100 turn out for Lowell vigil against hate crimes

More than 100 people turned out for a vigil June 7 at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Lowell to show unity in response to a violent attack on a transwoman June 1 that left the victim, Janine Nickola, with cuts on her arms and legs and part of her lip hanging from her face. The Middlesex District Attorney's office has charged the three alleged assailants with a hate crime, and the speakers at the vigil, including Lowell Mayor William Martin, Jr., City Councilor and congressional candidate Eileen Donoghue and state Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, all sounded the same message that Lowell would not tolerate hate crimes. Nickola, who attended the vigil but did not speak, said she was heartened by the turnout and the response from the community.

"I'm beside myself. I'm so glad all these people came out to support victims. I'm not even looking at this as for me. This is for people [who are victims of hate crimes] who could not come forward," said Nickola.

In initial press accounts of the attack Nickola was identified as a gay man and referred to as James. In speaking with Bay Windows and other press at the vigil Nickola came out as transgender and identified herself as Janine. The Massachusetts hate crimes statute includes crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias but not gender identity or expression. Corey Welford, spokesperson for Middlesex District Attorney Gerald Leone, Jr., said that the hate crimes law targets the motivation of the attacker, not the identity of the victim. He said Leone's office places a high priority prosecuting the alleged assailants, Jonathan Artis, Jeffrey Buchanan, and Jules Ruggs, all 19, to send the message that hate crimes will not be tolerated.

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is currently advocating for the passage of a bill introduced this session to add gender identity and expression to the state's hate crimes laws.

Nickola said that the three attackers shouted homophobic slurs at her before and during the attack. She said she was walking home down Bridge Street the evening of June 1 when she heard someone shout "faggot." She turned around and saw three men. She kept walking quickly, but they kept shouting the word "faggot" as she tried to escape.

"All of a sudden I was hit from the back in my head, and when I turned around I was just clobbered with punches and pushes and kicks," said Nickola. "I was kicked to the ground, and then they ran. And I ran to the police station, banged on the door, my lip was hanging off the side of my face."

Nickola, 22, is a lifelong Lowell resident, and she said she has been open about being transgender since her early teens, wearing makeup in school by age 14. She said while she has been on the receiving end of slurs and negative comments before, she had never been physically assaulted prior to the June 1 attack.

The police caught the alleged assailants about 20 minutes after the attack, and they have been charged with a hate crime, assault and battery and mayhem. Nickola praised the Lowell Police and said they were very responsive and quick to understand that the assault was a hate crime.

Mayor Martin commended local law enforcement during his speech to attendees for their swift response. He also praised the crowd at the vigil for turning out and sending a message that the people of Lowell oppose hate-fueled violence.

"As disturbing as the events of the last week were, I think we can all take some pride in the fact that these are extraordinarily rare occurrences in our city, and I think it's in part because of the goodwill of people like you gathered here tonight to know that it's just not something we tolerate here in the city of Lowell," said Martin.

Donoghue echoed his comments.

"One thing we do know is that the hatred of a few cannot trounce the unity that we have here tonight, cannot change the unity in terms of the city of Lowell, all of you here making it clear and reaffirming that Lowell is a welcoming place, that the horrific hatred that we witnessed this week cannot be tolerated, will not be tolerated here in the city of Lowell or anywhere in this great nation," she said.

Sen. Panagiotakos called on the district attorney as well as the state attorney general's office to investigate the crime and prosecute it to the full extent of the law.

"An example has to be set, because if you don't set that example then it will embolden the next person who decides to act out on this type of hatred," said Panagiotakos.

The Greater Lowell Equality Alliance (GLEA), a local affiliate of MassEquality, organized the vigil. GLEA co-founder Kate Tyndall said that while her organization's primary focus is on advocating for marriage equality, she was pleased by the diverse turnout, including by Panagiotakos, who supports the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

"I see it as a positive for sure, just the fact that regardless of how people feel about marriage equality they were here to emphasize the unity of our community. And that was what's important," said Tyndall.

Nickola said she hoped that the publicity around the attack would send a message to the community.

"I hope to send a clear message that this will not be tolerated," said Nickola. "It's 2007, and I don't even care if it was 1900, nothing like this should be happening. We're all human. We're all God's children."