Trans Woman attacked at Barton Springs, Austin, TX – Photo: brigittebandit via Instagram
Austin police are investigating whether an assault on a transgender woman and a male bystander at Barton Springs, a popular Austin swimming spot, was a hate crime. The incident occurred on July 26, when three men began flirting with the woman’s friends and then allegedly harassed her after she approached them.
“They said something along the lines of ‘I don’t support that lifestyle,’ while pointing at me, which upset all three of us,” said the transgender woman, whose name is being withheld for safety and privacy reasons, in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.
The men grew aggressive, yelling in the women’s faces, accusing two of them of also being transgender, poking them in the breasts, and shoving them violently, according to a witness who spoke to Austin NBC affiliate KXAN.
A bystander, identified as Jarod, stepped in to defend the women. He and one of the men, described as wearing orange shorts, began tussling when another attacker — described as Hispanic and wearing a cowboy hat with black shorts featuring three white stripes — sucker-punched Jarod from the side, knocking him unconscious. A third man, with long hair and wearing green shorts, also took part in the fracas.
The transgender woman rushed to Jarod’s side to help him, but was punched in the face by the man in orange shorts. At one point, a friend of hers, identified only as “Tokyo,” was shoved to the ground before the men fled the scene.
Austin-based drag performer Brigitte Bandit posted an account of the attack on Instagram, asking followers to help identify the assailants. By Tuesday, Bandit reported they had been identified and that information about their possible identities had been forwarded to Austin police.
Jarod, a construction worker and father, sustained head gashes, a concussion, and a broken jaw that will require surgery, according to his family. A verified GoFundMe campaign to cover his medical expenses raised more than $74,000 — over three-and-a-half times its $20,000 goal. It has since been turned off.
“We want to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who has donated, shared, and supported our family during this incredibly difficult time,” the family wrote in an update. “Your generosity and kindness have meant more than we can put into words…. If you’re still looking for ways to support, we encourage you to consider donating to local organizations that advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and anti-violence initiatives.”
The transgender woman at the center of the incident told the Houston Chronicle that Jarod was “an absolute angel.”
“I had never known him before that day, but he stood up for me when I was being harassed and he took the brunt of the assault,” she said. “He deserves every penny to help pay for his surgery and his time off work to take care of himself and his kid.”
Austin police said the case is under review by the department’s Hate Crime Review Committee. If the committee determines the offense was motivated by bias or prejudice, it will notify the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether to pursue bias enhancements along with any assault or other criminal charges.
Police are asking the public to submit photos, videos, and other information about the attack by calling Capital Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS (8477) or visiting austincrimestoppers.org.
A gunman killed two men outside a Tucson gay bar before fatally shooting himself in what police say was a targeted attack motivated by anti-LGBTQ hate.
According to Tucson police, officers were dispatched to Venture-N, a gay bar on Sixth Avenue, around 12:30 a.m. on August 31. They found three men with gunshot wounds in the bar's parking lot, including 44-year-old Ousman Ceesay, who police say had confronted and shot the other two men before shooting himself.
Point of Pride, a trans-led nonprofit that provides financial aid and direct health services to transgender youth and adults, has opened applications for its Thrive Fund, which helps trans people with expenses not covered by the organization's other programs.
Established in 2024, the Thrive Fund helps cover expenses beyond the nonprofit's existing services, which range from free chest binders and femme shapewear to financial assistance for transition-related surgery, hormone therapy, and electrolysis.
Thrive Fund grants can cover non-medical transition-related expenses, including legal fees for name and gender marker changes, fertility preservation, vocal therapy, and medical tattooing used to restore skin pigmentation or conceal scars from gender-affirming surgery. Applicants may request up to $2,500 at a time.
German police shot and killed a 21-year-old man on July 26, a day after he allegedly drove a minivan into a crowd in Berlin's Tiergarten park, crashed into a tree, and attacked several people with a machete.
The crash occurred around 10 p.m. on July 25, just a few hundred yards from Berlin's annual Christopher Street Day celebration, one of Europe's largest Pride events. Police said the victims appeared to include Pride attendees and others who were in the park.
Authorities told Reuters that one person was killed and 29 others were injured, many in the machete attack.
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