Two men in Washington DC were attacked in a potential hate crime by assailants who allegedly used an anti-gay slur and referenced “monkeypox,” authorities said.
Metropolitan Police Department said the pair of hateful suspects approached the victims and made derogatory comments “based on their sexual orientation” around 7 pm Sunday.
The suspects called the couple “monkeypox f—–s” and punched them several times, according to an ABC story, which cited an incident report.
The victims were rushed to nearby hospitals, police said.
Police on Tuesday announced it was “investigating this offense as potentially being motivated by hate or bias.”
One of the victims told NBC Washington that he didn’t immediately realize the extent of what happened.
“One of them comes up to me and punches me in the jaw, giving me a gash right here that needed about three stitches,” Antonio, who requested anonymity, told the outlet.
“I started noticing that I’m covered in blood. I didn’t realize how bad my lip was until other people saw it. I thought it was just, you know, a cut on my face,” the victim added to the outlet.
Two suspects are accused of assaulting and hurling homophobic slurs at two men in Washington, DC.MPDWashington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced police is investigating the alleged hate crime.WUSAOne of the victim’s shirts was full of blood after being punched multiple times.WUSA
“The first moment, I was just angry and I was just like, ‘What kind of ignorance is this?’” Antonio recalled. But he told the outlet he was “not shocked” by the apparent motivation for the assault.
“I think it’s been a buildup over the last couple of months and years of conversations we’ve had about LGBTQ people,” I explained. “It can happen here.”
DC Major Muriel Bowser, in a statement posted on Twittersaid she was “extremely disturbed” by the possible hate crime.
Washington DC authorities have declared the assaults a hate crime.WUSAA victim named Antonio was punched in the jaw.WUSA
“I want to send my support to the victims,” Bowser said Tuesday. “Whenever a hate crime happens in our city, it is our collective responsibility to understand the role we each play in building a safer community for every person who lives in and visits DC”
The city’s police department’s LGBT Liaison Unit is “part of” the probe, according to the mayor.
The lone survivor of the lightning strike that killed three people outside the White House was saved by quick-thinking Secret Service agents — and her Dr. Martens boots, according to her mom.
Californian student Amber Escudero-Kontostathis was struck last Thursday while raising money in Washington, DC, for refugees — even though it was her 28th birthday.
While three others were killed in the strike — including a fellow young Californian — Escudero-Kontostathis was revived by agents who raced to the scene with a defibrillator, her mom, Julie Escudero, told the Ventura County Star.
“The Secret Service men saved her,” Escudero said. “I’ve been trying to find out their names so I can personally thank them. They revived her.”
Amber Escudero-Kontostathis was the lone survivor of four hit by lightning outside the White House last Thursday — her 28th birthday.LinkedIn
In a series of emotional Facebook updates, Escudero detailed how doctors believe the lightning that struck her daughter “went through her toes and out her left arm.”
That likely meant her daughter was saved by the thick rubber “Airwair” soles on Dr. Martens’ boots absorbing some of the impact, her mom speculated.
Escudero-Kontostathis — who was with her husband, Achilles, in DC — has already left intensive care and taken her first steps unaided, said her mom, who flew from California to be by her daughter’s side.
“The trauma doctor came up [Friday] and said she’s an ‘absolute miracle,’” her mom told the local outlet.
Amber Escudero-Kontostathis was the lone survivor of four hit by lightning that was caught on camera striking at the foot of the White House last ThursdayREUTERS
In her Facebook posts, Escudero also detailed how her daughter “is literally blowing all the doctors away with the progress her body is making.”
Still, she is suffering “unbearable” pain from a large burn on her stomach that makes it feel like it’s “on fire” — and is suffering crushing “survivor’s guilt” after learning the three others hit all died, her mom said.
Escudero-Kontostathis had a Monday meeting scheduled with a trauma counselor.
And she has also “made the connection to the other 3 wonderful people who passed,” her mom said, referring to bank VP Brooks Lambertson, 29, as well as James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, childhood sweethearts from Wisconsin celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary.
The three killed included James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, childhood sweethearts from Wisconsin celebrating their 56th wedding anniversaryFacebook/WISN 12 NEWS
“She wants to reach out to their families,” her mom said Monday. “She cares so much for others, it will be hard for her.”
Escudero-Kontostathis is also anxious about missing the start of her masters-degree course at John Hopkins at the end of this month.
Escudero said she was “beyond grateful and humbled” that friends had started a GoFundMe that as of Monday afternoon had raised more than $40,000 to help with medical costs.
“I literally fell to my knees when I saw the GoFundMe page. I truly have no words!” she said.
