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| Photos of injuries Justin Hoekman suffered in a possible gay bashing on Pride Sunday. Image: WLS-TV |
There’s a crack in the wall of media silence surrounding the violent attacks that marred this weekend’s Gay Pride Parade.
ABC7 reports tonight that Justin Hoekman was beaten by two men on the street as he returned to Boystown around 9:30 Sunday evening. In the report, Hoekman says the attackers “didn’t rob me, I had my wallet, I had my phone…I think it was based on the way I was dressed.”
While Hoekman’s experience may not rise to the level of a “wilding,” it further advances our position that many of the crimes recorded as batteries and robberies in Boystown are, in fact, motivated by hate.
Hoekman says two individuals were arrested soon after his attack, but police were “unable to confirm” that for ABC7.
In addition to Hoekman’s story, ABC7 reports that a participant in the parade was punched by the man who was contracted to drive the Ride For AIDS Chicago float through the parade (see below).
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| A man is allegedly battered and called anti-gay slurs by the man who was hired to drive the victim’s float in Sunday’s Gay Pride Parade. Image: WLS-TV |
