Two men plead guilty to assaulting transgender woman in Puerto Rico
Two Puerto Rican men pled guilty to federal charges arising out of the assault of a transgender woman with a dangerous weapon.
Jordany Rafael Laboy-Garcia and Christian Yamaurie Rivera-Otero were charged with conspiracy to commit a hate crime and obstruction of justice.
As part of the plea agreement, Laboy-Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit a hate crime and admitted that he shot paintballs the victim because she was, and was perceived to be, transgender.
Rivera-Otero pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and admitted to directing his co-defendant to delete video recordings of the assault and harassment.
A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Lobos-Ruiz previously pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
According to court documents, just after midnight on February 24, 2020, Laboy-Garcia and Rivera-Otero, along with their former co-defendant Anthony Steven Lobos-Ruiz, were out driving together in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, when they saw the victim, identified as A.N.L., standing under a tent near the side of the road.
The defendants recognised A.N.L. from social media posts concerning an incident that had occurred the day prior at a McDonald’s in Toa Baja. During that incident, A.N.L. had used a stall in the McDonald’s women’s restroom.
Prosecutors said upon recognising A.N.L., Lobos-Ruiz used his phone to record a video of himself yelling, “la loca, la loca,” as well as other disparaging and threatening comments from inside the car.
Laboy-Garcia then used a paintball gun to shoot A.N.L. multiple times.
After the assault ended, Lobos Ruiz shared the iPhone video recordings with others.
Several hours later, Rivera-Otero and Lobos-Ruiz exchanged text messages in which they told each other to delete the evidence of their harassment and paintball gun assault of A.N.L. to conceal their involvement.
Following this message exchange, Lobos-Ruiz deleted the videos of him yelling at A.N.L. and of Laboy-Garcia firing paintballs at A.N.L.
Following the guilty plea, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said: “The defendants are being held accountable for assaulting a transgender woman because of her gender identity and then trying to obstruct an investigation into that assault.”
“Acts of violence against LGBTQI+ people have no place in our society today. As we mark 25 years since the death of Matthew Shepard, the Justice Department remain steadfast in its commitment to investigate and prosecute those who target LGBTQI+ people with acts of violence.”
US Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, commented: “To assault an innocent victim who posed no threat to the defendants for no other reason than her gender identity is reprehensible behaviour that will not be tolerated.” “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend the rights of all people, regardless of their gender identity, to be free from hate-fuelled violence. Our community must stand together against acts of violence motivated by hate for any group of people – we remain steadfast in our commitment to prosecute civil rights violations and keep our communities safe and free from fear.”
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