A young California bank executive has been identified as the third person killed in a freak caught-on-camera lightning strike near the White House last week.
Brooks Lambertson, a 29-year-old Los Angeles-based vice president at City National Bank, was identified by DC police as the third fatality from Thursday night’s strike that also left a fourth person in critical condition.
He was killed alongside James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, childhood sweethearts from Wisconsin who were in the capital celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary.
All four had been in Lafayette Park — yards from the White House fence — when cameras caught a huge bolt striking a tree they were near.
City National Bank said Sunday that it was “devastated to learn of the sudden death of one of our colleagues.”
“Brooks was an incredible young man who will be remembered for his generosity, kindness and unwavering positivity,” the bank said.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with his loving family, his many friends and our colleagues. His joyful spirit will live on in our hearts, ”the bank said.
Brooks Lambertson, a 29-year-old bank executive from Los Angeles, was identified as the third person killing in a lightning strike near the White House last week.Facebook/KCRAThe lightning strike at Lafayette Park killed three people and left one other injured.REUTERS
The news sparked tributes for Lambertson, who previously worked as a marketing manager for the LA Clippers and was in DC for business when he was struck.
“He was a joy to work with and a wonderful colleague!” one shocked staffer said, while another wrote about how they “loved working with him.”
Brooks always lit up the room with his million-dollar smile,” that colleague wrote, while another praised his “generosity” and “kindness and unwavering” positive energy.
The fourth person, an unidentified woman, was listed in critical condition on Friday, the police department said. There was no immediate update early Sunday.
Lambertson was in DC on a business trip.@dcfireems via APWisconsin couple James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, were also killed in the lightning strike.Facebook/WISN 12 NEWS
Secret Service officers had been among the first to respond to the tragedy and offer first aid, officials announced last week.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was “saddened by the tragic loss of life.”
“This is the people’s house. It should be a place all can see,” she said.
A husband and wife from Wisconsin celebrating more than five decades of marriage were killed in a lightning strike outside the White House. A third victim was pronounced dead Friday evening, and one other is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75, of Janesville, Wisconsin, died of their injuries after the lightning strike Thursday in Lafayette Park, located directly outside the White House complex, the Metropolitan Police Department said Friday.
A third victim, a 29-year-old adult male, was pronounced dead Friday. The fourth person, a woman, was in critical condition, the police department said. Their identities were not immediately released.
Authorities did not reveal how the people were injured, other than to say they were critically hurt in the lightning strike.
The Muellers were on a trip to Washington, DC, to celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary, according to their niece, Michelle McNett of Janesville.
A lightning strike hits a tree in Lafayette Park across from the White House, killing three people and injuring one person on August 4, 2022 in Washington.REUTERS
“They were a very loving couple,” McNett told the Wisconsin State Journal. “They were very, very family oriented. I think everyone’s just in shock right now and kind of request privacy.”
The couple had five children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, she told the paper.
Donna Mueller was a teacher and in retirement worked at the Comfort Shoppe, a local furniture store. Jim, 76, was a retired contractor who had his own drywall business.
McNett said she’s not sure why the couple picked the nation’s capital for their vacation, but added that “Donna was a constant learner.”
A Secret Service officer patrols Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington, DC after a lightning strike killed three people on August 4, 2022.Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/Shutt
The husband and wife, according to their childhood, loved having gatherings and just had a big family gathering a couple of weeks ago.
“They were very religious,” she said. “Just the kind of people who would give the shirt off their back to do anything for you, both of them.”
Officers with the Secret Service and the US Park Police witnessed the lightning strike Thursday night and ran over to render first aid, officials said. Emergency medical crews were called to the scene just before 7 pm and had transported all of the victims to the hospital with “critical, life-threatening injuries,” fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said.
“We are saddened by the tragic loss of life after the lightning strike in Lafayette Park,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we are praying for those still fighting for their lives.”
Republican border-state governors are sending busloads of illegal entrants — released in their states by the Department of Homeland Security — to DC and New York City, prompting recriminations and pleas for federal cash from the Democratic mayors of those erstwhile immigrant-friendly cities.
Those majors, seemingly unwittingly, are making the governors’ point — that the administration has created a disaster at the US-Mexico line, requiring an immediate policy shift to protect lives and state and local finances.
