Man Charged In Anti-Gay Assault At Harlem Subway Station: DA

HARLEM, NY — A Bronx man has been indicted on hate crime charges three years after attacking a stranger while yelling anti-gay slurs at a Harlem subway station, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday.

Tavaughn Thompson, 26, faces two counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime and one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree in connection with the Dec. 29, 2023, attack at the 125th Street subway station in West Harlem, prosecutors said.

Thompson and a 27-year-old victim were riding the same northbound A train from the West 14th Street-Eighth Avenue station around 8:35 p.m., according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

When both exited the train at 125th Street and Eighth Avenue, Thompson punched the victim several times in the face while repeatedly using an anti-gay slur, Bragg said.

The victim suffered bruising and pain to the left side of the face and later went to a hospital for treatment, Bragg said.

A bystander intervened during the assault and separated Thompson from the victim, according to court documents.

"New Yorkers deserve to be safe using our transit system without fear of violence, discrimination or harassment," Bragg said. "As alleged, Tavaughn Thompson targeted a stranger because of their perceived sexual orientation in an unprovoked, bias-motivated attack."

Thompson was arrested and arraigned in Criminal Court in February, prosecutors said.

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