Anonymous Gay Male - D.C. - September 2007

On September 9, 2007, a 19-year-old gay man and Georgetown University student was followed and attacked by three men who punched him and yelled anti-gay epithets. The student later identified one of his attackers – Phillip Cooney, another 19-year-old Georgetown student – via a Facebook profile.

At about 2:30 a.m. on September 9¹⁾ the victim was walking down O street, near the 1400 block of 36th Street NW, as a party was letting out. He later told police that he heard one of his attackers shout “fag” and “faggot” at him, and shouted “Where are you going?”²⁾ accompanied by anti-gay epithets, as he walked past a townhouse where people were leaving a party.³⁾

At least two young men from the townhouse started following him. One of them yelled “Look at Macho Man Randy Savage with the tank top,” and homophobic epithet. The victim ignored the taunts and walked away. The men followed and attacked him when he turned on to 36 Street.⁴⁾ According to a police affidavit, the men tackled the victim, and punched him about the head and face with closed fist.⁵⁾

The victim sustained cuts, bruises, facial injuries, and a broken thumb as a result of the attack.⁶⁾

Police said the victim later learned from a friend that another student had been overheard discussing the attack in class, and the friend gave him the initials observed on the student's monogrammed book bag.⁷⁾

With that information, the victim searched Facebook in an attempt to identify his attacker. When he found a profile of someone who resembled his attacker – whose face the victim told police he had “etched into his mind,” in hopes of identifying him later – police investigated and created a photo spread of possible suspects.⁸⁾

The victim identified his attacker a second time, picking his picture out of a police photo spread of nine Georgetown students. The University provided the pictures used in the photo spread.⁹⁾

Georgetown sophomore Phillip Anderton Cooney, 19, was arrested on September 27, and charged with misdemeanor assault, which carries a jail term of up to 180 days and a $1,000 fine. Police recommended that Cooney receive a hate crimes enhancement, which could mean up to 270 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.¹⁰⁾

Shortly after his arrest, several web sites reported that Cooney is the son of former American Petroleum Institute lobbyist and Bush administration aide Phil Cooney. The elder Cooney was appointed chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Criticized for his lack of environmental experience, and reported to have tampered with data to support the administration's stance on climate change, the elder Cooney resigned and was later hired by ExxonMobil.¹¹⁾

Cooney appeared in court on September 28, and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault and hate crimes charges. Cooney was released on his own recognizance.¹²⁾ Both police and the University continue to investigate the incident. Meanwhile Georgetown has allowed Cooney to return to classes.¹³⁾

On the day of Cooney's arrest, Georgetown University issued the following media advisory.¹⁴⁾

At approximately 1:50 p.m. today the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested a Georgetown University sophomore on campus and charged him with simple assault. After an off campus incident involving two students on September 9, Georgetown University’s Department of Public Safety reported the matter to MPD and then cooperated with MPD in the resulting investigation that led to this arrest. At MPD's request, Georgetown University deferred its internal investigation into the incident pending the completion of the MPD investigation, and will now take appropriate responsive steps consistent with its educational mission and student code of conduct.

Georgetown University takes seriously allegations of intolerance of any kind and is committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and respectful community. As an academic institution, we seek to create an environment that encourages the free exchange of ideas and discussion of serious and difficult issues while balancing our need to protect the privacy of students’ educational records. We have a variety of resources available to members of the campus community to address questions of bias-related incidents and will continue to engage our community in dialogue about these kinds of important issues.

On October 3, members of Georgetown University Pride staged protest on campus to draw attention to what they said was the school's failure to alert students about the anti-gay assault until two weeks after it happened, on the day of Cooney's arrest.¹⁵⁾