WTOP is reporting that D.C. police are investigating a weekend attack near Shaw nightclub Be Bar as a hate crime. The victim, an intern who works for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Human Rights Campaign, was first shouted at by his assailant with a derogatory term for homosexual, and then beaten up. The victim was taken to an area hospital and has since been released.
The incident took place at 10th and O Streets NW in the early morning on Sunday, about a block from Be Bar, a swanky nightclub that serves a mostly gay clientele. DCist walked by the club that night and noticed an unusually large number of people on 9th St. NW at around 2 a.m., when customers from both Be Bar and the new private club The Space were mingling peacefully at the corner.
“We are concerned about safety in the area,” said Derek Vann, a manager at Be Bar who was not at the club at the time of the attack. The manager on-duty at the time was not immediately available for comment.
Mayor Fenty told WTOP he plans to reach out to Speaker Pelosi’s office regarding the investigation.
UPDATE: WTOP has updated their coverage to say that the young man was interning at Human Rights Campaign, and not for the Speaker, as was originally reported by investigators.
