Community Rallies To Demand Freedom for Trans Woman Arrested After Being Attacked in Flagstaff, AZ
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https://itsgoingdown.org/community-rallies-to-demand-freedom-for-trans-woman-flagstaff/
It's horrifying that she's jailed for having been attacked. What the fuck is wrong with you, Arizona?
The LAPD openly acts as bodyguards for the proud boys now, a group considered terrorists in Canada
How do you know she did not start the physical violence? The fact that she did not call the police is not some brave feature as stated. The fact that others called the police is somewhat more likely that she may have been in the wrong.
This article is extremely biased. Do people just automatically assume anything written on the web is the absolute truth? They didn't bother to even mention any other side to this story.
Oh, come on... Four drunk guys start harassing a woman, then get aggressive and belligerent when they find out she's trans, and somehow she must have started it?
This is her:
Look at her. Does she look scary? How likely do you think it is that she was walking along looking for a fight with four guys? Given the violence trans women all too often receive at the hands of men, it's much more likely she was legitimately scared for her life.
Seriously? I don't know what happened but are you saying someone can't start kicking people out pull out a knife or simply punch someone based on their size. This is a completely bias article but people take it as fact. So biased they use words like she 'courageously' didn't call the police but instead other people called the police in her.
I am glad we now use looks alone to determine if someone might be innocent or guilty.
Tell you what... I'll concede that it's technically possible she instigated the violence if you'll concede that it's statistically far, far more likely that she was yet another victim of anti-trans violence, followed by bias from the police. (FYI, trans women frequently don't call the police when they've been victimized, out of fear of being victimized even more.)
read the comment from someone who did some digging and found that she has a significant police record in multiple states, including warrants for her arrest. There is clearly more to this story than we have here. Those warrants could still be BS, but we here don't know. The takeaway is that if a situation seems clearly cut and dry... it almost never is.
I will absolutely concede trans people are much more likely to be the victim of violence. I know enough to see this first hand. How does that in any way negate that she might be there instigator?
It doesn't, but it means I'm far more willing to give her the benefit of the doubt until there's solid evidence that she was, in fact, the one who started the violence. (And pepper-spraying someone who's threatening you doesn't count.)
Thanks for posting this, I hope more people hear about this story and Epona's able to raise the $500k for bail and more to get a good defense team
Also, to put that bail amount in perspective - Andrew Lester (the guy who shot Ralph Yarl in the head) only had to post $200k.
And Trump's was $200k as well. Apparently existing while trans is worse than trying to kill democracy.
She was attacked and defended herself so she got arrested and her attackers got off completely free. That's some peak school zero tolerance policy bullshit. It's also completely insane she has a 500k bail but Trump, who tried to overturn and destroy our democracy so that he could establish a dictatorship only has 200k. This singular case should be provided when people disagree that Trans people are being attacked and persecuted all across the country.
In "So-called Flagstaff, Arizona".
Um, I think the name of the town is not is question here.
IGD places so-called in every article as a way to call attention to Land Back movements and acknowledge that every city and town is on stolen land.
I don't care if you don't like guns. Arm up, learn to shoot, and protect yourselves out there. One political side has been stockpiling for decades (it's even part of their culture) while the other side is willingly disarming themselves.
Curious how that would help here?
She got arrested for being the victim. If she shoots her attacker do you think the cops wouldn't have still arrested her?
Unless you meant protect ourselves from the cops, but running gun battles with the cops isn't going to help anyone.
The presence of a firearm itself may have been enough to make them think twice. I mean, do you normally try to assault someone who's visibly carrying?
You can get arrested for threatening someone with a firearm too. It wouldn't have helped.
Get assaulted, raped, possibly killed? Or deal with the arrest and after math of having defended yourself from such. I know which one I'd choose.
I'm sorry, but I hate this argument.. because it's crock.
Attackers generally do not telegraph their intentions. They often come on suddenly and unexpectedly. I've been assaulted before and could not have defended myself even if I wanted to. I was caught too off-guard. Having a gun would not have helped me in any of those situations.
It's a "I am very badass!"-solution often from folks that have never been in that vulnerable kind of position before, because if they have, they would know that it cannot be reliably executed.
Isn't this what gun rights people say to women who then become statistically more likely to be shot by their own weapon?
The majority of people likely would have a difficult time pulling the trigger even if they did brandish a gun. Possibly more so with women.
So now you have any escalated situation with a much higher chance of death for the person holding the gun.
It's clear the sentiment on guns is never going to change in the US. I don't live in an ideal gun-free utopia. I live in the US that exists now.
Or is it because internet moralists won't join radical-in-a-good-way militias, because they think bigots will listen to words.
When we were living in the high desert of california our friend would meet up at mcDs to let our kids play together. we were minding our own fucking business when a white stranger who asked our white friend if he was “okay”. As in was he ok with hanging out with us asians. This was before covid, only 70miles out of DTLA.
We don’t live there anymore thank god. Many are not fortunate enough to move away from this kind of hostile environment. How in the fuck can you say that for them to get a gun to defend themselves is irrational and insane?
This is not about getting shot or not this is about marginalized people defending themselves from a society that wants them dead. Plenty of trans folks fear for their lives without one bullet being shot so your logic fails.
If they do want to arm themselves, who I am to tell them that's irrational. I'm not trans. I don't know what their life is like.
That's a nice thought and all, but the reality of the situation is that conservatives would sooner chop off their own genitals than give up their guns.
These people are waiting for Trump's signal, and then they'll start shooting their neighbors. They dream about it, they fantasize about it. Only an absolute idiot with a suicide wish chooses to not own a gun in the current political climate America is in.
It felt like there wasn't any context to the actual circumstances of her arrest, especially considering the exorbitantly high bail amount. I looked around and the most information I could actually find was through a motion filed by her attorney.
She is being held for aggravated assault x2 along with some other misdemeanor charges with an implication that the charges will be elevated to attempted murder. Her attorney also notes that she has numerous other felony charges over the years, many but not all of which were later plead down to misdemeanor charges. Epona is also noted as homeless and transient that had outstanding warrants for failing to appear for some of her charges in other states. She has outstanding warrants for this in at least one other state. Assuming that it is true that she is transient and the DA intends to upgrade her charges to attempted murder, this at least provides some idea as to why the bail amount seems ludicrously high on the surface.
I realize that virtually all trans individuals face an extremely unwelcoming response from society that can often include abject violence and I feel true empathy for those that carry that burden. In this particular case it seems that there are lots of details that may deviate from the narrative that this particular individual was simply attacked by a group of men while minding her own business. Perhaps I'm wrong, but the original link is very one-sided which is why I went looking for more information. There are no journalistic articles covering the attack, but the motion filed by Epona's lawyer is moderately revealing.
https://www.lookoutphx.org/blog/flagstaff-trans-woman-attacked-facing-felony-charges/
I'd like to donate but that donation site seems sketchy. Anyone have any information about it? Is it legit?