All three suspects in the Philadelphia hate crime attack that drew national attention last September have maintained their innocence in a pre-trial court hearing this week.
Kevin Harrigan, Kathryn Knott and Philip Williams were all charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person after the high-profile attack. Harrigan and Williams were also charged with criminal conspiracy. The trio reportedly attacked a gay couple, calling one of them a “dirty, fucking faggot” and beating them, sending one victim to hospital.
“All three defendants steadfastly maintain their innocence,” announced Knott’s lawyer Louis Busico during yesterday’s hearing. He revealed that at the next hearing, on April 16th, the defense intends to introduce a motion to quash the charges on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute them.
No date has been set for the main trial, and may depend on the outcome of April’s hearing.