Anti-gay harassment incident goes viral via YouTube

St. Paul, Minn. — A YouTube video that shows a group of teenage boys harassing a man amid a torrent of anti-gay slurs in Minneapolis has been widely circulated online this week.

In the video, Adam Schreifels, 37, is seen walking along Grant Avenue in downtown Minneapolis shortly before 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Schreifels said he was leaving the annual Pride Festival in Loring Park with his friend Justin Grey Day when a group of about 10 teenage boys moved toward them.

"As we approached the curb to cross the street, one of them asked me, 'Are you gay'?" said Schreifels, of St. Louis Park. "I said 'yes, I am and proud of it'."

That's when Grey Day, 35, pulled out his digital camera -- which he said he had taken to the festival -- and started to record the exchange.

In the video, the boys can be heard saying "I hate gay people," "gay is not the way" and "gay is not good." They followed Schreifels for about a block, and at one point, started tossing rocks at Schreifels, he said.

At one point during the exchange, Schreifels said he asked the boys where they were from, and they said they were from Somalia.

Omar Jamal, a Somali community activist, issued a statement on Tuesday denouncing the boys' actions.

"It is unacceptable behavior to harass someone based on their sexual orientation," Jamal said.

Jamal, who serves as the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, also said some members of the Somali community had sent him the link to the video suggesting that Schreifels provoked the boys as a way to get publicity.

See Anti-gay harassment incident goes viral via YouTube Minnesota Public Radio