An LGBTQ organizer suffered a black eye after a man struck her in the face with a flagpole at a Pride event in Cary, North Carolina.
Sara Buxton, owner of The Night Market Company, which curates open-air markets throughout North Carolina’s Triangle region, was hosting the Alphabet Soup Pride Market at Downtown Cary Park on June 13.
In a video posted to Instagram, Buxton said the event had been successful until a shirtless man she described as an “agitator” began running through the crowd carrying an American flag on a metal flagpole.
Buxton said she asked the man to put on a shirt before re-entering the event. She alleges he responded by striking her in the face with the flagpole while hurling homophobic slurs.
Buxton said police responded to the scene, interviewed witnesses, and ultimately charged the man, 25-year-old Justin Batchelor of Cary, with misdemeanor simple assault. Court records show police issued Batchelor a citation rather than taking him into custody.
Helicia Chiang, operations manager for the LGBT Center of Raleigh, witnessed the assault while staffing the organization’s booth at the market. She told The News & Observer that Batchelor had been walking through the event carrying only his flag and wearing “very short” red shorts when Buxton approached him.
“He turns around really quick, and I didn’t hear exactly what he said to her, but he’s holding the flagpole over his right shoulder and turns on a very aggressive 180 to the point where the flagpole smacks her directly on the side of the head and knocks her glasses off,” Chiang said.
Chiang said Batchelor then began “screaming profanities,” including a threat involving a firearm, before fleeing the park. She said it was the first time she had seen a protest at a Pride event turn violent.
In a follow-up video, Buxton said she is seeking more serious charges against her attacker. In the days since the incident, she has struggled to be in large crowds, even avoiding a trip to Costco because of her unease. But she said she’s “not going to stop” speaking out in the hope that prosecutors will elevate the charges.
“I don’t think it’s normal for people to speak out after they’ve been involved in a hate crime,” she said. “That’s what it is. So, I’m here, and I’m going to continue working towards an end goal of finding some sort of justice for what happened to me. And not just to me … but people like me.”
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told The News & Observer she has not yet reviewed Buxton’s complaint, but noted that North Carolina’s hate crime law does not cover crimes motivated by a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Federal law, however, does provide those protections, meaning federal authorities would have to bring any hate crime charges against Batchelor.
Batchelor is next scheduled to appear in court for a disposition hearing on August 13.
A 26-year-old Bronx man will finally stand trial for an alleged anti-gay assault committed more than two years ago, according to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.
Tavaughn Thompson was indicted on May 21 on two counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime and one count of second-degree aggravated harassment. He was previously arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court in February, days after his January 31 arrest.
Thompson was initially detained in connection with an unrelated incident, but police identified him as the suspect in the 2023 assault case.
Social conservatives in Africa are pushing a charter that rejects longstanding international human rights standards and could roll back protections for women, girls, and LGBTQ people.
Participants from 20 African nations met at a conference in Ghana earlier this month to advance the latest version of the African Inter-Parliamentary "Family, Sovereignty and Values" charter. Supporters hope to secure enough backing to bring it before the African Union General Assembly next February for a vote, reports The Guardian.
For the first time, the Capital Pride Alliance, D.C.'s LGBTQ Pride organization, will host a brunch -- rather than an evening reception -- to honor local leaders and organizations that have made significant contributions to the region's LGBTQ community.
Dubbed "The Audacity Brunch: In Full Fuchsia," the event will be held Sunday, June 7, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel. Guests are encouraged to wear fuchsia tones to "symbolize empowerment and unapologetic self-expression."
The event will begin with a pre-program cocktail social at 11:30 a.m., followed by the official program at noon. The brunch will feature chef-curated Mediterranean, Latin American, Asian, All-American, and D.C.-inspired cuisine served at various stations, along with desserts, cocktails, and mocktails. Entertainment will include drag and burlesque performances.
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