NEW YORK, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Two men have been charged with a gay-bashing assault at New York's Stonewall Inn, a bar that played a historic role in the gay rights movement, police said.
Matthew Francis, 21, and Christopher Orlando, 17, both residents of the borough of Staten Island, face charges of assault as a hate crime and attempted robbery, the New York Post reported. They were arrested Sunday, shortly after they allegedly set upon Benjamin Carver, 34, in the men's room at the bar.
In 1969, gay men at the Stonewall fought back against a police raid, an action that sparked several nights of demonstrations. Forty years later, Carver said he was pleased with the response from police and the Manhattan District Attorney's office has been "amazing."
Carver and his boyfriend, Christopher Souza, both Washington residents, were drinking at the Stonewall early Sunday when the attack occurred. Carver said he encountered Francis and Orlando in the men's room, where they asked if they were in a gay bar, demanded money and then attacked him.
Shawn Curran, the general manager, said the history of the Stonewall makes the attack even more distasteful: "That's the thing -- it's not just 'a' gay bar, it's 'the' gay bar."
