Raising funds to help AU and her partner pay their medical and legal bills, recover from this violent crime, and find justice.
2 trans people were victims of a violent attack carried out by transphobes in Benton, Louisiana. They were attacked by a group of 10 transphobes, one of them had to be taken to a hospital by an ambulance, and the police sided with the transphobic mob and arrested both victims.
This happened at Cypress Lake, AU was preparing to leave while her partner was in the restroom. A man started following AU and yelled threats and insults at her, and warned her not to use the restroom, something she wasn’t even trying to do. More people joined him and surrounded her. Her partner exited the restroom and tried to get in between AU and the man who started harassing her. The mob started pushing them, and after AU’s partner was shoved into someone the mob jumped on top of both of them and beat them for 2 minutes.
One of them was knocked unconscious and had to be taken to a hospital by an ambulance. A staff member at Cypress Lake called the police, and the police sided with the attackers, who claimed that the two trans people started the altercation. They were both arrested and charged with "disturbing the peace."
Despite being legally female, AU was still documented as being male by police and put in the men’s cell. In their efforts to misgender her, they went as far as making up a deadname to use in their report instead of her legal name.
The police claimed that the cameras at the site weren’t functional when they were asked about footage, but a lawyer would help them confirm whether this is actually true and obtain footage of their attackers.
Funds to help them pay their medical and legal bills and recover from this assault would greatly help them. She is also hoping that drawing attention to this will help them find a lawyer to take their case.
AU is an activist who devotes so much of her time to helping people in need. I am hoping that the community will show up for her like she has for so many. Please donate if you can, share this, and check in with your trans and queer loved ones.