Two men were indicted Thursday for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a gay man, making it the first time such charges have been brought under the new sexual orientation provision of the federal hate crime law.

David Jason Jenkins, 37,  and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, are charged with assaulting Kevin Pennington near Cumberland, Kentucky, in April 2011. The men, with the help of two others, allegedly lured Pennington out of his home and into their white pick-up truck, drove to Kingdom Come State Park and proceeded to beat Pennington because he is gay, according to the indictment.

This indictment ^[1] marks the first case charged under the sexual orientation provision of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was signed into law in 2009 and expanded the original hate crime statute to include crime’s motivated by a victim’s gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

The two men face a maximum of life in prison for each charge if found guilty. The indictment was filed in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky. Kentucky Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins and Angie Cha, a Justice Department trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division, are prosecuting the case.