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Attacker Said Gay Couple Was 'Ruining This Neighborhood,' DA Says

 Thomas Clabough attacked Daniel Lennox-Choate and Larry Lennox-Choate III in a SoHo bodega, police said.
Thomas Clabough attacked Daniel Lennox-Choate and Larry Lennox-Choate III in a SoHo bodega, police said.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

CIVIC CENTER — A man accused of attacking a gay West Point grad and his husband at a bodega in SoHo went on a homophobic, profanity-laced tirade at the couple in which he accused them of "ruining this neighborhood," according to court documents.

Thomas Clabough, 57, of Corona, was hit with two felony charges for assault in the third degree as a hate crime and aggravated harassment in the second degree after attacking Daniel Lennox-Choate and Larry Lennox-Choate III while they were shopping at SoHo News International at 186 Prince St., prosecutors said.

"F——g f——s!"  Clabough shouted at the couple while heading into the Prince Street bodega to buy beer about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, "This used to be a nice neighborhood. F——g f——s are ruining this neighborhood!"

Clabough punched Daniel Lennox-Choate in the face, police said, leaving his mouth and nose cut up and bleeding.

The Lennox-Choates are both military veterans and were the first gay couple to be married at West Point.

In a Facebook post, Larry Lennox-Choate III said he retaliated when Clabough attacked his husband.

"[The attacker] left covered in his own blood with his tail between his legs after I handled the situation and tossed him in the street like the coward loser he is," he wrote.

Daniel suffered from headaches for at least a week after the attack, according to court documents.

At his arraignment Wednesday night, prosecutors asked a judge to set Clabough's bail at $5,000, but the judge decided to release the Queens man until his next court date on Sept. 10.

Clabough's attorney, Russ Novack, said he was "gratified the judge chose to let him out."

Police tracked Clabough down after they got a tip that he worked as a doorman on the Upper West Side 15 years ago.

An employee at the Riverside Drive building identified Clabough based on a photo taken by the Lennox-Choates, and NYPD detectives used Department of Motor Vehicles records to track Clabough to his Corona home, police said.