Philadelphia Gay Man Attacked By Homophobic Mob Outside Popular Gay Bar

Josh Schonewolf (screen capture via 6ABC)

The Philadelphia LGBTQ community is shook after another violent attack took place on Sunday night outside a popular gay bar.

The victim, a 50-year-old patron of The Toasted Walnut, was standing right outside the bar around 11PM on Sunday night when the assault took place.

According to police reports, four men and a woman took part in the assault.

Josh Schonewolf, the bartender who was working that night, saw the attack as it happened.

“All of a sudden a car full of guys decided to jump out and attack one of the patrons here right in front,” said Schonewolf.

Schonewolf tells local news station 6ABC that the attackers “were definitely calling him some gay slurs as they were beating him up.”

Some witnesses attempted to stop the assault, but were attacked as well.

“The general manager happened to be outside, and he was also punched in the face,” said Schonewolf.

The mob of attackers jumped back in their car and fled the scene before police arrived.

The victim was treated at the hospital for a head injury.

Police tell 6ABC that hate crime charges may be added once they have finished their investigation. The final determination will be made by the district attorney’s office.

In the meantime, LGBTQ folks in Philly are rattled by the attack in their own gayborhood.

Said Schonewolf, “Some people refer to this part of town as Midtown Village but to me - I'm from Philly - it is always going to be the Gayborhood.”

“And if this is happening at 13th and Walnut, I don't know where we're supposed to feel safe," he added.

The LGBTQ community has seen similar attacks not only in Philadelphia, but in Chicago where openly gay Empire star Jussie Smollett was brutally assaulted with bleach and a noose, as well as Austin, Texas, where two gay men were beaten for holding hands as they were leaving a gay bar.

In all of those assaults, the victims report their attackers using homophobic slurs.

Pennsylvania: Gay-Bashing Trio Lose In Attempt To Have Charges Dropped

A Philadelphia judge today ruled against reducing or dropping any of the charges brought against three Bucks County defendants accused of attacking a gay couple last September in Center City.

The attack left one man with a broken jaw and other facial injuries.

After reviewing more than 100 pages of testimony from the preliminary hearing stage, Judge Frank Palumbo ruled that Kevin Harrigan, Philip Williams, and Kathryn Knott will stand trial for all charges filed thus far.

Unfortunately, no hate crime charges at this time.

More details at CBSPhilly.com

Accused Center City Gay Bashers Look To Have Charges Dropped

Lawyers for the three accused gay bashers in Center City last September plan to ask the court to reduce or throw out charges at a pre-trial hearing on April 16th.

Of course, sinners in hell want ice water, but that's not happening either.

Via CBS News:

The three defendants — Kevin Harrigan, Philip Williams and Kathryn Knott — all of whom are in their mid 20’s, appeared with their lawyers for the status hearing.

At the preliminary hearing stage in December, a Municipal Court judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to prosecute them on aggravated assault, conspiracy, and other charges.

Defense lawyer Louis Busico, who represents the 24-year-old Knott, says all of the defendants maintain their innocence:

“Perhaps some of the charges may never see a courtroom, or they all may. That’s the purpose of reviewing discovery.”

The three are charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of simple assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of conspiracy.

Philadelphia: Victims Issue Statement On Gay-bashing Incident in Center City

Alleged gay-bashers Philip Williams (L), Kathryn Knott, and Kevin Harrigan

The gay couple who were the victims of a violent gay-bashing incident on September 11th in Center City have given a statement to the public about the attack

Here is the statement which was read to supporters at a rally earlier this week (via Gay Star News):

"Everyone keeps saying that they are sorry this happened to us. But the truth is, we’re sorry. We feel sorry for our attackers - people who believed it was OK, cool, maybe even funny, to use two innocent individuals as their punching bags and not even have the decency to apologize. Words are powerful. A simple, I’m sorry, would’ve went a long way with us,' they stated.

"You butchered my boyfriend’s beautiful face. You violated our rights. You jeopardized our health and safety in a city that we love and during a time where so much progress around human rights has been made. ... We are also determined to do everything in our power to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else again.

"It stops here. It stops today. It stops now."

Three suspects have been charged in the attack that resulted in both victims being hospitalized; one victim suffered a broken orbital bone and a shattered jaw.

The suspects - Kevin Harrigan, Kathryn Knott, and Philip Williams - are due in court December 16th for a preliminary hearing. After extensive interviews with witnesses, the victims and other "persons of interest," the three have been charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person.