anti-transgender violence

Iowa man arrested for threatening trans boy

65-year-old Mondell V. Olson read a newspaper article about a local transgender boy's gender journey. The article offended him.

So, what to do? Mondell called up Nevada High School and left a voice mail. Twice. He left the message that he would kill, brand and otherwise mutilate the body of the transgender freshman.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning...

It happened in Cookeville, TN, which is situated along I-40 east of Nashville. A transgender woman named Elle and her 3 year-old son were inside their home at 3: 30 am when Elle heard a noise outside. she looked out her door "and saw the door to her 2006 Harley Davidson edition F-150 pickup truck [was] open."

Hate strikes in Seattle

 photo SEattle_zpscr8gvdmp.jpgMichael Volz, a 36-year-old transgender man, was leaving a fundraiser for Orlando victims held Wednesday evening at a nightclub when he was approached by a man of about 20 who said "Hey, Happy Pride" before grabbing the transman by the throat while yelling a transgender slur.

The transgender man was choked to unconsciousness and beaten. Then the suspect fled the scene.

Mercedes Successful

 photo mercedes-successful-x750_zps1a0nps6s.jpgThe body of a 32-year-old transgender woman was found dead in a Polk County, FL parking lot last Sunday night. Mercedes Successful had been shot to death.

Ms. Successful was active in the drag and pageant communities in Haines City, FL and had represented her native country of Jamaica in the 2014 Gay Carribbean USA pageant.

Of course local media deadnamed and misgendered Ms. Successful, who had begun transition 6 weeks before being murdered.

Murder in Houston

 photo shante_zpsjgv2w3cw.jpgLate Sunday in Houston midtown, a few blocks from bars and restaurants, Shante Thompson and Willie Sims were shot to death. Police say they may have been beaten with a crowbar before the shooting transpired.

Witnesses say a group of up eight people armed with several weapons swarmed a transgender woman and a man out in the street.

It really hurts me. I have always looked for Shante. I was always been there for her. When I got the call and saw her laying on the ground it really hurt my heart.

--Kevin Braxton, friend of Ms. Thompson

Franken presses Feds to take action on anti-trans violence

On Wednesday, Minnesota Senator Al Franken sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey seeking answers on the reporting of this year's record level of anti-transgender violence. Franken wrote the two-page letter from his position as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

I write to express serious concern about the alarming number of homicides and violent crimes targeting transgender and gender nonconforming people. I strongly urge the U.S. Department of Justice to work with state and local authorities in the investigation and prosecution of these incidents, and to redouble its efforts to ensure the accurate reporting of all bias-motivated crimes.

--Franken

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