LA Based Black Queer Woman and Black Trans Woman Brutalized at Ladyfag’s Ladyland Event During NYC World Pride 50 TW: Violence
This past Saturday, June 29th our stylist Autumn was attacked by 4-6 white/Latinx security guards and an additional accomplice at Ladyfag’s Ladyland event that took place at the venue Brooklyn Mirage, owned by Avant Gardner.
We have yet to see footage, and it is still unclear what the catalyst was, but we are told Autumn was restrained because there were no in’s and out’s at the venue; however she was just making a phone call, and we were outside with Ladyfag less than an hour before the incident took place, and were let back in.
Autumn managed to call our head designer Pierre where she saw Autumn on the ground being pinned by the group of men. Pierre immediately rushed to Autumn’s defense and punched one of the men twice in the face out of fear, and was pinned by the group of men who then started to put their knees in her back and applied full force as a result.
Autumn was then restrained and put in an ambulance where she was antagonized by an EMT, handcuffed, and strapped down and sent to a psych ward. Because of her clean record, Pierre was set to be released but instead was arrested and taken the 90th Brooklyn Precinct because the man who was punched pressed charges. The police told the only known witnesses to leave. Both have visible marks and bruises, and are still in pain.
During the altercation, both lost their phones and were unable to contact anyone they know. Thankfully Pierre still had her purse and was able to hail down a cab; and a good Samaritan saw Autumn and drove her to the location where we were staying.
Since then, we’ve gone to the venue three times to retrieve their phones after being given the runaround in person and over email by multiple staff members and the head of security.
Autumn was able to file a police report in order to start the process of pressing charges against her attackers who are still hard to identify, but Pierre is unable to since there is now an assault charge against her. She is set to come back to NY on July 31st to appear in court. We were told we’d be contacted by the police in two days, but have yet to hear back.
Our team reached out to Ladyfag directly in an effort to receive support and solidarity and to hold the venue accountable for their security guards. But she apparently has been “advised” by whomever to remain silent, and expressed that it is in “the polices hands now”.
She is clearly taking advantage of for personal gain, and has chosen to remain silent when this could be a great opportunity to help alleviate our situation by simply expressing solidarity and publicly condemning Brooklyn Mirage and their security guards. So we are reaching out to our community and allies to help support us in anyway possible.
We do not know how much everything will cost, but we are aiming to raise $25k to help cover the cost of lawyer fees, travel to and from NY, lodging, trauma counseling, medical fees, and the additional costs accrued by having to stay in NY longer than planned.
We appreciate any and everything you can do, including getting the word out.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
