ADDENDUM::Judge declines to dismiss retaliation lawsuit against Kathryn Knott, father | PhillyVoice

A federal lawsuit alleging Kathryn Knott, her father and members of the Bucks County District Attorney's Office conspired to retaliate against a Montgomery County woman who posted mocking Internet comments can proceed, U.S. District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg ruled last week.

Goldberg declined to dismiss the lawsuit filed last year by Kathleen O'Donnell, a Norristown resident who used the screen name "Knotty is a Tramp" to post disparaging remarks about Knott in the comment sections of online news articles. O'Donnell's username included an unflattering picture of Knott drinking from a bottle of alcohol.

 O'Donnell claims Kathryn Knott and her father, Karl, used his then-position as Chalfont police chief to retaliate against her, alleging they conspired with former Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler and two county detectives to threaten criminal charges. Heckler left office in September 2016, a year before his second term was to end.

Judge declines to dismiss retaliation lawsuit against Kathryn Knott, father | PhillyVoice

ADDENDUM:: Knott claims self-defense in civil case

Like her two co-defendants, Kathryn Knott is contending she acted in self-defense during a high-profile attack on a gay couple in Center City.

Knott made the claim in a June 23 court filing in a civil case brought by plaintiffs Andrew Haught and Zachary Hesse, who are seeking at least $500,000 in damages. The couple is also suing Phillip Williams and Kevin Harrigan for the September 2014 attack at 16th and Chancellor streets; witnesses said the trio used antigay slurs during the incident, which began as a verbal altercation and escalated to a physical attack that left Haught with extensive facial fractures.

In last month’s filing, Wayne Maynard, an attorney for Knott, wrote that she “asserts the affirmative defense of self-defense, and to the extent plaintiffs sustained the injuries and damages as alleged in plaintiffs’ complaint, said injuries and/or damages were sustained while [Knott] was in the process of defending herself from the real and perceived threat of bodily injury arising from the actions of plaintiffs and their friends.”

Knott claims self-defense in civil case

UPDATED::Two Philly Hate Attackers Will Serve No Jail Time – Kathryn Knott Rejects Plea Deal - The New Civil Rights Movement

UPDATE:: Judge won't reduce jail time in gay-bashing incident

Early in March Kathryn Knott submitted a resentencing motion because she was too stupid to realize her idea of privilege wasn't going to work:

The proceeding is not a resentencing hearing, but one in which the judge will consider the merits of the defense's request.

In the motion, Brennan argues there should be parity between the sentence Knott received and those given to her two codefendants.

Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams were sentenced to probation before another judge in October as part of plea deals.

Knott rejected a plea deal offered by the Commonwealth and took her case to trial.

Thankfully Buck county "Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington called appropriate the five- to 10-month prison term she imposed on Kathryn Knott, and chided Knott for a "complete disconnection with the incident itself and a failure to take personal responsibility herself for the crimes she was convicted of."

UPDATE::  Kathryn Knott seeks resentencing hearing in gay-bashing conviction

Kathryn Knott is asking Judge Roxanne Covington to grant her a resentencing hearing.

Attorney Bill Brennan, who replaced Knott's former defense attorney Louis Busico, filed a motion for reconsideration Wednesday with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Covington sentenced Knott last week to 5-to-10 months in prison for her role in the 2014 beating of a gay couple in Center City. Knott also received two years of probation, a $2,000 fine and was ordered to attend anger management classes, keep out of Philadelphia County during her probation and stay away from the victims, Andrew Haught and Zachary Hesse.

Knott was taken to Riverside Correctional Facility immediately following her Feb. 8 sentencing hearing.

Brennan said late Wednesday afternoon that he is requesting the court consider alternatives to incarceration, contending that Knott's sentencing should be more rehabilitative and better attempt to heal the wounds caused by the assault.

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Kathryn Knott, Philip Williams, and Kevin Harrigan reportedly have been offered a plea deal that includes community service and probation but zero time in jail. The three were charged with the Sept. 11, 2014 anti-gay hate attack against a Philadelphia same-sex couple that landed one of the men in the hospital with a broken jaw that had to be wired shut for nearly two months.

The trio of accused hate attackers were arrested September 24, 2014 and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person (REAP), for the attack. Williams and Harrigan were also charged with conspiracy.

