face several times. It is unclear to me how many times I was hit. At some point during the conflict, I noticed that B was on the ground and saw that he was getting kicked and punched repeatedly. I attempted to pull several of his assailants off of him unsuccessfully. After what I perceived to be about a minute, the fight broke up and the assailants fled. It was only then that I noticed A and saw that the left side of his face was completely covered in blood. All three of us were visibly upset. We re-entered the bar at different points and I waited to make sure the assailants had left the premises. I exchanged information with B to make sure that we could follow up about the incident and thanked him for doing what he did. 



When I arrived home, I saw that B had posted a facebook status recounting his assault and it was then that I learned the assailants referred to B repeatedly as “Faggot” as they were beating him. It was after I read this detail that I personally felt comfortable referring to this incident as a hate crime.

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We do not know who the assailants are or how to find them. There is an ongoing investigation seeking to ascertain their identities and hold them accountable. There is a mutual understanding of respect between the three of us regarding the extent to which we are comfortable engaging law enforcement and/or pressing charges. We have agreed to support one another emotionally through this incident and also respect that the circumstances of each of our experiences were very different and will be addressed differently by each individual. The above is not a legal account of what happened but my recollection of the events that transpired recounted to the best of my ability. 



Though the three of us understand the preceding as a hate crime, I do want to assuage the fear that there is a group of individuals in the city assaulting queer people in a methodical or coordinated way. Moving through the world as a queer person is always dangerous, but I do not want anyone to misinterpret Friday’s incident in a way that causes unnecessarily heightened anxiety about these individuals striking again. Thank you again for your continued support and I will try and answer as many of your questions as I am able to regarding the incident. I am 100% physically fine and have more support than anyone could ask for as I process what happened emotionally.