An Oregon man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release for attempting to run over three people with a car as part of a week-long crime spree targeting the LGBTQI+ community around Boise, Idaho, in October 2022.
According to court records, on Oct. 8, 2022, while at the Boise Public Library Main Branch in downtown Boise, Matthew Alan Lehigh, 31, approached a transgender library employee, called her a slur, punched her and threatened to stab her.
A member of the library’s security staff intervened, and Lehigh fled into the parking lot. When the security guard attempted to speak to Lehigh in the parking lot, Lehigh got into a car and suddenly accelerated it toward the guard, intending to collide with him.
The guard narrowly escaped being struck by jumping behind a concrete barricade at the last moment, and Lehigh fled the scene.
Four days later, while sitting in his car in a public parking lot elsewhere in Boise, Lehigh saw two women walking together towards another vehicle.
Assuming that the women were lesbians, Lehigh began shouting threats and slurs at them, then suddenly accelerated his car toward the women, intending to collide with them. The women jumped out of the path of Lehigh’s oncoming car, which struck the other vehicle at significant speed.
On June 15, 2022, Lehigh pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act for the vehicular assault on the library security guard, and a second felony violation for the vehicular assault on the two women.
As part of his plea agreement, Lehigh also admitted that he was responsible for three other instances of anti-LGBTQI+ vandalism and violence that occurred in Boise during early October 2022.
Specifically, he admitted to setting fire to a rainbow-striped “pride” flag attached to a residential property in North Boise, breaking several windows at a commercial building jointly occupied by an LGBTQI+ community organization and an LGBTQI+-affirming religious congregation and punching a grocery store customer after calling him an anti-LGBTQI+ slur.
Read the full press release.
Scottie's Playtime 
Hi Scottie;
I read things like this and am back to the “republicans have a lot to answer to”. You know, there was a famous man, gave a famous speech some time ago about how one would be known by his actions rather than the color of his skin. And, of course, the old fearful set declared that a horrible statement.
Now we come to this post trump world where conduct seems irrelevant provided you wear the right hat, vote the right way, say the right words. I have to wonder – and no new idea here: If a man stands for truth, justice, freedom, love, caring, kindness, hope, peace, he is in every way to be a welcome neighbor, welcome guest, welcome friend, then why does his sexual interest become an issue?
I would argue that if someone is so stuck on that latter issue to the reduction of the other things mentioned, you really shouldn’t trust them.
Now, compare that with what we are seeing. Yeah.
hugs;
randy
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Well said.
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Hi Randy. I agree with Ali, well said. I have to think if having gay people freely exist and not be socially stigmatized in someway effects you, that means you have those feelings also but are afraid of them. Truly straight men really don’t care about if two gay men have sex, they don’t care. I have been in locker rooms with straight men, the only ones that were worried were the old fat ones that had those thoughts and wanted to deny it. As we have seen, some of the most virulent hate spewing anti-gay men tend to later get caught with some kind of same sex / gay scandal.
On being known for your character. More attention should be paid to how people act, to their characters, rather than the slurs that haters throw at them for what ever reason. I shutter to think how people would look at me if they judged me by what the hell spawned siblings who harmed me so much spewed about me. I prefer to make my own judgement on people, not have others tell me what the person is, just show me what they do and say. Loves and hugs. Scottie
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Hi Randy. I agree with Ali. Well said. To your point, today it seems to republicans it doesn’t matter the context of your character but really the color of your hat, or your skin. The idea that who you are, what you do, what your worth is could be based solely on skin color is entirely against what King was saying but what the republican right wants to promote, the way they are twisting those time honored words to prove that white racism is good is more than insulting, it is nauseating. Randy, the right is furious and grasping at straws, trying to create issues and problems as the US public moves further away from their hateful views. Hugs, loves. Scottie
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