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The two women had moved to Minnesota from Iowa after Minnesota became a state of refuge for transgender people.
Two transgender women were attacked November 10 at a light rail station in Minneapolis — and onlookers cheered.
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A man yelled transphobic slurs at the women, identified only by their first names, Jess and Dahlia, as they were leaving the station, The Independentreports. When Jess asked him to stop, he hit her, local activist Amber Muhm, who helped organize a rally last Sunday in support of the women, told the publication.
Dahlia then hit the man with her cane, knocking him out, Muhm said. After that, several people descended on the two women and “mercilessly beat” them, she said. Both Jess and Dahlia were knocked unconscious, with Dahlia incurring a broken nose, and Jess had “multiple contusions” on her ribs, Muhm added.
“People were cheering the attackers on,” Muhm said, and no one came to the women’s aid. Minneapolis police are investigating but have made no arrests yet.
Jess and Dahlia recently moved from Iowa to Minnesota after the latter passed a trans refuge law last year, preventing out-of-state interference with gender-affirming care. It was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who became Kamala Harris’s running mate this year.
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“A lot of people are moving to Minnesota and have moved since we passed the trans refuge bill, but I think we’re going to see a real spike after the election outcome,” state Rep. Leigh Finke, who sponsored the legislation, told local TV station WCCO at the rally.
“The trans community is resilient and strong, and we’ve always existed,” she added. “We don’t need the permission of the government to live and to love and to be ourselves.”
Jess and Dahlia are recovering, Muhm, an activist with the Trans Movement for Liberation, told The Independent. “It was a traumatic event, and they are both still dealing with the physical consequences of that very acutely, but the community is kind of what’s keeping them grounded right now,” she said.
To WCCO, she noted, “The community here is beautiful. We’re building a movement, we’re going to get through this, and we’re going to be stronger for it, and Minneapolis is going to be such a beautiful place for trans people to live.”
