A Staten Island woman buying pot from a local deli got into a misunderstanding with the cashier — who ended up macing her, dragging her outside by her hair, kicking her in the head and mistakenly calling her trans.
A Staten Island woman buying pot from a local deli got into a misunderstanding with the cashier — who ended up macing her, dragging her outside by her hair, kicking her in the head and mistakenly calling her trans.
Of course it qualifies as a hate crime. Hate crime legislation is entirely about what you think inside your head as you commit some other crime - hence the word “hate”.
It’s not entirely about what you think, it can also be about what any reasonable person might think. You could genuinely think you’re just joking, but if it’s so bad that no one else would reasonably think it was a joke you could still be found guilty.