If one good thing has emerged from recent news, it’s that Salt Lake City police have caught the man who allegedly attacked Sal Trejo for being gay. Like all things in our current news cycle, however, this still isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Carlo Alazo has been charged with one count of threatening to use a weapon in a fight, as well as two counts of assault. These are misdemeanor charges, and notably, he is not being charged with a hate crime.
To understand why the lack of a hate crime charge is especially frustrating in this circumstance, let’s review the original allegations in this case. As Trejo first reported to KUTV, the altercation occurred around 1:45 AM on Feb. 17, when he and his friends were waiting for an Uber outside of a bar. The suspect, Alazo, allegedly approached the group and began acting strangely. They felt concerned, so they begin filming him.
Alazo asked Trejo, “Are you gay, though?”
Trejo said, "Oh, I am."
The suspect responded, "Oh, then you're gay?"
As Trejo started to answer, saying, ”Yeah, but you called me a [faggot]," the suspect punched him.
Here is the tweet of the video, along with a statement Trejo posted:
In addition to this, Alazo allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs, pulled a knife on Trejo, and shoved one of the victim’s female friends. He then reportedly ran to his BMW and drove off. Trejo speculated that Alazo was intoxicated at the time. Trejo posted the video to Twitter, where it was shared thousands of times. He posted about the incident in hopes that someone would identify the attacker.
So now the suspect has been caught. That’s a great step in the right direction. But what about this doesn’t qualify as a hate crime? Basically, it comes down to a loophole in the law.
Utah’s hate crime law doesn’t protect specific groups, which is something that many activists are trying to change. In fact, Utah’s hate crime law doesn’t mention sexual orientation at all. Utah Senate Bill SB103 would explicitly extend protections to marginalized people who are targeted because of their sexual orientation, race, gender identity, and national origin.
In a statement, Trejo stressed the importance of changing Utah’s protections, noting, "This week I was a victim of a hate crime. Who's next? The time for lawmakers to take action and protect Utahns from hate crimes is long overdue.”
“The assailant is not being charged with a hate crime,” explained Troy Williams, the executive director of Equality Utah. “Because Utah’s current statute isn’t working. It’s broken. It’s unenforceable.”
"If there's something good that can come from this assault, it’s that we can mobilize our community, and mobilize multiple communities to come together and pass a comprehensive, inclusive hate crime statue this legislative session,” Williams continued.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill explained that “even if we wanted to apply it, it’s not a statute that we go to or would be applicable.” Gill notes that in 20 years, in spite of hundreds of allegations, there hasn’t been a successful state prosecution of a hate crime.