But Marcucci was ultimately reassigned to the case after Martinez was unable to retain his own attorney, court records show.īefore his conviction, Martinez made several statements to media and in court proceedings condemning or disparaging gay people, including claiming in an August hearing that “a person who cannot discern their difference between gender is mentally retarded.” He said his views were based on his religious beliefs.Īs he argued to be allowed to hire his own attorney, he told the court that Marcucci “was about to blow at some of the things I was telling her.” He said he was willing to stand behind his beliefs even if it resulted in his incarceration. Van Marel allowed Martinez to seek private counsel. And I can just read right through the lines,” Martinez told Iowa District Associate Judge Steven Van Marel, according to the transcript.
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"In New York we have zero tolerance for this despicable behavior," he added, "and will continue to live by the credo that the most powerful four-letter word is not hate-it's love.“It’s not ironic they appointed her to my case, your honor. "This act of hate is repugnant to our values of equality and inclusion, and we will not stand by and allow these cowardly acts to continue in New York." "I am appalled by the burning of yet another pride flag outside an LGBTQ bar in Harlem," the governor said in a statement. On Monday, an NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist the latest incident is not being investigated as a bias crime, although Cuomo once again called on the Hate Crimes Task force to aid in the investigation. That suspect remains at large, but with hate crime reports rising across the city, Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to help with the NYPD's investigation.
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Police subsequently released security camera footage in which a man, whose features are difficult to make out, can be seen flicking a lighter and holding it to the flags before walking away. The two rainbow flags flanking Alibi's entrance were "completely blazing," Minko said at the time. The first incident occurred on the eve of Pride Month: Someone ran into the bar screaming, "Fire!" around 12:30 a.m.
![hate crime burning gay pride flag hate crime burning gay pride flag](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/190708_wabc_burnedflag_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg)
"I simply cannot grasp that it happened again." Pix11 reports that police were not present outside the bar on Sunday night. "We have had the protection of the NYPD who had been sitting in front of our door regularly and tonight," Minko said. Speaking to CBS New York, Alibi owner Alexi Minko called the repeat offense "surreal."
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Staff members noticed the burning flag around 1 a.m. "Sad to report that few weeks after the first incident, someone has once again set our pride flags on fire!" the caption reads. Police are now seeking the person or people responsible, but have no suspects in the most recent incident.Ī photo of one of the burnt flags appeared on Alibi Lounge's Instagram account early Monday morning. The pride flags outside a Harlem bar have now been set on fire twice within the span of about a month. Sad to report that few weeks after the first incident, someone has once again set our pride flags on fire! We simply have no words! #Harlem #gaybar #pride #gaypride #nycpride #worldpride ?️??️??️????Ī post shared by Alibi Lounge on at 10:15pm PDT