Pasco LGBTQ rally comes after a gay man was attacked for holding hands

A Tri-City group of LGBTQ supporters showed up Saturday at the site of a Dec. 22 attack on a gay man to show they weren’t afraid..

They brought rainbow flags and signs proclaiming that hate doesn’t have a home in the Tri-Cities.

It came two weeks after four men attacked a man holdling another man’s hand while standing in line at a taco truck at Fourth Avenue and Court Street. They punched him and then kicked him after he fell to the ground. The attack left the man with a bloody nose and concussion.

Kennewick High School Senior Nate Riel said he was happy with the turnout and hoped it would send the message the LGBTQ community is here in the Tri-Cities.

The suspects — Pedro Contreras, Oscar Mata, Ulises Reyes-Mata and Jose Torres — are facing charges of second-degree assault and committing a hate crime.

While Riel didn’t know the victim, he said he was angered by the story and started organizing Saturday’s event online.

“It could have been me. It could have been any of my friends who are gay here in the Tri-Cities,” he said. “It was important to me that change happened.”

“No matter what fear or discrimination is put against the gay community here in the Tri-Cities, we’re still proud of who we are. We’re still going to be who we want to be,” he said.

This story was originally published January 11, 2020 at 1:49 PM.