Second Man Arrested in Beating of Atlanta Trans Women

A second man was arrested Friday in connection with a May incident involving the physical assault of two transgender women on board Atlanta's public transit system.

On Friday, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Police arrested 35-year-old Frederick L. Missick for his alleged role in an attack on two transgender riders of the city's rail system. He joins Luther L. Thomas, who was arrested a day prior in connection with the same incident. Both men have been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, punishable by a fine up to $1,000, a maximum one year in jail, or both, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Thomas, 34, has twice previously been arrested by MARTA police, including one incident that resulted in a charge of simple battery, notes the Journal-Constitution. Both Thomas and Missick are in custody, being held on $2,500 bond.

One of the survivors of the attack, Janell Crosby, spoke with Solutions Not Punishment Coalition, expressing distress in the fact that it wasn't until her attack was made widely available online that police treated her case as one worth pursuing.

"I see MARTA cops all the time, but they spend more time arresting people for jumping the turnstiles and other petty things than keeping anyone in the LGBT community safe," Crosby told SNap Co. "I would like an apology for their treatment of me -- they are supposed to serve and protect, and they didn't do that -- and they didn't do that because I am a black trans woman."

Some have suggested that the attack against these two women should be classified as a hate crime, suggesting that the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges are too lenient.