I don’t know. If there was ever a textbook definition of what a hate crime is, I think this fits the bill.
This will be politicized, of course, and I don’t necessarily disagree with your assertions, but this asshole needs to hang.
Of course he needs to hang, but he won’t hang any more for the hate crime than he will for the murder. I don’t care what a person’s motivation is for committing a crime as long as he pays the price.