19-year-old Marcellus Andrews was beaten to death last week in Michele “Gacy” Bachmann’s hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. But even though his attackers yelled “faggot” while repeatedly kicking him in the head, the Waterloo police have decided not to investigate the case as a hate crime. They also haven’t made any arrests despite the testimony of two women who witnessed the attack. Say what?
Here’s the gist:
… authorities don’t believe the killing was a hate crime, said Lt. Michael McNamee, Waterloo police spokesman.
“We’ve done multiple interviews and we have heard those allegations, but this was not because of his persuasion or the perception of his persuasion,” McNamee said. “These were all people who knew each other, and there was some bad blood between the two parties involved.”
The disputes date back at least a year, and arguments escalated throughout Thursday and involved a vehicle being vandalized, McNamee said.
“It all culminated in that area early Friday morning,” McNamee said.
Detectives have identified suspects in the case, but no arrests had been made and no warrants had been sought as of late Tuesday, McNamee said.
By all accounts, Andrews was openly gay (hell, he was studying interior design at the local community college). But a hate crime charge can sometimes make investigations harder by requiring that police and prosecutors prove (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that Andrews’ assailants specifically targeted him because of his homosexuality. Yes, Andrews’ murderers screamed “faggot” while killing him and we’re sure their homophobia fueled their attack, but the police aren’t ascribing homophobia as their key motive; rather they seem to think this bad blood and vandalized vehicle possibly played a bigger role.
We’ll save our outrage until we know the formal charges and how the possible penalties measure up against those levied against a hate crime. But how the police has yet to make any arrests is beyond us.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Horace Boothroyd
Contact the DOJ Here: http://www.justice.gov/contact-us.html Email: [email protected]
Ask them why they are not using the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act. Refer to this case or the many, many others.
LOrion
Gee couldn’t be a cops son who did it could it! They need our police who have solved 5 year old hate attacks and murders here lately!. Plus getting vehiclular manslaughterer within 4 hours because witnesses got 4# of truck!
Skinhead 46 y/o Father and 24 y/o son forced a black lady off road so hard the curb ripped out her rear axle and she had her 3 y/o in car with her! She heard slurs… but may have just been BITCH non N**** bitch so thus not hate crime.
Anyway doesn’t this fall under MATTHEW SHEPARD as a FEDERAL CRIME And FBI should already be on it?
Maddie
What this news? What about?
Maddie
Omg about crime killing thanks i love read real story like this
[email protected]
What an unbelievable-fucking-shame! And, of course the local TV media from Des Moines hasn’t covered this! And, so far as i am aware, most of the printed media has refused to acknowledge that the victim was beaten for being Gay!
christopher di spirito
This is so disgusting. Too bad Andrews didn’t carry a gun. He would’ve been able to drop the punks who attacked him and walk away.
xander
@Bachmanns 4 President : Your candidate suffers from migraines, a known sign of satanic posession. Sorry, we need someone who won’t bring the devil into the White House!
christopher di spirito
@Bachmann 4 President: Aren’t you all tough talking this shit behind the safety of a computer screen? Too bad you don’t have the courage to talk this shit to my face because I’d flatten you with my fists.
Tony Renna
@christopher di spirito: im with you chris !!! any way the ass hole who hides behind bachman will never win just like she wont ….. this is just what we need to be bashed in our own site man . bachman for pres is a pussy ass , fool .
christopher di spirito
@Tony Renna: I wish Daniel would ban him but, Queerty isn’t mine to run. On my blog, I ban assholes like Bachmann4President.
Tony Renna
@christopher di spirito: id do the same if i knew how , im new on this site ans still learning the ropes , but you got my help n any way you need , thats why i post my real name here ,im glad to see you do the same .. i hope everybody catches oon to this , we cant take this crap laying down
Tony Renna
@Bachmann 4 President: the only one taht is vile here is you ! get some help your a sick person . btw there are laws that govern your gay bashing wheather it be in person or on the computer , id be careful if i was you ……why dont you post your name here , if your so unashamed of what you say , instead of hiding behind that bitch , who btw way will never win , the entire country had grown and is not as uneducated and ignoant as you are …
Tony Renna
@Bachmann 4 President: real critian attitude , sorry to tel oyu you wont be making the pearly gates kid !!!!!people lke you sicken us just as well , there is a sepparation of religion and state , or where you not taught that ????i guess not .
macmantoo
Actually Bachmann4President you’ve proven that the republican party and Bachmann in particualar are card carrying members of the Nazi Party. The only thing the republican party stands for is HATE. And you call yourselves christians too bad you doh’t know the meaning of the word or what Christ is all about.
macmantoo
Actually Bachmann4President you’ve proven that the republican party and Bachmann in particualar are card carrying members of the Nazi Party. The only thing the republican party stands for is HATE. And you call yourselves christians too bad you don’t know the meaning of the word or what Christ is all about.
Tony Renna
@macmantoo: bachman for pres’s extreem hatres onlu indicatesthat he or she has had a string of unsuccessful intimate relationships , and is lashing out because of this ??? i almost feel sorry for the dope , but not really , these people are few and far between , always having to hide behind something else because they dont have the guts to show themselves for who they really are , an absolute coward …
Sean
All crime comes from hate one murder is not more or less important than another.
