(Photos courtesy Sue-Bee Laginess)
UPDATED: McQueens says security footage shows that the couple initiated the incident and that no hate crime occurred. Read the follow-up story here.
UPDATED Oct. 4, 4 p.m.: This story has been updated with an official statement from McQueens.
ORLANDO | Alfredo Toledo was looking to celebrate his birthday with his boyfriend, Austin Young, and some of his friends in Downtown Orlando Sept. 23. The evening turned less celebratory, however, when the couple say they were harassed and then assaulted by employees at a nightclub because they were dancing with each other.
Toledo and Young were at McQueens Social Lounge, located at 33 E. Pine St. in Orlando, just before midnight on Sept. 24 with several friends dancing when they were approached by one of the club’s security guards.
“We were just dancing with all of our friends, we’re all dancing together,” Toledo says. “I was dancing on my girlfriends and then I ended up dancing on him and honestly I would never say how we were dancing was inappropriate dancing. It was just like I was hugging him and kind of just laying on him, but it was all of our friends together.”
When the security guard reached the couple, Toledo says the man smacked him in the back and said “You guys need to get a room or you all are going to get kicked out.”
“It was strange because I have been there many times before and danced way worse with my girlfriends and they never said anything,” Toledo says.
In fact, the couple says that whenever they are at McQueens, they make it a point most nights not to dance with each other to avoid making anyone uncomfortable.
“We’re not at a gay bar so we just avoid it but that night it was my birthday and I wanted to dance with him,” Toledo says. “It was just me laying against him like, me laying on his chest, and that was it. It was nothing crazy.”
Young started to argue with the security guard after seeing him hit Toledo.
“The guy hit me and [Austin] was defending me and I was trying to calm him down at first because I didn’t want to ruin the night,” Toledo says. “But we were telling them if it was a guy and a girl, you guys wouldn’t be saying anything. We weren’t yelling, just talking loudly because the music was so loud in there. Then other people got involved and it started to become this big thing.”
According to the couple, several other security guards and bartenders joined in and were arguing with Toledo and Young, telling them they were getting thrown out.
“We were like okay, we need to get out,” Young says. “We said you don’t need to throw us out, we are leaving.”
“We were walking backwards towards the stairs and they were walking towards us but we were still kind of going back and forth and our backs were turned to the stairs,” Toledo adds. “When we got to the door [at the top of the stairs], I kind of tipped over on the first step and I fell my knee.”
That’s when, Toledo says, he looked up and was kicked in his face. The force sent him back into Young and they both toppled down the stairs.
“I looked up and the guy was just like ready to hit me again and so I was like, no, we need to get out so I ran out,” he says. “I literally ran from there because I was so scared and he was kind of just running behind me and I was just so upset.”
“This is a person that didn’t know what’s going on, he had just gotten there,” Young added.
“He wasn’t even involved,” Toledo continued. “He didn’t know what was going on, he never asked what was going on. He just kicked me down the stairs.”
At first Toledo says he just wanted to let it go but his friends convinced him that he needed to report it to the police. They found a police officer patrolling downtown and reported the incident.
“We told them what happened and they had us write statements,” Young says. “So we each wrote statements separately with the cops. They said that they were gonna do an investigation and go over there and check the security cameras which I really hope that they got it right away.”
In a statement, the Orlando Police Department advised that they are actively investigating this incident.
“Orlando is a diverse, welcoming, multicultural community that is committed to the equality of its residents,” OPD stated. “We will continue to celebrate our diversity while putting equity and inclusion at the forefront. If you are a LGBTQ+ victim of, or witness to a crime, please report the incident to the police, either during, or immediately after it occurs by calling 911. The mission of the OPD Safe Place Initiative is to provide the LGBTQ community with easily accessible safety information and safe places throughout the city they can turn to if they are the victims of crime. Anyone who seeks solace in a Safe Place location can be assured that if they are the victim of a crime, police will promptly be called. In addition to the 911 police response to these incidents, OPD has an LGBTQ+ liaison officer, Sergeant Amanda White, who has built partnerships within the LGBTQ community and is a resource for any questions or concerns our residents or visitors might have.”
The two first went home then, after pain in Young’s shoulder started getting worse, they went to the hospital to get checked out.
“By the time I got to the hospital, I was in tears,” Young says. “After a while the doctor came in and they took x-rays and found my shoulder was broken.”
Watermark reached out and spoke with Matt Terrasi — also known as Matty Bullitt, owner of McQueens as well as the Bullitt Bar located on the building’s first floor, on Oct. 3. The couple originally identified the individual who kicked Toledo from Instagram photos, mistaking the person in the photo as Terrasi.
“I think maybe they mixed me up with one of the other managers but I wasn’t even there that night and only found out there was an incident the following week,” Terrasi says. “I was told these guys were asked to leave by security for dancing inappropriately, they wouldn’t leave, an argument happened and so they had to be escorted out. If anyone is behaving inappropriately then our security has been asked to ask them to stop, regardless of whether they are straight or gay. This situation had nothing to do with whether the gentlemen were gay or not gay.”
Terrasi says a staff member got between the couple and security which led to a fight in the stairwell and that is all the information he has right now. He says he is working with police and that McQueens will conduct there own internal investigation to find out what happened.
Terrasi sent a statement about the incident to Watermark on Oct. 4.
“We strive to offer a welcoming, safe, and fun environment for all of our guests at all times,” Terrasi said. “We have a long history of being extremely supportive of the LGBTQ+ community in which several members of our team are active. As always, we fully cooperate with the authorities on any investigation related to our venues and will take further action as appropriate. A preliminary review of the matter shows that one of the gentlemen in question, while exiting the premises, actively assaulted one of our staff members multiple times. He was quickly escorted off the property. We will not tolerate inappropriate behavior or violence from any of our team members or guests.”
Terrasi said he will continue to communicate with Watermark as their investigation continues.
Toledo and Young say they are speaking with an attorney for a possible lawsuit.
“I don’t want this to happen to somebody else,” Young says. “I never thought I would witness something like this let alone it happening to me.”
Bee-Dazzled Pressure Washing business owner Sue-Bee Laginess, Young’s employer, has started a GoFundMe to help him pay his personal and doctor bills since he is unable to work. If you would like to donate go here.
