North Park Blocks – Photo: Daderot, via Wikimedia.
A homeless Oregon man has been released on probation after punching a transgender woman and yelling racial, homophobic, and transphobic comments at her.
Dominick Seferino Gonzales, 38, pleaded no contest to first-degree felony bias hate crime last Friday, receiving a sentence of 75 days in jail, with credit for time served.
He has been released on probation for a period of three years, and will be required to complete both a mental health evaluation and an evaluation for substance abuse disorder, and follow all treatment recommendations.
While on probation, Gonzales will not be allowed to contact the victim or enter the North Park Blocks city park in Portland, where the attack occurred.
During sentencing, Gonzales told Multnomah County Circuit Judge Angel Lopez that he regrets his actions, calling them “a mistake,” reports The Oregonian.
When he was first arrested, Gonzales claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and had been homeless for about a year, living off Social Security disability payments and using methamphetamine, heroin, alcohol, and THC, which is why Lopez recommended the mental health and substance abuse evaluations as part of Gonzales’ probation.
According to a news release from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office, Gonzales encountered the woman on Sept. 29 while they were standing in line for food and coffee being provided to homeless individuals at North Park Blocks.
The victim, a white transgender female, was wearing a dress, which apparently set Gonzales off as he began yelling at her, using racial, homophobic, and transphobic hate speech.
The victim’s friend tried to de-escalate the situation by stepping in between the two, but Gonzales made multiple attempts to go around the friend, all the while yelling at the victim. He then punched her in the face, splitting her lower lip open and causing it to bleed and swell.
Bystanders rushed to help the victim and detain Gonzales, but he jumped on a bike and fled the area. He was eventually arrested and charged with the bias crime.
“These bias crimes are extremely hurtful for the victims and our community,” Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney BJ Park, who prosecuted this case, said in a statement. “Everyone deserves to feel safe. When someone commits a crime, especially one rooted in hate, we must act to ensure accountability.”
President Donald Trump used his address to Congress on Tuesday, March 4, to attack transgender individuals, calling transgender identity a "lie" and railing against transgender athletes, gender-affirming care, and trans visibility in the military and more broadly within society.
At one point during the speech, Trump switched from speaking about a child who was diagnosed with cancer to claim his administration was protecting children from "toxic ideologies" in schools.
He brought up the story of January Littlejohn, a Florida anti-transgender activist who sued the Leon County School District in Tallahassee, Flordia, in 2021, alleging that her child's school had discussed restrooms and name change requests with the child, assisting her in "socially transitioning" without informing Littlejohn or her husband of their efforts.
A newly introduced Republican bill in Texas seeks to criminalize anyone who identifies as transgender.
Introduced by State Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress), the bill would amend the Texas Penal Code to create a new form of fraud known as "gender identity fraud."
Under the bill, if a person makes a "false or misleading verbal or written statement" to a government entity or a private employer asserting that their gender is the opposite of the biological sex assigned to the person at birth, that person could be charged with a felony, could serve up to two years in prison, and be fined $10,000.
Two more individuals have been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, in western New York.
New York State Police announced the arrests of 29-year-old Kimberly Sochia, of Canandaigua, N.Y., and 21-year-old Thomas Eaves, of Geneva, N.Y. on February 21.
Police previously arrested five others in connection with Nordquist's death: 38-year-old Precious Arzuaga of Canandaigua; 33-year-old Kyle Sage, of Rochester; 30-year-old Patrick Goodwin, of Canandaigua; 30-year-old Jennifer Quijano, of Geneva; and 19-year-old Emily Motyka, of Lima, N.Y.
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A homeless Oregon man has been released on probation after punching a transgender woman and yelling racial, homophobic, and transphobic comments at her.
Dominick Seferino Gonzales, 38, pleaded no contest to first-degree felony bias hate crime last Friday, receiving a sentence of 75 days in jail, with credit for time served.
He has been released on probation for a period of three years, and will be required to complete both a mental health evaluation and an evaluation for substance abuse disorder, and follow all treatment recommendations.
While on probation, Gonzales will not be allowed to contact the victim or enter the North Park Blocks city park in Portland, where the attack occurred.
During sentencing, Gonzales told Multnomah County Circuit Judge Angel Lopez that he regrets his actions, calling them “a mistake,” reports The Oregonian.
When he was first arrested, Gonzales claimed he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and had been homeless for about a year, living off Social Security disability payments and using methamphetamine, heroin, alcohol, and THC, which is why Lopez recommended the mental health and substance abuse evaluations as part of Gonzales’ probation.
According to a news release from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office, Gonzales encountered the woman on Sept. 29 while they were standing in line for food and coffee being provided to homeless individuals at North Park Blocks.
The victim, a white transgender female, was wearing a dress, which apparently set Gonzales off as he began yelling at her, using racial, homophobic, and transphobic hate speech.
The victim’s friend tried to de-escalate the situation by stepping in between the two, but Gonzales made multiple attempts to go around the friend, all the while yelling at the victim. He then punched her in the face, splitting her lower lip open and causing it to bleed and swell.
Bystanders rushed to help the victim and detain Gonzales, but he jumped on a bike and fled the area. He was eventually arrested and charged with the bias crime.
“These bias crimes are extremely hurtful for the victims and our community,” Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney BJ Park, who prosecuted this case, said in a statement. “Everyone deserves to feel safe. When someone commits a crime, especially one rooted in hate, we must act to ensure accountability.”
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