Gay Salt Lake City Club Hit With Flaming Projectiles

A gay club in Salt Lake City was hit by a shower of flaming projectiles while patron were gathered in an outdoor courtyard.  The identity of the assailants and their motives remain unknown.  What is known is that the attack had to be deliberate and that it was obvious to the attackers that people were gathered in the courtyard and might have been injured.  Thankfully, no one was injured.  Both the Salt Lake Tribune and ABC 4 News have details.  First, highlights from the Tribune coverage:

Salt Lake City fire investigators Thursday were searching for people responsible for launching flaming debris at a gay nightclub.

Fire spokesman Jasen Asay said about 12:35 a.m., three or four people in their late teens or early 20s launched multiple flaming projectiles at Club JAM, 751 N. 300 West. The projectiles started the fence on fire, but club patrons acted quickly and dumped pitchers of water on the flames, Asay said.

 Others chased the culprits, who fled to a red or maroon Pontiac Grand Am sedan and drove off.

ABC 4 News has more:

A crowd at a popular Salt Lake City gay club is attacked by flaming projectiles.

Fernando Noriega explains to ABC 4 what happened early Thursday morning at Club JAM at 751 North 300 West. "So we had at least 30 to 40 people here,” said Noriega. “Everybody’s congregated to about here. All the tables were set up. It was very busy.”

Noriega says everyone was having a great time until something on fire came flying over the fence. "All the sudden we saw something bright,” said Noriega. “I thought they were fireworks on the floor."

The crowd quickly realized that wasn't the case when several more flaming projectiles went flying through the crowd.

Noriega said, "Out of a group of 30 people, all of those flares to be hitting at the same time we don't know how, everyone was very lucky."

 Both Mower and Noriega say there's no way you couldn't have known the patio was packed.

Noriega said, "Even from here you can't miss the fact there's lots of people there. You can hear the people; see the people so you know there are people in there. It was definitely malicious. They definitely knew what they were doing."

Tony Perkins may be trying to milk the shooting at FRC headquarters to claim it is Christians who are persecuted, but the reality is that it's the Christianists like Perkins, Peter Sprigg, Maggie Gallagher and others who set the stage for almost constant attacks on gays somewhere around the country any given week.