Police Arrest Trans Man for Using Women’s Restroom at S.C. Bar
Luca Strobel says he was mocked with slurs, humiliated by staff, and arrested — all for using the restroom conservatives say he should use.
A transgender man in South Carolina claims he was accosted in a bar by staff, called anti-trans slurs, and arrested by police for using the women’s restroom — the very restroom that conservatives would typically argue he should use due to being assigned female at birth.
Luca Strobel, who posts on TikTok as @FulltimeCowboy, recently posted a pair of videos in which he recounted going to the Sand Dollar Social Club in Folly Beach on Friday, May 16, as a designated driver for a friend, Caroline Frady, who was at the bar.
Upon arriving at the bar, the 25-year-old attempted use the men’s room, but there were no stalls, only urinals, meaning he was unable to use the facilities.
An employee of the bar warned Strobel and his friend against entering the bathroom of the “opposite” sex.
But after a brief exchange, Strobel said he believed he had permission to enter the women’s restroom and use the stalls. He noted that he and Frady were the only two people in the restroom at the time, something Frady confirmed when speaking to Erin Reed of the transgender-focused Erin in the Morning Substack.
A man claiming to be the bar’s owner burst into the restroom and peered over the stall to look at Strobel.
“They’re looking over the top of the stall at me without my clothes on,” Strobel said in his video. “They can fully see me naked other than me having my shirt on, and they just start screaming that there’s ‘a man’ in here.”
Strobel and Frady were ejected from the bar as bar employees called him anti-transgender slurs.
Police, who had been called to the bar, were waiting at the door. They claimed to be arresting him for “trespassing” and “public intoxication.”
Strobel said a police officer handcuffed him “so tight that I can’t even feel my fingers,” leaving bruises on his hands. He claimed the arresting officer also repeatedly called him a “little girl.”
“We didn’t get booked, but we did get cuffed, and when we got to the station, we were asking a bunch of questions that they refused to answer,” Strobel said in his first video. “They just kept saying, ‘Take it up in court, take it up in court, take it up in court.'”
In the second video, Strobel said he was released on $500 bond, issued a trespass notice permanently barring him from entering Sand Dollar Social Club, and issued a ticket for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
He told Reed that he had not consumed a single drink on the night in question. However, he does not have definitive evidence, as officers did not issue a breathalyzer test.
There is currently no state law in South Carolina preventing a transgender man from using the women’s restroom in public accommodations, including bars. The state does have a law prohibiting individuals in K-12 schools from using restrooms that do not align with their assigned sex at birth.
However, in this case, even if there were a law that expanded beyond K-12 schools, Strobel would technically not be violating such a law.
Strobel’s arrest and detention is yet another piece of evidence showing that there is a great deal of cognitive dissonance that naturally accompanies the enforcement of “bathroom bans.”
Supporters of such bans claim that people should use only restrooms aligning with their assigned sex at birth, but will routinely bristle at the concept of a person who is masculine-presenting — whether lesbian, transgender, or simply someone who does not conform to stereotypical forms of gender expression — in female-designated spaces, even if that person was assigned female at birth.
Strobel told Reed he believes the bar staff knew of his transgender identity because scars from his mastectomy, or “top surgery,” were visible through his shirt. But he is refusing to hide his identity, feeling that transgender visibility is important.
Strobel has since posted more videos claiming he feels unsafe and fears for his life.
Because he believes it is no longer safe to remain in South Carolina, he is trying to raise funds using GoFundMe to relocate to a state where he does not have to worry about being targeted for his identity.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.