Justice for Epona Rose! Drop the Charges! Trans Liberation, No Negotiation! Wednesday, December 20th (day before the Winter Solstice). RALLY: 10:30am COURT: 11:00am At Coconino County Superior Court 200 N. San Francisco St. Downtown Flagstaff, AZ
Please help fill the courthouse & show solidarity with Epona. If you plan on entering the court building, bring ID (no weapons etc).
Epona’s fight for her own freedom is not over. The courts keep pushing her court date. Her next court date is December 20th at 11:00 am. The courts have moved the date three times during these last couple months. She needs solidarity through this. This is not just Epona’s fight. If prosecution succeeds , what does that say for other marginalized Trans/two spirit lives ? We need to ask Why we cant defend ourselves from rape and murder .
Epona is scheduled for an arraignment on August 28th at the Coconino County Superior Court (200 N. San Francisco St, downtown Flagstaff, AZ). A rally will be held right before the proceeding starting at 12:20pm.
Please help fill the courthouse and show solidarity with Epona. If you plan on entering the court building bring ID (no weapons etc).
We will continue to hold space outside the court and plan to march after the proceeding. Bring banners and signs.
Trans Woman Arrested After Being Attacked in Flagstaff, AZ, Initially Charged with Attempted Homicide For Defending Herself Coconino County Jail Furthers Transphobic Harassment & Mistreatment
Flagstaff, AZ — On the morning of August 11th, Epona Rose was attacked in downtown Kinłani/Flagstaff, Arizona by a group of three men while two or more watched. The men were drunk and sexually harassing her. The attack escalated into threats of rape, and then to physical violence, when they realized that Epona is transgender.
Epona defended herself bravely against this attack and did not call the police, but she was the only one arrested. Epona faces felony charges including aggravated assault. She was initially held on the men’s side of the Coconino County Jail in segregation with one hour a day out of her cell. She struggled to gain access to her prescribed medications. Political pressure seems to have improved her conditions; however, Epona is still unable to receive equitable treatment and has filed complaints of sexual harassment. Epona’s arraignment is August 28th and her bond is set for over $500,000. A team of national organizers and local support have mobilized and are fiercely working to overturn such an excessive amount and the fear mongering charges.
An initial arraignment on August 17th was vacated with no reason given by the courts. A rally was held with more than 25 people calling for Epona’s immediate release. A vigil was held outside of Coconino County Jail the previous evening, more than 40 people attended, sharing their stories and chanting “Who keeps up safe? We keep us safe!”
Epona shared this statement from jail: “I was charged as a man, as I am a woman of trans experience. I was initially booked into jail on charges of aggravated assault, as well as attempted homicide, second degree, unjustly. I was defending myself, my womanhood, against three men. While I’ve been in this facility I’ve been mistreated. I have been treated as a man. I have been asked fourteen times about my genitalia by staff. I have been laughed at and ridiculed. I have been put into isolation. Make no mistakes, the United States is now living in the Weimar Republic era. I have been fighting the way I can from the inside with what little power I have from the inside.”
Epona further stated, “I am not safe here, but I am holding on to hope, and I know that I will be free. I want to thank everybody who has shown support and is fighting for me on the outside. Thank you, loved ones, relatives, comrades. I look forward to seeing you. Thank you so much for the fight. Solidarity!”
The longer Epona is in jail, the much more at risk she is exposed to as a trans woman and abolitionist. We cannot let Epona be made an example out of by demanding the basic rights of genderqueer, third gender, Two Spirit, and/or trans people to exist!
Epona’s lawyer, Ryan Stevens of the Griffen & Stevens Law Firm in Flagstaff, explained, “Our priorities are clear: keep Epona safe; get her out; and present a complete defense to her charges in court. We are at the very beginning of what may be a long haul fighting for Epona and asserting her rights in court, including self-defense.”
Arraignment is scheduled for August 28th at 1pm; Epona’s supporters will be gathering at Coconino County Superior Court located at 200 N San Francisco st, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Epona’s supporters are fundraising for her legal fees and associated costs; please specify that your donation is for Epona. You can also use the “rose” emoji.
Support Epona’s legal defense and bail fund: Paypal: @brokebackwolfpack Venmo: @brokebackwolfpack Cashapp: $brokebackwolfpack
You can also contact the Coconino County Board of Supervisors and demand Epona is treated with dignity as a trans woman:
Epona Rose is a woman of trans experience who was attacked on the street in Flagstaff by a group of three men while two more men watched.
Epona Rose
The men were drunk and sexually harassing her in a way that was making her feel unsafe. The harassment escalated to threats of rape, and then to actual physical violence, when they realized she was transgender. Epona defended herself bravely against this attack and did not call the police. She was then punished for this when the cops arrived and arrested only her.
Epona is currently being held on the men’s side of Coconino County Detention Facility in segregation with one hour a day out of her cell, where she has struggled to gain access to her prescribed medications. Her current bond is set at $500,750 but we are fiercely working to overturn such an excessive bond amount and fear mongering charges. The longer Epona is in jail, the much more risk she is exposed to as a trans woman and abolitionist. We cannot let Epona be made an example out of for demanding the basic rights of genderqueer, third gender, Two Spirit, and/or trans people to exist.
For her commissary, phone, and potential bond, please send donations to her family’s accounts specifying thr donations are for Epona. You can also use the emoji to specify donations are for Epona:
“In the year of a state of emergency, I’m still alive.”
“I defended myself against three men. They classified me as a male in here. I don’t feel safe around other men.”
quote from Epona’s partner:
“Epona was feeling unsafe even before she was physically attacked…She knew she was vulnerable traveling alone as a houseless, traumatized, neurodiverse trans woman, and yet her mission of building resource networks for other trans humans was so important to her that she decided to take that risk, even when her traveling partners flaked off one by one. That was her sacrifice. And she needs our support now.
emoji to specify donations are for Epona: