Politician evicts gay couple, says she ‘never should have rented to faggots’
A gay couple have accused a local politician of using homophobic physical and verbal abuse while evicting them from her property.
Joshua Melton and James Feltner had been living in a townhouse owned by councilwoman Esther Thompson for nine months, before she abruptly asked the pair to leave in June.
The couple say that Thompson only evicted them because they are gay, telling them “she should have never rented to the faggots.”
Melton told local TV station WYMT that as she kicked them out, she also struck him across the face.
After receiving medical treatment, Melton filed a criminal complaint against Thompson.
However, when she found out about it, the councilwoman reportedly told the couple that she “owned the police,” who illegally took part in the eviction, according to The Kentucky Equality Federation (KEF).
KEF – which is assisting the couple in their legal proceedings – also alleges that the county attorney who handled, and later dismissed, Melton’s assault charge violated ethics codes because he is also Thompson’s private lawyer.
In addition to both the county attorney and police officials’ inappropriate involvement in the case, Thompson reportedly listed a fake corporation on the couple’s lease and mishandled their deposit.
The Equality Federation will seek “the termination or severe remedial action of the accused Manchester Police Officers involved, the resignation or removal of the accused City Council Member from office and an investigation into the ethical practices of the Clay County Attorney.”
“Discrimination, we won’t tolerate it in any form in any part of the Commonwealth,” Equality Federation spokesman Jordan Palmer said in a statement.
“It’s just unfortunate that it’s happened here in Clay County, but we will see the case through to the end until justice is served.”
Thompson wrote in court documents that she evicted Feltner and Melton because they had six dogs and ruined a carpet, but the couple denies that, saying they had three chihuahuas which their landlady knew about.
In June, a straight YouTube star was wrongly evicted after making a gaming video for his popular channel, because his landlord thought he was having loud, gay sex.