It started in April. Fed up with federal releases of large numbers of migrants into overwhelmed small towns in his state (including Uvalde), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) began offering migrants free bus trips to DC to shift some of the burden to Washington.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) followed suit in May, and more than 7,300 migrants have since arrived in DC from the two states, creating what even Vanity Fair has termed, “A Migrant Crisis in Washington.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who reaffirmed her town’s status as an immigrant “sanctuary city” after Donald Trump’s 2016 election, now derides Abbott’s and Ducey’s efforts as “cruel political gamesmanship” creating a “humanitarian crisis” in her city that “must be dealt with at the federal level” in a letter to the Department of Defense seeking National Guard support (since rejected).
Bowser was complaining about what, at the time, totaled 4,000 migrants over a three-month period into her city of more than 707,000. In March, by comparison, DHS was dropping off up to 150 migrants per day in Uvalde, population 15,312, or roughly one migrant for every 102 residents daily.
Venezuelan migrants sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in DC’s Union Station on August 2, 2022. Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) also weighed in, blaming Texas and Arizona in July for busing 2,800 migrants into his city (population: 8.467 million) over a six-week period, straining the city’s homeless shelters. Adams also demanded federal cash to help his government muddle through.
Both governors denied Adams’ charge, but Abbott apparently viewed it an invitation, as he has just started sending buses to Manhattan, too.
Adams’ office and The New York Times described those migrants in New York as “asylum seekers,” but that’s just mostly untrue. DHS statistics show that between July 2021 and July 2022, the department had cleared fewer than 40,000 “arriving aliens” to apply for asylum in the United States.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser accused the Republican governors of creating a “humanitarian crisis” in her city.Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
During that same period, however, CBP encountered 2.361 million arrivals at the southwest border, expelled 1.142 million under CDC’s pandemic-related Title 42 orders (that Biden nonetheless opposes) and released around 853,000 into the United States — meaning only about 5% of the migrants Adams is complaining about are really “asylum seekers.”
All those migrants, cleared for asylum or not, were released for removal hearings, which can take years to complete. Nationwide, the average immigration case has been pending 829 days and 953 days in New York. The only relief available to most of those illegal immigrants is asylum, so the ones who do show up for court will apply for that protection to stay here longer, even if they just came to make more money.
The New York Times’ article focused on Venezuelan migrants in New York City. Under Biden, agents at the southwest border have caught 157,600 Venezuelans, 57% of them single adults. Just 1,404 were expelled under Title 42, meaning most of the rest are here indefinitely.
The Times contends the United States cannot send them back to Venezuela — with which America lacks diplomatic relations — but that contention elides the fact that, as The Washington Post reported in January, Biden had struck a deal with Colombia to take back Venezuelans who had resettled there.
Two million displaced Venezuelans have moved to Colombia, and more than a few likely entered illegally. It does not appear, however, that DHS sent many back or even asked apprehended Venezuelans where they were living before they came here.
I’m sympathetic to DC and New York City, but I’ve talked to officials in those much poorer border towns about their struggles to deal with the costs. Perhaps now that Democrats are complaining, the administration will finally pay attention.
Andrew Arthur, a former INS associate general counsel, congressional staffer and staff director, and immigration judge, is the Center for Immigration Studies’ resident fellow in law and policy.
A retired Washington DC police lieutenant has been arrested on a manslaughter charge after he shot and killed a library cop during a baton training exercise on Thursday, police said.
Jesse Porter, 58, was wrapping up a training session in a conference room at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library just after 3:30 pm. when he fired a shot that struck 25-year-old Maurica Manyan, the DC Metropolitan Police Department said.
The public library special police officer, from lndian Head, Maryland, was rushed to an area hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
An investigation revealed that Porter, who retired as a Metro PD lieutenant in 2020 and was working as a private contractor, was providing instruction on the use of retractable batons to library officers when he allegedly fired the shot that killed Manyan.
A firearm was recovered on scene, police said.
There were about six people in the conference room at the time, including other library police officers, but no one else was hurt.
Jesse Porterhe fired a shot that struck and killed Maurica Manyan.LinkedIn
The city’s public library system has its own force of full-time special police officers who can be armed and are responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the library branches.
Porter was arrested on an involuntary manslaughter charge after police consulted with the US attorney’s office in Washington. He remained in custody on Friday.
At a news conference shortly after the shooting, DC Metro Police Chief Robert Contee said it was unclear why Porter was armed with a gun during the training exercise.
Generally, law enforcement agencies take stride to ensure trainers and participants do not have access to live ammunition or actual firearms during training programs, to avoid the possibility of accidental gunfire.
“It’s not good practice,” Contee said. “I’m not sure in this situation why the trainer had a live weapon in the training environment. But it is not a good practice to do this.”
