On November 16, 2016, Lourdes Ashley Hunter, the Executive Director and co-founder of the Trans Women of Color Collective, was arrested without a warrant while hosting a gathering in her apartment for activists and advocates from around the nation who would be attending the White House Transgender Community Briefing with her the following day. The arrest followed a disagreement between Ms. Hunter and her neighbors about the level of noise coming from her apartment. Four police officers came to the apartment for what they described as an investigation of "a possible assault." After disagreeing with that characterization, Ms. Hunter retreated back into her apartment, where she was followed by an officer who grabbed her by her arm and neck. The officers told Ms. Hunter she was being arrested for assault, placed her in handcuffs, dragged her out of her apartment, and held her in custody for hours.
In February 2017, we filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the officers and the District of Columbia for this unlawful warrantless arrest and unconstitutional warrantless entry into Ms. Hunter's home.
In October 2017, we reached a settlement with the District of Columbia on behalf of Ms. Hunter.
