October 18, 2015
Bisexual comedian Margaret Cho voiced her displeasure with plea deals reached with two suspects in the beating of two gay men in Philadelphia last year.
Her outrage initially led to a beef with Philadelphia Police that was settled once misunderstandings were worked out.
Earlier this week, two of the three co-defendants in the case pleaded guilty to charges of assault and conspiracy.
EARLIER STORY: Bucks pair plead to roles in Center City beating of gay men
The two Bucks County men will have to perform community service for LGBT organizations and have been banned from Center City.
Cho, who has frequently spoken out on LGBT issues and makes them part of her act, was upset with those deals.
She directed her anger towards the Philadelphia Police Department and the other defendant in the case, 24-year-old Kathryn Knot, in a series of tweets.
Bully the bullies with prison. #endgaybashing #phillyhatecrime
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
Gay bashing is a crime that should be punished to the full extent of the law. Apologies are not enough. Prison+apology+civil suit = justice
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
@PhillyPolice are you proud that you raised your daughter to gay bash? Kathryn Knott needs to be in prison for good. She'll kill next time.
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
.@PhillyPolice probation and community service are not punishment for deadly gay bashing. I don't care if Kathryn Knott is your daughter.
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
Hopefully she will go to prison for this horrific crime. Who cares if her dad is police chief? He should be ashamed. https://t.co/U1SNvGhVGV
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
.@PhillyPolice probation and community service are not punishment for deadly gay bashing. I don't care if Kathryn Knott is your daughter.
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
Knott did not plead guilty to charges of assault and conspiracy and did not accept a plea deal. She will go to trial at a yet to be determined date.
An Upper Southampton native, she is the daughter of Chalfont Township Police Chief Karl Knott but not of a Philadelphia Police Department officer.
The department responded, saying they understood her frustration but clarifying that Knott is not the child of a Philly Police officer and that they do not prosecute cases, therefore having no say in the sentencing process.
@margaretcho Ma'am, understand your frustration, but to clarify 1. That defendant is not "[our] daughter", 2. We do not prosecute cases.
— Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) October 17, 2015
Cho dismissed the tweets and questioned the department's understanding of what a Hate Crime was and asked if it was important to them.
Police responded saying it was important and notified her of the legislation that was passed by City Council in direct response to the 2014 incident.
Then, once the department and Cho got on the same page, there seemed to be some common ground. She thanked police for arresting the suspects and for clarifying her questions while police assured her they were committed to addressing hate crimes against the LGBT community.
Cho did take the opportunity to call for more stringent laws against hate crimes in all 50 states.
Hatecrime laws don't cover LGBT bashing in all states. We need change4this. In #phillyhatecrime-laws were finally implemented 2 include us.
— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 17, 2015
