A Port Washington man was arrested Wednesday and charged with two hate crimes invovling an incident in which he threw hot coffee at an individual and shouted a homophobic slur, according to the Port Washington Police.
Matthew Rowlinson, 26, was arrested for the alleged crime that took place July 1 at 4 p.m. He has been charged with assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime, according to police.
Rowlinson was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to be arraigned on July 20 at the First District Court in Hempstead.
The victim, a 21-year-old man, was standing outside of Starbucks on Main Street when a man threw a cup of hot coffee in their chest and yelled an “anti-gay” slur, according to police.
The attacker, who has since been identified as Rowlinson, then fled the scene.
Melanie D’Arrigo, co-founder of Be The Rainbow, previously told Blank Slate about the incident and that she had been in contact with the victim.
D’Arrigo said the attack was unprovoked and there was no engagement between the victim and their aggressor prior to the incident.
“The victim was standing there as any other resident of the town might be, minding their own business,” D’Arrigo said.
D’Arrigo declined to disclose the victim’s identity for their privacy.
D’Arrigo said Be The Rainbow, the LGBTQ+ community and the broader Port community are heartbroken in the wake of this attack.
With the Supreme Court decision on June 30, the day before the attack in Port Washington, that decided businesses could restrict their services to LGBTQ+ people, D’Arrigo said the assault the following day was no coincidence.
“National politics have an effect on us locally,” D’Arrigo said. “It is so important that we locally act and that we make sure on a local level we are building the kind of community that makes us proud. That’s consistent with the work Be The Rainbow has done, and it will be consistent with the work moving forward.”
She said this is also exacerbated by a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation nationally.
“These are the effects of that hatred,” D’Arrigo said.
D’Arrigo said Be The Rainbow is looking at ways to prevent this from happening again in the future. She said they are talking with North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Mariann Dalimonte to potentially establish a co-sponsored town event on how to be an upstander for LGBTQ+ people.
She said Be The Rainbow tries to “shine light in the darkness” and that the way to combat hate is with love.
“Port Washington has always been a diverse place, it’s always been an accepting place and we will always work and continue to work hard to make sure that that remains the case,” D’Arrigo said.
