One of three assailants involved in the assault of two men–one dressed in drag for Halloween–was charged with a hate crime Thursday, police in Nassau county, New York said.
During his arraignment yesterday, Robert Bellamy Jr., said “God made me hate gay people.”
According to Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, the attackers entered a Sunoco convenient store and began harrassing one of the two victims. The one victim was pushed and called anti-gay slurs in the store.
A short time later, the three attackers met up with the first victim and a friend, where they received anti-gay slurs, punches and kicks. The attack left both victims with bloody lips, bruises and black eyes.
County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who stood with Mulvey, called combating hate crime a “priority of our administration.”
“If you commit a hate crime in Nassau County, we’re going to do everything we can to arrest you, put you in jail and make your life miserable,” Suozzi said.
The two other assailants have still yet to be found.
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– Simon Husted
