Police arrest two men after trans influencers beaten and robbed on a busy street while cop cars drove by
(From L-R) Carlton Callway, Willie Walker and Davion Williams. (LAPD)
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrests of two suspects in connection with a hate crime that saw three trans influencers left bruised and crying on a curb.
Eden the Doll, Jaslene White Rose and Joslyn Flawless were approached early Monday morning (August 18) by a trio of men who brutally beat them with a crowbar and stole their mobile phones in the bustling Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles.
Startling footage taken by Eden showed the men jockeying the victims around while countless bystanders ignored their screams and police cars skimmed by. Some passersby hurled transphobic insults while others filmed the attack.
During a Thursday afternoon (August 20) conference, the LAPD’s Hollywood Station deputy chief Justin Eisenberg announced the arrest of 29-year-old Carlton Callway on robbery and assault charges in connection with the “vicious” attack, KCAL9 reported.
Eisenberg noted that Callway bragged openly about carrying out the violence on his social media.
Detectives identified a second suspect, Winnie Walker, from mobile phone footage, who was arrested Wednesday (August 19) on extortion charges.
They also named 22-year-old David Williams, wanted for assault.
The three trans influencers were threatened, beaten, robbed and humiliated on the busy Hollywood Boulevard. (edenthedoll/Instagram)
“What was particularly callous about these crimes,” Eisenberg said, “was the actions of the onlookers.”
The brutal incident underscored the impunity transphobic attackers feel when committing such crimes, activists said, and comes after the number of trans people slain this year alone surpassed 2019’s total seven months in,
Law enforcement coordinated with LGBT+ community leaders to track the men down, while city officials expressed their outrage.
“When I saw the video,” Los Angeles City councillor Mitch O’Farrell said, “like anyone who has seen it who believes in human decency, to see this level of violence celebrated gleefully, so much so that the perpetrator himself posted on social media, is like a sucker punch to all of us who believe in civilised behaviour.”
