Celia Haueter suffered severe head injuries in the attack. (GoFundMe)

A married lesbian couple is suing MGM Resorts International after a brutal anti-LGBTQ+ assault outside the MGM Grand Detroit allegedly left one woman with a traumatic brain injury; they allege security staff stood by and did nothing to help.

According to the lawsuit, Chelsi Way, her wife Celia Haueter, and Way’s brother and his partner were waiting for valet service after a concert in June 2025 when they were approached by two men. One of the men allegedly began filming the group before shouting homophobic slurs, mocking pronouns, and launching a violent attack.

Haueter was knocked unconscious for around five minutes and suffered a severe concussion, traumatic brain injury, facial injuries requiring stitches, PTSD, memory loss, debilitating headaches, and ongoing speech difficulties. Way says her wife has struggled to regain a sense of normalcy ever since. “The doctor literally told her at the hospital that if he had hit her harder. Her brain could’ve literally severed,” Way told CBS Detroit in a 19 July 2025 interview.

The lawsuit alleges that after security was alerted to the assault, staff failed to intervene and instead recorded the attack on their own phones. Way recalled watching her wife lying unconscious in a pool of blood while casino employees allegedly offered only a chair and paper towels. “There were so many men out there… and the only people that even tried to help us were the patrons standing outside,” she said in an interview with The Detroit News.

In the lawsuit, the couple also claims MGM continued serving alcohol to the alleged attacker despite signs of intoxication and failed to take reasonable steps to protect guests.

Their attorney, Jim Rasor, told The Detroit News: “Security knew; they were watching what was happening. They had a duty to call the police and monitor the premises, a duty to take reasonable steps if they knew of violent criminal behaviour on their premises. They did nothing… This is not the first time. This is not the second time. They know their facilities are dangerous and they’re doing nothing to keep their patrons safe, not even calling the police.”

One suspect, William James Wilson of Fort Worth, Texas, was later arrested after Way followed him for several miles and directed police to his location. Although he initially faced multiple assault and hate crime charges, he ultimately pleaded guilty to a single hate crime offence involving violence, with the remaining seven charges dismissed as partof a plea agreement.

Wilson was sentenced to two years of probation in March. The couple is now pursuing civil lawsuits against both Wilson and MGM, saying the criminal outcome failed to reflect the severity of the attack and the lasting impact it has had on their lives.

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