Man arrested for allegedly breaking woman’s nose after shouting anti-gay slurs

A 22-year-old man has been arrested in New York for groping and assaulting a woman after shouting anti-gay slurs.

The NYPD has charged Ian Williams with forcible touching, assault, and sexual abuse after he allegedly attacked a 22-year-old woman at a Subway station in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, Patch reported.

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The conversation also called trans people “insane” and “predatory.”

Police say the incident took place around 1:15 p.m. on Thursday and started when Williams grabbed the woman’s behind. The woman was angry at the unwanted touching, and the two then began to argue as they stepped onto the train. Williams then spewed homophobic slurs and punched the woman in the face and body more than once, breaking her nose.

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Williams then reportedly got off the train at the Delancey and Essex stop, and the victim sought medical attention.

As part of their search, police released security footage of Williams wearing an orange jumpsuit and walking down the Subway platform.

According to the New York Daily News, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force has investigated the case but has not upgraded any of the charges to a hate crime since it is not clear if the suspect’s actions were motivated by homophobia.

New York City has, however, experienced a recent spate of anti-LGBTQ+ crimes. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force reported that hate crimes in the city increased by 76 percent between the first quarters of 2021 and 2022, with anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes increasing by 12 percent during the same period.

This increase could be related to the fact that over the past two years, anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation on social media, most notably the baseless “groomer” narrative that falsely connects LGBTQ+ people with child abuse, has driven anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and attacks from Republican politicians and far-right groups. 

In April, the national civil rights group Leadership Conference Education Fund (LCEF) also warned that hate crimes will likely spike during the 2024 presidential election, just as they have during each of the last four presidential elections.