On July 29, 2023, O'Shae Sibley — a 28-year-old Black gay dancer and choreographer — was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station while voguing with friends to Beyoncé. He had done nothing wrong. When the group that attacked him began hurling anti-gay and racist slurs, O'Shae tried to de-escalate. "You don't know us, we're just having a good time and enjoying our lives. It's all respect, we're allowed to be here just like you," he told them.

He was killed for it.

A jury has now convicted Dmitriy Popov of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime — along with menacing, aggravated harassment, and criminal possession of a weapon. The verdict confirmed what the video evidence made clear from the start: this was a hate crime. O'Shae Sibley was targeted because he was Black and gay and daring to exist openly and joyfully in public.

Popov faces up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 30.

O'Shae moved to New York to pursue his dream. He was a choreographer, a dancer, a son, and a friend. He tried to keep the peace in the moments before his death. He deserved to live. He deserved to dance. He deserved to be here for Pride Month and every month after it.

We're calling on the sentencing judge to impose the maximum 25-year sentence on Dmitriy Popov and send an unambiguous message that hate crime violence against Black LGBTQ+ people will be met with the full force of the law.