Arrest made in spitting incident that police say was hate-motivated assault on drag king

A charge hasbeen laid in connection to a spitting incident in August that police believe was a hate-motivated crime against a drag king.

It occurred on Aug. 1 around 1 p.m., whena man spat on a drag king who was recording a video on the rainbow crosswalk at the intersection of Centre Street and Stephen Avenue.

Police said at the time that they werelooking for the three men captured on camera in relation to the incident.

On Oct. 15, Craig Brendon McGillis, 37, was arrested with the assistance of the Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service.

He has been charged with one count of assault, the Calgary Police Servicesaid in a news release Tuesday.

CPS did not disclose if they were searching for any additional suspects. Police collected surveillance videofrom the areaand a photo of the suspect was released to the public. Information from the public helped police identify a suspect.

"Hate-motivated crimes are recognizable crimes, like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on one of nine personal characteristics of the victim," CPS said in the release.

"These types of offences not only harm the victim but can have larger impacts in the community. They can leave others who share the same characteristic concerned that they, too, may be targeted, which undermines their feeling of safety in our city."

The incident was one of three hate-motivated crimes police identifiedthat took place on the August longweekend in Calgary.