Gay Man Beaten With Chair In Brutal Dallas BBQ Assault Faces His Attacker In Court

"He just kept kicking my head over and over and stomping on it with his feet."
From:  NewNowNext

 The gay man who was brutally assaulted by a man with a wooden chair in a New York City Dallas BBQ restaurant last May was in court yesterday, and took the stand to testify against the man who attacked him.

“I’ve never been attacked like that in my entire life,” Jonathan Snipes told the court.

Last year, Snipes and his boyfriend were dining at the Chelsea restaurant when his assailant, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound man named Bayna-Lehkiem El-Amin, called him a “faggot” for allegedly spilling a margarita on El-Amin’s table.

When Snipes reacted verbally, El-Amin charged him and and cracked the chair over the back of Snipes’ head, causing severe injuries. After the blow, Snipes laid unconscious as El-Amin stomped his head several times before fleeing the restaurant.

Snipes added: “I’m screaming out at him — ’what’s your problem?’ He just kept kicking my head over and over and stomping on it with his feet.”

An attorney for El-Amin claimed Snipes had instigated the argument by throwing the first punch. El-Amin, he claims, reacted in self-defense.

The New York Daily News reports surveillance footage from the restaurant has been crucial in the case. According to reports, spectators in the courtroom “cringed at the sight and sound of the [chair’s] impact.”

El-Amin was charged with assault, but the attack is not considered a hate crime because El-Amin’s lawyer claims he is also gay.

You can check out surveillance video from the assault below.