Driver throws eggs at man and yells ‘homophobic’ slur outside gay bar
A driver could reportedly face up to fifteen years in prison for throwing eggs at a group of friends and shouting an anti-gay slur outside a sports gay bar in Wilton Manors, Florida.
Brian Carter said he was enjoying a night out with friends on Monday night when the incident occurred in front of Gym Bar, reports CBS Miami.
He said that, shortly before midnight, a car appeared in front of them on Wilton Drive at Northeast 7th Avenue.
“Suddenly we heard somebody scream, ‘Do you want to be gay?’ And got hit from behind with an egg,” Carter explained CBS Miami.
The people in the car then flung eggs at the group, with one of them hitting Carter, before driving off.
“(I’m) just surprised somebody would come out to Wilton and do that,” Carter added. “It’s just usually a very safe spot. It’s not a place you expect to be accosted in.”
CBS Miami said it found another egg outside the “Out of the Closet” pharmacy several blocks away, which is connected to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Rick Schmutzler, owner Gym Bar, told CBS Miami: “I honestly think it was just a stupid, random one-off by some cowardly little punk in a BMW.”
Schmutzler added that the venue wouldn’t be intimidated by the incident, and even “$3 Egg Sandwich Special” on Tuesday night.
“And then some idiot decides he’s going to drive by, throw an egg and yell a slur. It’s just, it’s cowardly, stupid, childish and ridiculous,” he said.
Police told CBS Miami that the perpetrator could be charged with a second-degree felony, facing up to 15 years in jail.
In May, four men who allegedly attacked a gay couple at nearby Miami Pride were charged with a hate crime.
The two gay men were attacked at the April Pride event and beaten to the ground, in the attack by four men in Miami Beach.
Rene Chalarca and Dmitry Logunov were knocked to the ground and then repeatedly punched and kicked in the attack on April 8, which the pair claimed have said was prompted because they were holding hands.
A man who attempted to intervene also suffered a laceration to the back of his head.
The four men handed themselves into the police over the attack, after authorities released CCTV as part of a public appeal for help.