In Wisconsin, a La Crosse official said incomplete state laws prevented them from charging a man with a hate crime after he attacked a transgender couple in a public park, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

La Crosse resident Travis Crawford is facing felony counts of substantial battery with intent to bodily harm and bail jumping after he was arrested in Copeland Park on July 20.

The criminal complaint stated Crawford approached a couple in the park and started yelling at them, accusing them of having sex and calling them an anti-gay slur. The complaint said Crawford punched the victim in the face and kicked him while he was on the ground. The report identified the victim as "a juvenile under the age of 18 who was struck by an adult over the age of 18" and a transgender man.

In a press release, Mayor Mitch Reynolds said La Crosse Police requested a review from the district attorney's office to determine whether the incident could be charged as a hate crime.

However, he said the assault didn't qualify under state law "due to arcane language in those statutes that do not extend hate-crime enhancement to crimes committed against transgender or non-binary individuals."

The complaint is at Website Link Here .