DC: Security Guard Charged With Hate Crime For Assaulting A Transgender Woman In May
Security Guard Charged With Hate Crime For Assaulting A Transgender Woman In May
by Christina Sturdivant in News on Jul 25, 2016 11:15 am
When Francine Jones
assaulted a transgender woman at a Giant grocery store in May, police charged her with simple assault. After further investigation into the incident, the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. has also charged Jones with bias-related assault. Authorities added the second charge on July 11, according to spokesperson William Miller.
Jones was a security guard who worked for a company hired by Giant on H Street NE. D.C. Police arrested her after they viewed footage where she "forcibly removed" Ebony Belcher from the store on May 18, Dustin Sternbeck of the Metropolitan Police Department told DCist.
Belcher told NBC that Jones opened the door of the store's women's restroom "and started calling me derogatory names." She then told her that "you guys cannot keep coming in here and using our women's restroom. They did not pass the law yet," Belcher continued.
D.C., however, has had a
law on the books for more than a decade that allows people to use the bathroom that fits their gender identity. However, the passage of
recent law in North Carolina, which requires that people use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate, has contributed to some confusion in the District.