Gay men say they were savagely beaten by straight men who were attending a drag show
The alleged attack occurred outside Jacque’s Cabaret, a popular gay bar in Boston (Google Maps)
Boston police are investigating after three gay men were allegedly beaten outside a popular gay bar by a group of men who had attended a drag show there.
The alleged attack occurred as the victims were leaving a party in the basement of Jacque’s Cabaret in Boston shortly after midnight on November 2.
They claim to have been verbally and physically abused by a group of men who had attended a drag show on the club’s upper floor.
The attackers, who are believed to be straight, are said to have shouted homophobic slurs while they punched and kicked one of the victims on the ground. They then put him into a chokehold, causing him to nearly lose consciousness.
In a statement posted on Facebook, one of the alleged victims, Michael Flowers, describes a horrifying attack. “I remember getting hit in the face several times. It is unclear to me how many times I was hit,” he said.
“At some point during the conflict, I noticed that B was on the ground and saw that he was getting kicked and punched repeatedly. I attempted to pull several of his assailants off of him unsuccessfully.
“After what I perceived to be about a minute, the fight broke up and the assailants fled. It was only then that I noticed A and saw that the left side of his face was completely covered in blood.”
The Boston Police Department were called but the suspects had run off by the time officers arrived. In light of the homophobic slurs that were used by attackers, police are treating the incident as a hate crime.
One of the victim’s friends spoke of the attack on Twitter, urging straight people to stay away from gay bars.
My friends were gay bashed outside a gay bar in Boston last night by straight men attending the drag show upstairs, and I want to take this opportunity to remind straight people to stay the fuck away from our establishments. That goes double for your shitty guy/boyfriends.
— Agile Daddy (@MathsDaddy) November 2, 2019
Drag performer Chris Fijal acknowledged that the bar attracts a lot of straight people. “We have a lot of birthday parties, bachelorette parties. It’s gay, straight,” he told Boston 25 News.
“The gentlemen that were involved were at the show, and were very friendly. They were not remotely homophobic.”
According to a post on the club’s Facebook page, all three victims are now safe “and have support systems with which they are able to unpack the trauma associated with the event”.
Anyone with information on the attackers’ identities is asked to call encouraged to call Boston Police Crime Stoppers at (800) 494-TIPS.