DC Metro Police said it was unclear why Porter was armed during the training exercise.The Washington Post via Getty Im
Police did not say why Porter fired his weapon, but unnamed sources told NBC4 that the retired cop allegedly drew his gun to show how quickly it could be done and discharged the live round that hit Manyan in the chest.
Just days after Mayor Eric Adams turned down Greg Abbott’s invitation to visit the southern border, the Texas governor sent a taste of the ongoing migrant emerging to NYC’s doorstep — with the first busload of border-crossers arriving in Manhattan Friday morning.
The Republican governor revealed in a statement that the migrant bus arrived at Gate 14 of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, but did not provide any additional details — such as how many people were on board or their countries of origin.
The arrival of the migrants comes as Abbott has dispatched dozens of buses to Washington DC since April, transporting more than 6,100 migrants to the nation’s capital in “response to the Biden administration’s open border policies overwhelming Texas communities.”
“Because of President Biden’s continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe,” Abbott said in his Friday statement.
“In addition to Washington, DC, New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city. I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief,” he continued.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the first bus full of migrants has arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.foxnewsTexas Gov. Greg Abbott hopes Mayor Eric Adams will welcome the migrants arriving in the Big Apple.foxnewsTexas Gov. Greg Abbott accused Democrats of causing a “historic and preventable crisis.”foxnews
In the governor’s announcement, his office pointed to New York City’s right to housing laws which require the local government to provide “emergency shelter for every unhoused person.”
Already, Adams has warned that the homeless shelters in the city are being overloaded with migrants. Previous reporting by The Post confirmed a Department of Homeless Service intake center in the Bronx as well as the Bellevue men’s shelter in Manhattan have seen a growing number of migrants arrive in recent days.
City Hall Press Secretary Fabien Levy later told The Post, “Governor Abbott is finally admitting to what we’ve known he’s been doing all along. His continued use of human beings as political pawns is disgusting, and an embarrassing stain on the state of Texas.”
“New York will continue to welcome asylum seekers with open arms, as we have always have, but we are asking for resources to help do so. We need Washington, DC’s assistance in dealing with the cruel political games being played by inept politicians like the governor of Texas,” Levy added.
Fox & friends interviews a migrant.foxnews
Last month, Adams claimed Texas and Arizona had already been transporting migrants to the Big Apple, and called on President Biden to provide federal resources to handle the influx.
However, that assertion was rejected by both Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who insisted it was the federal government sending migrants to New York.
In response, Abbott Adams invited to visit the southern border to “see firsthand the dire situation.”
The Post has previously reported that Manhattan shelters are experiencing a high volume of migrants seeking refuge.foxnews
“Your recent interest in this historic and preventable crisis is a welcomed development – especially as the President and his Administration have shown no remorse for their actions nor desire to address the situation themselves,” Abbott said this week.
“As Governor, I invite you to visit our border region to see firsthand the fire situation that only grows more urgent with each passing day, and to meet with the local officials, who like yourselves, realize this matter deserves immediate federal action.”
Abbott reiterated his invitations to Adams and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser during an appearance on Fox News Thursday night.
“I really wish they would [come down] because public officials across the country, they do need to realize the magnitude of the chaos created by Biden’s open-border policies,” Abbott told host Jesse Watters. “They’re up in arms about a few thousand people coming into their communities over the past few months? Listen, in any one sector in the state of Texas, we have more than 5,000 people coming across [the border] in that sector every single day.”
“We’re full in the state of Texas,” Abbott added. “Our communities are overrun, and I start busing people to Washingon DC, when local officials could not handle the number of people that had come across our border.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott claimed the migrants can find shelter thanks to New York City’s housing laws.foxnews
All of the migrants who have arrived in Washington and New York via the governor’s bus transportation have gone there voluntarily, since they are permitted to travel within the US after being processed by Customs and Border Protection.
Typically, when migrants are released from federal custody after crossing the border and evading expulsion, they are given paperwork allowing them to stay in the US as well as an order to appear in immigration court when their cases can be heard.
In July, Bowser requested help from the National Guard to address the influx of migrants arriving in the city.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott argued he had no choice but to send the migrants to New York after sending busloads to Washington, DC.foxnewsA migrant gives a thumbs up after arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.foxnews
“Our collective response and service efforts have now become overwhelmed,” Bowser wrote in a July 19 request to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“[O]our homeless services system is already under great strain; and tragically, many families arrive in Washington, DC with nowhere to go, or they remain in limbo seeking onward destinations across the United States.
“With pledges from Texas and Arizona to continue these abhorrent operations indefinitely, the situation is dire,” the mayor added, “and we consider this a humanitarian crisis – one that could overwhelm our social support network without immediate and sustained federal intervention.”
