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By: LOU CHIBBARO JR COMMENTS
 
D.C. police listed as a hate crime an incident on Oct. 24 in which two men leaving the D.C. Eagle, a gay bar on the 600 block of New York Avenue, N.W., were assaulted by a group of men shouting anti-gay names.
Acting Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said the incident occurred near the corner of 7th Street and New York Avenue, N.W., a short distance from the Eagle’s entrance.
“The victims, who state they were walking through a group of 6 black males, were punched and called homophobic names,” Parson said in an e-mail alert.
“No robbery was announced and there was no altercation prior to the attack. Neither victim suffered visible injuries,” he said.
He said the attackers fled north on 7th Street. No arrests have been made in the incident and police have no suspects, Parson said.
Bill Copello, the Eagle’s owner, said neither police nor the victims of the assault contacted him or other Eagle employees about the incident.
He said Eagle customers have been routinely subjected to anti-gay name calling by male customers of the Avenue nightclub, located a few doors away from the Eagle on New York Avenue.
But the Avenue club has been closed for renovation during the past few weeks, Copello said, and virtually all anti-gay harassment of his customers stopped immediately after the club closed.
Copello said he is considering asking the GLLU and the local group Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence to look into what, if anything, could be done about the name-calling by Avenue customers.
Police and the United States Attorney’s office have said name-calling itself is not a crime.
Large crowds of Avenue patrons regularly hang out on the sidewalk in front of the club, and D.C. police officers are regularly stationed outside Avenue on weekend evenings, he said.
According to Copello, many of his customers go out of their way by walking across the street to
avoid walking in front of Avenue when they arrive and leave the Eagle.
“They make it uncomfortable for out folks,” he said. “We hear the words ‘faggot’ or ‘faggot bar’ shouted a lot.”
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