Boston Police cruiser — Photo: Ben Schumin / Wikimedia Commons
Police in Boston have arrested a teenager accused of threatening to “shoot everyone” in gay bars in the city.
The 16-year-old boy, whose identity has not been released, was arrested by officers from the Seabrook New Hampshire Police Department on Friday, Nov. 23.
According to a police statement, he was “wanted in connection to an investigation surrounding threatening phone calls which had been received at two Boston area bars.”
The statement continues: “At the time of his arrest, the suspect was wanted on outstanding warrants sought out of Suffolk County Juvenile Court for Threats with Serious Public Alarm and Civil Rights Violations in connection to that investigation as well as additional warrants stemming from other charges from outside jurisdictions.”
The bars in question were dbar in Dorchester and The Alley in downtown Boston, WCVB reports.
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The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office reported that the calls, made on Nov. 9 and 10, threatened to “kill everyone” and “shoot everyone in the bar.”
“The records also suggest calls made to several other Boston bars serving the gay community during the same time period,” the DA’s office said. “Investigators are following up with staff at those establishments to determine whether additional charges are warranted.”
At the time of the calls, Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross said that police “don’t take any threats lightly,” WHDH reported.
“Everybody should be able to enjoy any establishment that they wish to go into in the City of Boston,” Gross said. “Whether it’s The Alley or dbar, you should be able to enjoy yourself peacefully.”
In a statement earlier this month, Brian Piccini owner of dbar, said the bar received a “threatening and bigoted phone call.”
In addition to working with police, Piccini said the bar would “continue to show our defiance towards intolerance by not giving into threats by standing united at dbar. We will continue to work with the BPD to ensure a safe and friendly experience for all of our guests.”
The suspect, who appeared at the 10th Circuit Family Division of Portsmouth Court, is expected to face charges as early as Monday afternoon.
Two youths were stabbed in Dupont Circle and an adult man was shot nearby during WorldPride on Saturday, hours after U.S. Park Police removed anti-scale fencing.
Two juveniles were stabbed in Dupont Circle Park and a man was shot nearby on Saturday, June 7, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police have asked all people, including neighborhood residents and Pride revelers, to clear the park.
Police closed off the 19th Street NW entrance to the Dupont Circle Metro station due to the investigation, reports D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA.
At around 7:02 p.m., a fight broke out between groups of juveniles in Dupont Circle Park. Two people, both juveniles, were stabbed during the fight, and both were transported to area hospitals conscious and breathing, according to a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously revived a 2020 lawsuit by Marlean Ames, who claims she was discriminated against for being heterosexual by the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
The 61-year-old had worked for the department since 2004. A decade later, she was promoted to administrator of the Prison Rape Elimination Act. But she claimed that the conflict started after she began reporting to a lesbian woman, according to The Hill.
In 2019, Ames interviewed for another position within the department but was not hired. Her supervisor suggested she retire, and days later, Ames was demoted, with a significant pay cut. A 25-year-old gay man was subsequently promoted to her old position. Months later, a lesbian woman was chosen for the position for which she had applied.
A transgender man in South Carolina claims he was accosted in a bar by staff, called anti-trans slurs, and arrested by police for using the women's restroom -- the very restroom that conservatives would typically argue he should use due to being assigned female at birth.
Luca Strobel, who posts on TikTok as @FulltimeCowboy, recently posted a pair of videos in which he recounted going to the Sand Dollar Social Club in Folly Beach on Friday, May 16, as a designated driver for a friend, Caroline Frady, who was at the bar.
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