Yahoo Finance Fans react to trans influencer Nikita Dragun allegedly being placed in men's cell after her arrest: It's 'a human rights violation'
Influencer Nikita Dragun made headlines earlier this week when she was arrested in Miami after being caught allegedly walking around a luxury hotel pool naked.
The YouTuber, whose legal name is Nikita Nguyen, was reported as causing a disturbance and being disorderly on Monday, according to TMZ. After being confronted by hotel staff, she allegedly splashed them with water.
Later, police officers and hotel security went up to her room and told her to turn down the music she was playing or she’d be asked to leave. In response, Dragun reportedly slammed the door in their faces before opening it again and allegedly swinging an open water bottle at them, causing water to hit and spill on a security guard and an officer.
The series of events caused Dragun to be charged with felony battery on a police officer, misdemeanor disorderly conduct and misdemeanor battery.
The influencer was booked at Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. According to Dragun’s rep, she has since been released.
Dragun’s rep also claimed that the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department put Dragun, who is transgender, in the men’s unit of the jail.
“This decision made by the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department directly violates their protocol, which mandates that transgender inmates are classified and housed based on safety needs and gender identity,” the representative said in a statement to a local Miami outlet.
Dragun’s bond hearing — which was virtual — has since gone viral and has upset fans. Dragun talked to Judge Mindy Glazer and clarified her pronouns as “she” and “her” and then asked the judge if she had to stay in the men’s unit. Fans were quick to notice that Dragun appeared to be holding back tears in the video.
“Yeah, I don’t make the rules up there,” the judge replied, “but there should be proper accommodation for you.”
According to a screenshot that has circulated along with the video, Dragun’s sex was also allegedly misidentified as male in the booking records.
Nikita Dragun is being kept in a men’s unit after being arrested in Florida. While she’s most likely in protective custody, it’s concerning that Florida jails have such poor protocols to deal with trans folks. Also the judge’s lack of empathy is outrageous pic.twitter.com/mDiR6p3nuT
— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) November 9, 2022
Twitter users didn’t hold back their shared horror and disappointment about the situation.
I’m not a fan of Nikita Dragun nor am I defending her actions in any shape or form but when she was put into jail and forced to stay in a men’s unit, that’s heartbreaking and dangerous. Trans Women are Women.
— little miss gaslight gatekeep girlboss (@aangeloplaza) November 9, 2022
The whole “I don’t like Nikita dragun but… she doesn’t deserve this”
Can y’all knock that off. She doesn’t deserve this period. The end. No further conversation. No qualifications. She deserves basic human rights. 👍🏾— Paigey✨ (@PaigeChristieUK) November 9, 2022
nikita dragun is facing a human rights violation by being put in a men’s jail — i don’t think that in this moment, whether or not you personally like her is the point
— matt (@mattxiv) November 9, 2022
A bombshell investigation by NBC News in 2020 found that transgender inmates are “almost never” housed according to their identity. NBC found that despite federal law requiring state prisons to evaluate where to house transgender prisoners, nearly all such prisoners across the U.S. were assigned to units according to their sex at birth and not their gender identity.
Recently, transgender inmates have been suing prisons to get basic gender-affirming care, which is considered medically necessary. Transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary and intersex inmates are also more likely to face violence and discrimination in prisons.
As of Thursday, Dragun has not made any public comments about the arrest.
The post Fans react to Nikita Dragun allegedly being placed in men’s cell after her arrest in Miami appeared first on In The Know.
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