Riker
@Bachmann 4 President: Freedom of speech doesn’t exist on a privately-owned blog, you idiot. Next time try actually reading the Constitution you claim to support and defend.
Riker
@Sean: The difference is that what we know of as hate crimes are not so much about the victim, but that they make an entire segment of the population feel threatened. All murder is murder, yes, but hate crimes are taken more seriously because of their demoralizing effects on a community.
Rowan
I don’t know the details yet, but I can definitely see how this wouldn’t be considered a hate crime when one of Andrew’s girlfriends threw the first punch. *That* is what likely started the fiasco that lead to his death.
Either way, this is a horrible shame, and I agree that there should be some arrests by now.
phcube
As a gay man, the fact that he was gay should not have any weight here. Black, white, yellow, brown, gay, straight etc etc. A human being was kicked to death. There must be a hell of a lot of HATE in the animals… actually that’s too much of an insult to animals… cowardly, low life who did this. I hope the police force is ashamed of itself for not having made an arrest
Kevan
We must realize that gay people can have crimes committed against them that doesn’t have anything to do with their sexuality.
Mav
@Kevan: If people don’t want to be charged with a hate crime, they shouldn’t use hate speech when provoking a fight.
If these guys had beat Andrews to death while screaming “N*****!” at him, it wouldn’t really matter what their actual motivations for killing him were. The fact that they invoked his race makes their perceived motivation racial.
The same concept should apply for sexuality. If you invoke sexual orientation before, during, or after committing a heinous violent crime against someone, you should be charged with a hate crime. Because you aren’t just threatening that individual, you are threatening every person who shares minority status with him.
Etymologically, a faggot is a bundle of sticks used to burn people alive at the stake. Calling someone a faggot is a death threat. I don’t care what the context or the connotations are. Just because someone is too ignorant to understand the connotations of an epithet doesn’t give them free license to use it.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@christopher di spirito: Hey there…….long time since I been on Queerty St………glad to see you are still around.
Guess I came late to this party also cause looks like the vile little closet case’s post has been pulled…….
@Tony Renna: As above I didn’t get to see his vile rant, but am pretty certain he can be found any nite at the local cruise area getting barebacked by multiple guys. Then he drags his fat ass back to the damp dirty basement apartment in his mothers house……………
Tony Renna
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS: sorry you missed it , we could have used the help !!!!!!im sure your right about all the above mentioned , no doubt that was a sick individual screamig for attention . normaly i wouldnt give it , but in this case i felt that it was needed , to let people like ths know , were not scared of them and will fight fire with fire when needed ……… thanks for your support .
Ronbo
It was “bad blood”? Is it an infection? Did the infected one draw the feet towards his head? It seems that this is lazy police-work – or at least poorly articulated.
Diego_Rivera_II
Maybe it’s not a hate crime because it’s a black-on-black crime? (And they’re just ignoring the “faggot” thing, claiming it means….”wuss” or something?) Anyway, the victim Marcellus Andrews has a police record too so I’m surprised he DIDN’T have a gun.
Dave
Thanks! I needed a few more points to add to my list of reasons why the best cop is a dead cop. There are several with good potential to make the list in this story.
Foxauthor
It seems as though this outright, hate filled and gay related murder, occurring in Bachmann’s hometown, is being covered up so as a not to reflect on the growing number of hate crimes and teen suicides in her area and state. The police should have filed charges by now, and certainly would have if this had happened to any of Bachmann’s followers. The power of politics and politicians (especially those running for president) is something that even we can’t fathom without being “on the inside.” This is pure cover-up at its finest. The more we spread this around in our blogs the more attention it will hopefully receive until something is done to bring the murderer(s) to justice, since they’ve already been identified but not charged. Michele Bachmann must also be held accountable for fostering this anti-gay, hate-filled rant and rabble that surrounds her and is the tidal wave upon which she is riding her way to running this country. May the “real God” intercede and stop her bullshit for once and for all. This country is heading down the road towards being less than a 3rd world country, run by a few people who can dictate how the rest of us will live or die. You can sign me with my real name: Barry Mattison, those hiding behind a pseudo name shouldn’t be allowed to comment!
greatFox
“By all accounts, Andrews was openly gay (hell, he was studying interior design at the local community college).”
Does that mean if you study design, you are automatically gay?
Kevan
@Mav: I agree, there are such things as hate crimes. I’m saying that every crime against a gay person is not a hate crime. I don’t know what the past history of these kids were, but the police investigation showed that there was some annimocity between them in the past. If it was not based on his sexuality, but on a previous (perceived or otherwise) wrong that was committed, then there is a potential that it was not a hate crime. The word “Faggot” has been used as a general explitive and insult for a very long time and may not be directly related to a persons perception of another’s sexuality. Straight people call straight people Faggot as an insult. That doesn’t make the use of the word a hate crime in all cases of assault. The motivations in the crime make it a hate crime.