Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of the conservative gay Republican organization GOProud, was attacked Friday in Washington, D.C. while riding home from work on his bicycle. The assailant, a teenage male, struck LaSalvia in the chest and called him a “faggot.”
The Washington Blade reports that LaSalvia was riding on a quiet street near Union Station around 8:30 p.m. when he was approached by the teenager and six or seven male companions. The GOProud head explained that, as he rode past the group, his attacker “lunged off the sidewalk toward me on the street and delivered a punch across my chest.” After the impact, LaSalvia heard his assailant shout “F_____ faggot!”
“It was clear to me in that moment that my sexual orientation had motivated this attack,” LaSalvia concluded.
After riding home, LaSalvia contacted the police. Because the circumstances of his attack no longer constituted an emergency, LaSalvia waited until the following day to make a full report at the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit of the Washington, D.C. police department. However, a phased-out contact number and incomplete staffing slowed down LaSalvia’s reporting process – and inspired him to bring attention to his attack.
“I realize now that this is something that should be reported,” LaSalvia concluded.
