Man posing as federal officer assaulted gay men in series of attacks at D.C. park, officials say

A Maryland man has been arrested on federal hate crime charges, accused of posing as a U.S. Park Police officer and attacking men he believed to be gay at a Washington D.C., park over a three-year period.

Michael Thomas Pruden, 48, attacked five men on five separate dates from 2018 to 2021 at Meridian Hill Park, also called Malcolm X Park, which is “informally known ... as a meeting place for men seeking consensual sex with other men,” a Department of Justice news release Thursday stated.

Pruden approached the men pretending to be a Park Police officer, shined a light in their faces and gave “police-style directives,” according to the release. He then sprayed the men with a chemical irritant, prosecutors said.

Four of the victims were assaulted because of their ”actual or perceived sexual orientation,” according to the indictment.