Two Texans Face Life in Prison for Federal Hate Crime Assault of Gay Men They ID’d via a Dating App

‘Defendants Restrained the Victim With Tape, Physically Assaulted the Victim, and Made Derogatory Statements to the Victim for Being Gay’

Two Texas men have pleaded guilty to assaulting several gay men specifically because they were gay. Nigel Garrett, 21, and Cameron Ajiduah, 18 now face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine for federal hate crimes, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Four men in total were indicted in May (video above via CBS DFW).

Garrett and two other men, Anthony Shelton and Chancler Encalade, “used Grindr, a social media dating platform for gay men, to arrange to meet the victim at the victim’s home.,” the Dept. of Justice said in a statement Tuesday. “Upon entering the victim’s home, the defendants restrained the victim with tape, physically assaulted the victim, and made derogatory statements to the victim for being gay. The defendants brandished a firearm during the home invasion, and stole the victim’s property, including his motor vehicle,” the DOJ says.

Ajiduah, Garrett, and Shelton used the same scheme on a different victim, including restraining the victim and covering his eyes with tape, verbally berating him for his sexual orientaion, and physically assaulting him.

“Garrett and Ajiduah invaded homes, robbed and assaulted their victims, and particularly horrendous, targeted their victims based on the victim’s sexual orientation,” Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston says in the DOJ statement. “In response to such a hate crime, let it be known that law enforcement will leave no stone unturned to catch and prosecute the likes of these criminals to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The Justice Department will not tolerate hate crimes against any individual based on sexual orientation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore. “Hate crimes are violent crimes, but also attack the fundamental principles of the United States. The Justice Department will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate crimes.”

The AP adds that “Shelton and Encalade still await trial.”

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