Steward Butler, the Marshall University football player arrested and charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery last month after attacking a gay couple he saw kissing on the sidewalk, was charged with an additional two felony counts of "violating the civil rights" of others this week.

The new charges come in lieu of hate crime charges, since West Virginia hate crime law does not consider sexual orientation a protected status.

Related: College Football Player Arrested, Dismissed From Team, For Attacking Gay Couple He Saw Kissing

According to the WV Gazette, Prosecutor Sean "Corky" Hammers charged Butler with a hate crime but based the charges on sex instead of sexual orientation, since he believed Butler would not have attacked the couple if one of them were a woman.

"The case needed some serious consideration because of what he did," Hammers said. "I couldn’t let it go with misdemeanor battery, based on his actions."

WSAZ posted footage from the assault after Butler was indicted by a grand jury on felony state charges by a Cabell County court Friday. In it (below), you can see Butler charge his two victims, Zackery Johnson and Casey Williams, after directing homophobic slurs at them.

Initial reports considered Butler's attack and his "gay panic" defense especially heinous, since it was reported that he was in a moving car at the time he saw the two victims kissing on the sidewalk. He stopped the driver and exited the car in order to assault Johnson and Williams.

After footage of the attack was released to Marshall University officials, Butler was immediately "dismissed" from the team. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each charge.

On Friday, Johnson issued the following statement urging Marshall University to expel Butler for his actions:

"My partner, Casey Williams, and I politely and respectfully ask the officials at Marshall University responsible for making the decision as to the future status of Mr. Stuard Butler to continue their support of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance and refuse – wholeheartedly – his appeal to reinstated as a student.

"While Casey and I believe that everyone makes mistakes and they should ultimately be forgiven for those mistakes. We also believe that actions have consequences and, in this case, the consequences should be severe. Aside from the physical assault that occurred that night, Mr. Butler’s actions were nothing less than a hate crime acutely focused on Casey and I solely because of our sexual orientation. His actions were completely unprovoked. Casey and I were minding our own business and said nothing to Mr. Butler at all. His actions were based on, at best, his homophobia and – at its worst - his intolerance, lack of acceptance, and personal hatred of those different from himself.

"During a walk back to our hotel in Huntington that night, Casey and I shared a brief and simple kiss on the street. Mr. Butler, witnessing that act from a passing car, shouted anti-gay slurs before having the driver stop the vehicle so that he could exit the car to attack us. He both physically and verbally abused both Casey and I again solely because we are gay. We were both punched in the face and were fearful for our collective safety. Had Mr. Butler’s friends not convinced him to get back into the car, I believe the beatings would have continued and been even worse than they were. Both Casey and I are appreciative that at least Mr. Butler’s friends were aware that his actions were horribly wrong and they, in the end, convinced him to stop and move on.

"As an adult gay man, I am saddened to admit this is not the first time I have experienced this kind of hate. It is, perhaps, because of my past experiences that I almost instinctively began to record the attack on my cell phone. Had I not had the presence of mind to do that, I’m not sure anyone would believe what occurred that night on the streets of Huntington, West Virginia.

"I would hope that the officials at Marshall University, in full recognition and acceptance of the heinous nature of this crime - a crime currently being investigated by the US Department of Justice’s Hate Crime Division - would join Casey and I in deploring this kind of behavior. Actions such as this are not indicative of the student body as a whole and, we believe, it is critically important that a message be sent that behavior such as this is simply not accepted and the consequences for anyone engaging in such will be both swift and severe.

"Very much like many of you I suppose, I wish that none of this had happened and that Mr. Butler’s and our paths had not cross that night. The reality is, our paths did, in fact, cross and it has scarred both my partner and I more than you can imagine.

"Simply put, Casey and I respectfully ask that you deny Mr. Butler’s appeal in an effort to clearly demonstrate your support of the LGBTQ community and send a message to the Marshall student body that hate crimes of any kind will not be taken lightly regardless of one’s position within the University."

Check out video footage from the assault below: