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Dmitriy Popov, currently on trial for the 2023 murder of gay dancer and choreographer O’Shae Sibley, testified on May 27, 2026, that he acted in self-defense. Sibley was killed at a Brooklyn gas station after he and his friends were harassed by a group shouting anti-LGBTQ and racist slurs.
Prosecutors allege that after others left the scene, Popov remained to record the encounter on his phone before stabbing Sibley in the chest. Popov, who faces charges including second-degree murder and manslaughter as hate crimes, denied using any slurs during the incident.
Despite surveillance footage showing Sibley and his friends attempting to de-escalate the situation and walk away, Popov insisted that he was “scared” and that Sibley had initiated physical contact. Prosecutors challenged this account, noting that it contradicts the testimony of other witnesses present at the scene. Religious rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people feeds the hatred toward Queer folk.
Even those who are not religious, who commit violence against queer people, often do so without a rebuke from religious leaders and the community. Sunshine Cathedral is a welcoming place for LGBTQ people and is LGBTQ led, and, importantly, we will not remain silent while homophobia and transphobia continue to cost people their lives.
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