The owner of a Seattle tattoo parlor is speaking out after being the victim of an anti-gay hate crime.
Aaron Amundsen, who owns Emerald City Tattoo and Supply, says shortly after the election last November, his best friend and business partner Tony Johns found a note on Amundsen’s car.
“I saw there was a note on my best friend’s car. So I walked up and I pulled it out from under there and I read it. I came in, and I was quite upset. This is the start of something really ugly. It broke my heart, it truly broke my heart,” John told KING5.
The note reads:
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Hey faggot –
We won, so you better watch youre back. You’re days are numberd [sic]. Make America STRAIGHT Again to make it GREAT Again.
You will see you cocksucker
Amundsen, who’s been out since high school, said, “I’ve never experienced something so threatening.”
The Seattle Police hosted a community discussion about the note this week. The Seattle Police LGBT liaison Jim Ritter said, “It is clearly a threat based on a threat of the victim’s sexually identity. It’s pre-meditated and the victim was targeted.”