A New York City man is facing a hate crime charge for allegedly assaulting a same-sex couple last March.

According to a news release from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, 30-year-old Philip Wales was indicted in New York State Supreme Court last week on two counts in relation to the incident.

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“Hate crimes against us are not yet showing signs of subsiding,” the Human Rights Campaign noted despite greater acceptance of queer people generally.

Wales allegedly approached a man and his husband as they were walking on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan’s Flatiron District around 10:40 p.m. on March 7, shouting obscenities at them as they walked by. According to court documents, he then turned and ran up behind the couple, striking one of them in the head with a closed hand.

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The victim grabbed a nearby traffic cone to protect himself as Wales allegedly continued to shout at him and his husband before striking the victim again, this time in the face. The victim’s husband reportedly stepped in and was able to restrain Wales while the victim called 911 and flagged down a police car.

According to the Manhattan D.A.’s office, the victim sustained a bump on his head, a cut on his lip, and bruising on his wrist during the alleged assault.

Wales has been charged with one felony count of assault in the third degree as a hate crime and one misdemeanor count of aggravated harassment in the second degree.

In a statement, Bragg said that his office alleges that Wales “deliberately targeted the victim because of his sexual orientation.”

“This type of bias-motivated attack should never happen to anyone,” Bragg said, “and our office is continuing to seek accountability in hate crime matters while also conducting community engagement and trainings to stop these attacks before they occur.”

Assistant D.A. Hannah Yu, chief of the Manhattan D.A.’s office’s Hate Crimes Unit, is part of the team prosecuting Wales. In an interview with Gay City News earlier this year, Yu noted an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the borough over the last five years.

“The overarching trend we’re seeing is a troublingly high number of anti-LGBTQ hate crime crises,” she said. “Because of the nature of the hate crimes against these individuals, they are typically violent and typically unprovoked attacks against strangers.”

Gay City News also cited a 2024 report from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that found a 69% increase in overall hate crimes over the past five years, with 71% of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes targeting gay men.  

Incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes are up across the nation, according to the FBI’s most recent annual crime reports released last September. In a statement at the time, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson blamed the uptick on anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from Republican politicians.

“Unfortunately, the latest FBI hate crimes data shows that even as public acceptance of LGBTQ+ people continues to grow, and overall crime continues to decline, hate crimes against us are not yet showing signs of subsiding,” Robinson said. “Make no mistake, politicians who spread disinformation and demonize our lives are contributing to this violence.”

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