Two men charged with first taunting and then attacking a man they thought was gay will go on trial on assault and battery and civil-rights charges on Dec. 10, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says.

Darren Morgan, 46, and Howard Rice, 50, were initially charged with assault and battery after the June 15 incident, but an investigation resulted in the civil-rights charge. According to prosecutors, the two, standing near Myers and Chang, 1145 Washington St., hurled homophobic insults at two men who walked by them, and then escalated their attack:

Even as the men tried to avoid the defendants, Rice allegedly placed one victim in a headlock. When he broke free and the victims entered a nearby restaurant, both assailants followed them in and continued to assault them before Boston Police responded and took them into custody.

Innocent, etc.

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