7 suspects identified in brutal campus anti-LGBTQ+ attack. They can’t be charged with a hate crime. | LGBTQNation

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

Following this crime, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel strongly criticized the state legislature for its failure to designate LGBTQ+ individuals as a protected class.

Michigan State University police have pinpointed seven suspects linked to an assault on two university students inside the school library on Monday. The group reportedly made derogatory comments regarding the victims’ sexual identity before the attack occurred.

“The suspects assaulted two victims, with indications suggesting they targeted the victims due to their sexual orientation,” stated MSU Police and Public Safety in a release on Tuesday.

University officials confirmed that “none of the suspects are affiliated with MSU” and stated they will request prosecutors to press charges once the investigation concludes.

The victims faced harassment near the library’s entrance on the first floor, as reported by MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant. “The two MSU students then retreated to the third-floor study area to meet with some other friends,” Guerrant told MSU radio station WKAR, detailing how the group of high school-age boys pursued them upstairs. “An altercation ensued at that point,” Guerrant added.

MSU’s library remains open to the public until 6:00 p.m., and the attack occurred at 5:50 p.m. on Monday. Although school officials did not specify the extent of the victims’ injuries, a disturbing video shared on an anonymous message board depicts the altercation amid the library stacks.

Officials emphasized the significance of the attack happening during MSU’s LGBTQ Pride Month. “Discrimination or harassment, including hate crimes, based on protected identities can have a significant impact,” stated school administrators, asserting that everyone deserves to feel safe and respected.

Currently, Michigan state law only considers racial bias for hate crime classification. Legislators have debated expanding these protections to include other groups, such as LGBTQ+ individuals, but no proposal has reached Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel highlighted the inability of prosecutors to charge the suspects with a hate crime solely based on anti-LGBTQ+ bias. “It’s not an included class under the Ethnic Intimidation Act,” Nessel explained at a press availability on Tuesday, advocating for legislative action to address this gap.

Nessel criticized proposed bills in the Democrat-controlled Michigan House and Senate as insufficient, particularly regarding sentencing guidelines for hate crime convictions. “Two years is nothing,” Nessel remarked, expressing her dissatisfaction with the proposed penalties.

Last year, Michigan lawmakers passed an “institutional desecration” bill targeting hate-motivated vandalism to various institutions, including those related to the LGBTQ+ community. However, this law only covers anti-LGBTQ+ bias in specific contexts.

As of now, twenty-two states and jurisdictions have LGBTQ+-inclusive hate crime laws, while eleven have laws protecting “sexual orientation” but not “gender identity.”