A gay man running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is speaking out as the victim in an alleged Mission District hate crime after a suspect was arrested.
Trevor Chandler wasn't initially identified in a news release sent by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office July 25, which stated Jeffrey Landon was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Landon, 58, is also charged with a hate crime.
"Mr. Landon is alleged to have shouted anti-LGBTQ slurs numerous times at a man walking on Harrison Street towards 24th Street in the Mission District," the release stated. "The victim ignored Mr. Landon and continued walking on Harrison Street. Mr. Landon then allegedly followed him and continued to shout obscenities and anti-LGBTQ slurs."
Chandler is running to represent District 9, covering the Mission and Portola neighborhoods, on the board. He told the Bay Area Reporter on July 29 that he was on his way to do door-to-door campaigning. Chandler said he doesn't know if Landon knew who he was.
"I called the police as the individual was following me, calling me 'fucking faggot' over and over again," Chandler said.
Things escalated when, according to Chandler and the DA's office, Landon picked up a four foot A-frame sign and threw it at Chandler.
"The sign landed near the victim's foot but did not cause physical injury," the release stated.
"By the time the police arrived, he had left the scene," Chandler said. "As I was giving my statement, he returned to the scene and they arrested him right there."
NBC Bay Area reported on the incident July 26.
In a July 27 letter to supporters, Chandler thanked unnamed neighbors in the Mission who let him shelter in their apartment when the incident happened and others who sought to distract the suspect.
Landon's next court date is an August 6 preliminary hearing, the DA's office stated.
"The district attorney's office moved to detain him pending trial because of the public safety risk he poses," the release stated. "The court granted the motion without prejudice and will hear further arguments on custody at the preliminary hearing. Mr. Landon is currently in custody."
Jenkins herself also gave a statement.
"Hate crimes have no place in San Francisco and will be prosecuted," Jenkins stated. "We are proud of our diversity and will do everything we can to protect the safety of all our people. Hate crimes deeply impact individual victims and the larger community by sowing hate, mistrust and division. We will not allow hate to flourish in San Francisco and stand for justice."
Chandler said he was a bit shaken up by the incident.
"I consider myself a fairly stoic person and I've been surprised at how much it has shaken me," he said. "It was pretty scary."
He said it underscores a major theme of his campaign — the need for public safety.
"This is sadly too common," he said. "Too many folks in San Francisco are experiencing incidents like this, and it reinforces why I'm so serious about safety in my campaign and I'm grateful for the SFPD and the DA, Brooke Jenkins, very quickly acting on this, and I'm going to keep going door-to-door. Nothing's going to stop me from going out to talk to voters."
Chandler was endorsed last week by the San Francisco Democratic Party as its No. 1 pick in the D9 race — longtime Mission neighborhood community leader Roberto Hernandez was the No. 2 pick by the party.
Chandler also thanked one of his opponents, Stephen Torres, who is a queer man, for calling after news got out about the incident.
"It was really, really kind of him, he checked in on me," Chandler said.
Torres confirmed to the B.A.R. July 29 that he'd reached out.
"I reached out to see if Trevor was all right and offer my support," Torres stated. "Our community has been increasingly targeted. ... We must look out for each other. Especially those of us that don't often have a platform like Trevor or myself, like women, elders, youth, and our trans, Black and POC [people of color] siblings."
Another queer candidate in the race, Jackie Fielder, has frequently sparred with Chandler on the campaign trail.
The San Francisco Public Defender's office confirmed July 29 that it is representing Landon.
In a statement July 30, Deputy Public Defender Anthony Gedeon stated, "The district attorney's office has grossly overcharged in this case."
"We are in Mr. Landon's corner on this case, which is in its early stages," Gedeon stated. "It's important to stress — absolutely no one was injured. We're looking into the factors that may have contributed, including Mr. Landon's mental state at the time."
The State of California offers help for victims or witnesses to a hate crime or hate incident. This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
Updated 7/30/24: This article has been updated to include comments from the public defender's office.
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