NYPD arrests and charges Brooklyn man for attack on LGBT NYC councilman's neighbor: report

28 December 2022

The New York Police Department has arrested and charged a thirty-three-year-old man with assault and harassment for last week's homophobic attack on the fifty-two-year-old neighbor of openly gay New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher (D-3rd District), The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday afternoon.

The NYPD confirmed to the publication that Brooklynite David Nieves was apprehended on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred in West Chelsea on Monday, December 19th, and was part of an ongoing pattern of right-wing violence targeting LGBTQ+ individuals across the United States. According to the Beast, two protesters picketing against Drag Queen Story Hour "were arrested after entering the building and reportedly refusing to leave before eventually doing so. The sidewalk outside was defaced with hateful, homophobic slurs directed against Bottcher, including 'OK Groomer,' 'Child Predator,' and 'Erik Bottcher (sic) Is a Pedo Child Groomer!'"

The victim, whose identity is being kept confidential by the Beast, recalled that "when I was standing up to them, one of the group said, ‘You don’t want to mess with us.’ After that the man came after me from behind. I was pushed in the street and stopped myself against a car. They were very threatening. I wish the whole thing had never happened. It was shocking.”

He added in his retelling that “it was the holidays, I said to them something like, ‘Knock it off, this is ridiculous.’ For some reason this only provoked them. I picked up my dog. One guy started putting his cigarette in my face, and got very close to my dog, who is like my child of course. That set me off. I matched their volume. They seemed very volatile, unhinged, and out of their minds. When I said they shouldn’t be there in our vestibule, one guy came at me from behind. All I thought was, ‘This should not be happening in my neighborhood.’ He laughed. 'Then when I got pushed into the car, I got scared.'”

Meanwhile, the unnamed man's brother stated to the Beast that “I’m glad the suspect has been arrested and charged. He and the rest of the group were very threatening that day. I’m still a little shaken by the whole thing.”

Bottcher also lauded the NYPD for pursuing the matter, telling the Beast that "violence, intimidation and vandalism are never acceptable. A message needs to be sent to hate groups everywhere that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated."

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