Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens – Photo: Tdorante10, via Wikimedia
A gay man who claims he was the victim of a homophobic assault in Queens says he received no help from police and doctors in the wake of the attack.
Ronald Albarracin, a 24-year-old originally from Ecuador, says that he was leaving a bar around 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2019, when he was allegedly attacked around Northern Boulevard and 99th Street in the Corona neighborhood of Queens.
Albarracin claims his assailants began calling him names and homophobic slurs before punching and kicking him repeatedly. The attack left him with a broken nose, bruises, and several visible marks on his hands and face.
Albarracin escaped and called police, who arrived on scene with EMTs. But he claims they did nothing to help him, reports Gay City News.
“The police did not do anything even though they saw me with blood,” Albarracin said in an interview through a translator. “They did not even say anything or explain anything. They did not speak Spanish and did not try at all to understand what was going on.”
NYPD Detective Denise Moroney, a spokesperson for the police department, did not comment on Albarracin’s complaints, but told Gay City News that police responded to the scene, and that the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task force is investigating the case. Police say they have no description of the alleged attackers.
But Albarracin claims his unlucky night continued after he was transported by medics to Elmhurst Hospital.
He says that medical staff did not provide him with any medication for pain relief, and, since leaving the hospital, he has experienced regular nosebleeds and ongoing pain.
Albarracin says this isn’t the first time he’s been attacked because of his sexual orientation, but hopes it will be his last.
He has plans to move to upstate New York, and is too afraid to leave his house, even to go to work.
“I do not dare to go out into the street with the way I am, with the broken nose,” he said. “I cannot even take off my hat because of how my face looks.”
Aidan Maese-Czeropski, the former Capitol Hill Senate staffer fired for allegedly filming and sharing video of a sexual encounter in a U.S. Senate hearing room, says the fallout from the scandal traumatized him, prompting him to leave the country and start a life anew abroad.
Maese-Czeropski, infamously known online as the "Senate Twink," told Gay Sydney News that the sex tape scandal led to emotional turmoil, requiring temporary hospitalization.
"Mentally, I spent a little bit in the psych ward after the fact because it was just… it’s overwhelming to realize and to know that tens of millions of people literally despise you," he told the news outlet.
Masked attackers in Israel are reportedly using Grindr to lure and entrap members of the LGBTQ community to severely harm them.
According to reports, the assailants are creating fake profiles on the popular dating app and arranging meetings in remote locations in the city of Haifa.
The victims are then ambushed and reportedly stabbed with sharp weapons. A few assailants have attempted to carry out lynchings.
The Aguda, an LGBTQ task force, documented at least ten such incidents in recent months, reports the Jerusalem Post.
But some victims have chosen not to report the attacks, making it more difficult for police to track down and arrest offenders.
A popular LGBTQ nightclub in Sacramento, California, is prohibiting patrons who wear MAGA-related attire from entering the establishment.
Badlands, in the city's Lavender Heights district, announced the policy on social media. Management claimed they were motivated to impose the ban after a patron wore a MAGA hat while in the bar, leading some patrons to complain that they were made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
"At Badlands Sacramento, we are committed to creating a space where the LGBTQ+ community and our allies feel safe, welcomed, and respected," TJ Bruce, the bar's owner, wrote in a social media post. "Recently, a guest entered the bar wearing MAGA attire, which led to some discomfort among patrons.
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