Man Charged With Hate Crime in Seattle Over Mistaken Identity

A man arrested over the weekend for an attack in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood has been charged with a hate crime.

According to KOMOnews.com, Raven Lang Brealan, 34, admitted to arresting officers that he had engaged the victim, whom he assumed to be a woman, in a flirtatious conversation. He also admitted that the conversation had caused him to become aroused.

However, when he discovered that his object of interest was actually a man, the article continues, he "grew enraged and began spitting and yelling homophobic slurs at the victim and a nearby witness."

Charging documents say that a friend of the victim told Brealan "that he is on Capitol Hill and [needed] to stop with the anti-homosexual sentiment."

The attack, which occurred near the corner of 10th Avenue and East Pike, also allegedly included punches, threats with a knife, and the throwing of a metal sign post.

Brealan -- who reportedly has a long rap sheet that includes convictions for assault, theft, DUI, and other offenses -- was charged with a hate crime and one count of fourth-degree assault. His bail was set at $50,000.

Read the full story here.