Chris Kostka, a gay man visiting Provincetown, Massachusetts, was walking along Bradford Street between 1 and 2 a.m. on Monday, June 30, when, near Howland Street at the town’s eastern end, three men shoved him to the pavement and began kicking him while yelling anti-gay slurs.
“All of a sudden I just feel myself getting pushed to the ground,” Kostka told Boston NBC affiliate WBTS-CD. “I fly forward and I turn. I see three guys, and of course, I’m stunned from just being thrown to the pavement, and I just cover my face, go into a fetal position as I’m getting kicked and getting called some gay slurs.”
He added, “I got a couple good kicks into my chest. Luckily just a couple of scraps and bruises, you know. Nowadays things like this happen all the time, and it could end up a lot worse.”
Kostka described the car as a black Lexus sedan with a Donald Trump bumper sticker and said the attackers appeared to be three men between the ages of 20 and 30. He claims one of the men used a homophobic slur during the attack before the group returned to the car and drove off.
“I was just in shock,” Kostka said. “P-town, you let your guard down because it’s such a happy place for everyone, so safe, and you just don’t expect that. So, for it to come out of the blue, you don’t know what to think.”
Kostka suffered cuts and bruises in the alleged assault but did not require hospitalization.
Provincetown police are investigating. The department has asked the public to review any security or doorbell camera footage from the area of Howland Street between 1 and 2 a.m. to assist with the case.
“The Provincetown Police Department is taking this report very seriously and has detectives actively investigating the incident,” police said in a statement, adding that the entire department was “alerted to this incident and will continue working hard to stay vigilant and keep everyone safe.”
Anyone with information about the alleged attack is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Jennifer Nolette at 508-487-1212 or jnolette@provincetown-ma.gov. Tips can also be submitted by phone at 508-487-2828 or by email to report-a-tip@provincetown-ma.gov.
When Martha Nell Smith was a child, she was given a book called The Golden Treasury of Poetry. "I was a nerdy kid, I liked to read," the 72-year-old academic says, adding, "I also liked to play. I was a very sporty kid too. I was a tomboy."
The book contained several poems by Emily Dickinson. "I thought these look so simple, but when you think about it, they are really weird," she says. "But you could say that about almost any Dickinson poem."
Smith recounts the long and winding path that led her to become one of the foremost experts on Emily Dickinson, with a particular focus on the poet's secretly romance-laden letters to her sister-in-law, Susan Dickinson.
The Dallas Landmark Commission unanimously approved rainbow-colored steps outside Oak Lawn United Methodist Church as a temporary art installation, allowing the display to remain for up to three years despite objections that they violate historic preservation codes.
As a designated historic site, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church is required to seek city approval before making major exterior changes, including paint colors, according to Dallas-area PBS/NPR affiliate KERA.
The LGBTQ-welcoming church did not submit an application to the landmark commission before repainting its exterior steps in the colors of the "Progress Pride" flag, incorporating the traditional rainbow along with black and brown stripes and the blue, pink, and white of the transgender Pride flag.
Seattle's local organizing committee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is moving ahead with a first-of-its-kind "Pride Match" at Lumen Field on June 26, coinciding with the city's Pride Weekend, even though the scheduled game will feature Iran and Egypt, two countries that criminalize homosexuality.
The Pride-adjacent branding was created by the host city, not FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, which has not endorsed the designation.
When FIFA was planning the match schedule, Seattle was in line to host either New Zealand versus Belgium or Egypt versus Iran on June 26. Vancouver ultimately received the New Zealand-Belgium game, leaving Seattle with Egypt versus Iran, reports Outsports.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.