Police probe vile homophobic threats sent to gay couple who confronted Ivanka Trump
Police are investigating homophobic threats and a suspicious substance sent to the couple who confronted incoming First Daughter Ivanka Trump on a plane.
Brooklyn lawyer Dan Goldstein and Hunter College professor Matthew Lasner were booted off a flight last month after a minor confrontation with the future First Daughter – who is expected to take up a key official role in her father’s administration.
Their family was removed from a flight after Goldstein calmly told Ms Trump: “Your father is ruining the country”.
JetBlue confirmed at the time that no action was taken against them and they were booked “on the next available flight.”
However, following the incident, far-right Trump supporters leaked Lasner and Goldstein’s address and contact details online – branding them “gay bullies” and targeting them with a harassment campaign.
After their address was leaked, the couple have received a number of extreme homophobic hate letters to their home and work addresses, including a package of faeces and a letter that was coated in a suspicious substance.
One letter said: “Next time you and your fag husband die. God hates fags.”
New York Police Department officers confirmed they were called to an incident at Hunter College on Tuesday over the unidentified substance, which was luckily determined to be harmless.
Police are working to track the source of the letters, which are being treated as a homophobic hate crime.
A spokesperson told the New York Daily News the letters contained “various disparaging remarks regarding homosexuals”.
Hunter College confirmed in a statement: “Hunter College contacted the NYPD immediately after noticing a suspicious package. This is an ongoing NYPD investigation and Hunter is continuing to cooperate.”
It has so far ignored a campaign calling for Lasner and Goldstein to be sacked.