Today in court Williams and Harrigan accepted a plea deal that, as Philly Gay News reports, includes community service and probation but no jail time. Kathryn Knott reportedly rejected the deal and will stand trial.
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Local ABC News Affiliate WPVI confirms those details, adding, "The plea deal was at the wish of the victims, according to the district attorney's office. The victims said they felt safe in Center City before the attack."


BREAKING: Two Philly Hate Attackers Will Serve No Jail Time – Kathryn Knott Rejects Plea Deal - The New Civil Rights Movement

ADDENDUM::Judge rules on alleged gay-basher's tweets

REMEMBER THOSE alleged anti-gay tweets posted by Kathryn Knott, one of the three Bucks County defendants charged in last year's assault on a gay couple in Center City?

Well, they can be introduced at Knott's assault trial next month, a judge ruled Tuesday.

A Common Pleas jury is expected to hear that Knott, 25, of Southampton, had posted the following on her @kathryn_knott Twitter account,,,

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Knott faces trial on a count of conspiracy, two counts of aggravated assault and related offenses in the September 2014 attack on a gay couple in Center City. Jury selection is expected to take place Dec. 9. Opening statements would likely begin the next day.

Michael Barry, chief of the District Attorney's Central Division, told Judge Roxanne Covington during a pretrial motions hearing that Knott had posted "a number of tweets which clearly indicate a general dislike to a disgust of gays and lesbians and people of other backgrounds."

Judge rules on alleged gay-basher's tweets

See also::  Kathryn Knott’s Twitter Feed Focus of Court Hearing

UPDATE::Court Date for Accused Philadelphia Gay Bashers Delayed | Advocate.com

Three suspects accused in last year's gay-bashing attack of two men in Philadelphia asked for a continuance in court Thusrday, as their attorneys work out the terms of a plea agreement with the prosecution.

Kevin Harrigan, Kathryn Knott. and Philip Williams will return to court September 17 to face charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and conspiracy.

Zachary Hess and Andrew Haught were walking in downtown Philadelphia in September 2014 when they passed a large group of people who began taunting them and acting aggressively. Egged on by the others, Harrigan, Knott, and Williams were caught on video attacking the gay men.

Court Date for Accused Philadelphia Gay Bashers Delayed | Advocate.com

UPDATE::Accused Anti-Gay Hate Attackers Offered Plea Deal By Philadelphia District Attorney - The New Civil Rights Movement

Lawyers for Williams and Knott confirmed their clients are considering an offer from the Philadelphia district attorney, though details of the offer were not disclosed by either side.

Cameron Kline, spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, told Phillymag.com that the office does not comment on plea offers, but observed that if convicted on all charges, the maximum sentence could be as high as 34 to 68 years in prison. Though no one expects the three first-time offenders to be given the maximum, the specter of decades behind bars could be a strong incentive for the three not to roll the dice with a jury.

Chuck Peruto, a Piladelphia criminal defense attorney contacted by Phillymag.com speculated that the sentence could be in the 1-4 year range. 

Accused Anti-Gay Hate Attackers Offered Plea Deal By Philadelphia District Attorney - The New Civil Rights Movement

Three Philly Gay-Bashing Suspects Will Face Trial | Advocate.com

Although I haven't posted about this incident, I have been following the case as it travels through the court system. I am glad to see that these three little fuckers will face a judge,,,

The three suspects in the attack on a gay couple in Philadelphia in September will go to trial early next year.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Judge Charles Hayden said there was sufficient evidence to prosecute defendants Kathryn Knott, Kevin Harrigan, and Philip Williams on felony assault and conspiracy charges, among others, reports Philadelphia Magazine. They will be arraigned, that is, officially called before the court, January 6,

Prosecutors called victim Zachary Hesse and witness Geoff Nagle to testify at the hearing regarding the attack in Philadelphia's heavily gay Center City neighborhood. Hesse and his boyfriend, Andrew Haught, were confronted on the street by a crowd of people the night of September 11. Hesse testified that after a short exchange of words, Harrigan asked if he was “a dirty faggot,” which led to Hesse being shoved and shoving back, reports TV station WCAU.

“I approached him and said, ‘Maybe I am a dirty fucking faggot,” Hesse said. “He pushed me, I pushed him.”

[,,,]
Response by politicians and residents to the attack was swift and strong, demanding that Pennsylvania hate-crimes law be expanded to cover crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. Because the state law lacks this provision, the attack is not being investigated as a hate crime despite the use of slurs to start the altercation.

Three Philly Gay-Bashing Suspects Will Face Trial | Advocate.com