D.C. Man Says Five People Attacked Him and Friend Because They are Gay

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D.C. Man Says Five People Attacked Him and Friend Because They are Gay

New D.C. resident William Southern says he and his friend Robbie Barletta were attacked by a group of five people because they are gay. Southern, who said the attack happened on Sunday afternoon, later posted a slideshow of his facial injuries and bloodied t-shirt to Instagram along with news of the assault.

Wrote Southern on Instagram: “So, this is extremely hard for me and I have not 100% settled on how I feel it. But, Sunday a friend of mine @robertandre and I were the target and the victims of a hate crime. We were attacked by 4 men and a women on the corner of 16th and U in Washington DC, simply because we were gay. The four men and the lady brutally attacked myself and my friend, I was sent to the ER where I received stitches to pull my lip back together.”

Added Southern: “The moral of this story is not that it happened or for people to feel sorry for me. This is a statement, I will never stop being gay, I will never feel ashamed of who I am. Most importantly, I will never let anyone around me feel like less of a person simply because of who they are! I am fortunate enough to have an amazing support system even though I have only lived in DC for a few months. I am proud and honoured to be apart of @stonewallkickball, my kickball family came together and has given me amazing support and I never would have met them without the lady’s and gentlemen who were courageous enough to put together these teams to support LGBTQ rights and give them a safe haven to be themselves. May we stand strong and move forward.”

Southern later added, in a comment to a follower: “They have not caught the people involved but the investigation is still open.”

The post D.C. Man Says Five People Attacked Him and Friend Because They are Gay appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.