Man faces civil rights complaint after assault on gay man – Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Authorities have filed a civil rights complaint against a Manchester resident accused of assaulting a man who was holding hands with another man.

The complaint filed Thursday by the attorney general’s office alleges that a 35-year-old man saw a couple holding hands and walking in Manchester on May 11 and assaulted one of them. He told police he did not approve of homosexuality and objected to their public display of affection, the attorney general’s office said.

A violation of the state’s Civil Rights Act is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. A message left at a phone number for the man was not immediately returned.