A man set fire to the house of a lesbian family: they had reported him to the authorities several times
A man who had been harassing this family and other lesbians in Cañuelas, Buenos Aires province, set their house on fire. "Hate speech breeds violence. This is further proof."
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In the early hours of January 29, a man who had been harassing a lesbian family in Cañuelas, Buenos Aires province, set their house on fire. Security cameras captured Orlando Alcides Lutz Fogar dousing it with fuel around 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday.
“Hate speech breeds violence. This is further proof,” press release announcing the incident . This occurred just days after President Javier Milei’s speech at the Davos Economic Forum, where he targeted LGBTQ+ individuals. As we explained in this article , his words are steeped in misinformation, lies, fallacies, and manipulation, and they not only fuel further hate speech but also violence.
“The harassment escalated with the hate speech”
Agui and Vane are a couple with a 5-year-old daughter. They lived in the house that was destroyed by the fire. They told Presentes that they had managed, with great effort, to buy a plot of land in Cañuelas. When they arrived, they learned of the violence that Lutz Fogar was perpetrating against another couple: “We were able to buy a plot of land in Cañuelas and build a house in this short time. From the moment we set foot there, we learned about this type of violence against another lesbian couple who lived just meters away. He also had another violent incident with another neighbor who is a friend of ours Agui, a non-binary lesbian, told Presentes
“When we intervened during one of those violent episodes with this couple to let them know that the girls weren't alone, because we know what it's about,
“A constant campaign of harassment began. It escalated as hate speech in general escalated, fueled obviously by the president's speeches a couple of days ago,” Agui warned.
Speaking to C5N, Fernanda, a neighbor of the family who also reported threats and attacks by the same man, explained: “ They lost everything. Two mothers with a 5-year-old girl lost everything. Thank goodness they weren't here. But even so, they were left without a home.”
“All of this is a reflection of society. The president recently gave a highly homophobic speech in Davos, and he is the president-elect of Argentina. He is the representative of our society; there are many people who think like him,” he added.
This is not the first act of Lesbophobia
This is not the first time Lutz Fogar has targeted this family. It began in 2022, when they moved to the semi-rural area of Cañuelas seeking peace and quiet and a connection with nature. Since 2022, the aggressor had been constantly monitoring the family's home, including taking photographs, making threatening gestures, and engaging in acts of intimidation that severely restricted their freedom of movement. This information comes from a report by FALGBT, which states that the couple no longer wanted to—or could—walk or ride their bikes in the street. Nor could they allow their daughter to go out to play.
The situation had become so critical that when the assailant pointed a laser sight at them, they were forced to flee their home. They weren't there at the time of the fire. They had escaped in fear from the place they had come to seeking peace and quiet. A neighbor alerted them that she saw the house on fire.
“The terrible thing about this whole situation is that there are almost 10 consolidated complaints, and based on the documents I had to file with my lawyer, everything is consolidated at the prosecutor's office. The Court of Guarantees number 8 knows about it, everything has been filed, and yet this guy does absolutely whatever he wants, violating a restraining order as many times as he wants ,” Agui told Presentes .
Despite multiple complaints, the judicial response was limited to a restraining order for only one of them, which, they explained, was never enforced. With no response from the justice system, the family left the neighborhood to try to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
Judicial inaction
"Hate enables violence and has concrete consequences in the lives of real people, like this family," FALGBT stated. They also denounced the inaction of multiple judicial bodies, including the UFIyJ No. 1 of Cañuelas, the UDF of Cañuelas, and the JG No. 8, in relation to Case 2361/23.
Dr. Mayra Daniela Guzmán, the family's lawyer, announced that a police report has been filed and that she will request the aggressor's arrest for attempted femicide. She will file the necessary paperwork with the prosecutor's office on Monday.
She also explained to Presentes : “The first complaint was filed with the women's police station requesting a restraining order, due to the harassment this man was carrying out against my clients and his minor daughter: he would stalk them, intercept them in the street, stand with binoculars from his house pointing at their house, constantly.”
Although the Prosecutor's Office granted the restraining order, the lawyer explained that it was never enforced. “When a restraining order is violated, it constitutes the crime of disobedience under Article 239 of the Penal Code. A complaint is then filed requesting that the disobedience be considered and that an arrest warrant be issued. This was done repeatedly, and the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Guarantees did nothing.”.
“What we’re trying to do is prevent this guy from hurting anyone else. Material things can be replaced, luckily there are support networks and activists, but this guy needs to be in jail because he’s dangerous to everyone,” Agui said.
Antifascist and Antiracist Pride March in Argentina and the world
The attack comes amid growing concern about anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric emanating from government institutions. In response to the president's remarks in Davos, LGBTIQ+ organizations called for an Anti-Fascist and Anti-Racist Pride March, seeking to highlight the severity of hate speech by the president and other government officials, and how it enables violence like this. Here you can find information on where to march in Argentina and in several cities around the world that have joined the call .
The FALGBT issued a strong statement: “We will work to ensure this murderer is imprisoned and that no public official continues to promote this violence. Hate speech kills! STOP the hate!”.
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