Trans Community Center Vandalized for Fifth Time
refuses to recognize transgender identity as valid and restricts access to single-sex spaces based on a person’s assigned sex at birth.The Little Rock-based InTRANSitive has seen repeated acts of vandalism against its community center since opening in December 2021.
The vandalism appears to have increased as the organization has become more visible, with its members and staffers speaking out against proposed laws targeting transgender people.Beginning last year, someone damaged the pipes outside of the building at least four times, according to Rumba Yambú, founder and executive director of InTRANSitive.Solar-powered security cameras have disappeared, and plants in the yard have been damaged.
Two weekends ago, the same pipes that were previously damaged were completely ripped from the ground.The first four times the pipes were damaged, the group spent between $900 and $1,200 each time on repairs.The most recent action cost $1,400 to fix the pipes and another $900 to install a protective cage over them.
InTRANSitive is fundraising to cover the cost of repairs because Yambú had to pay for them using a credit card.Yambú also said they expect the group’s water bill to be much higher due to flooding caused by the pipe damage.Yambú said the FBI is aware of the vandalism and reached out to the community center to have an in-person meeting about the repeated incidents of vandalism, even though Yambú said they did not file a report with the FBI.A spokesperson for the FBI told NBC News that the law enforcement agency “is aware of the situation,” but declined to comment further about whether an official investigation has been launched.Yambú said the center did not report any incidents of vandalism to local police because the members of the trans community have frequently faced police harassment.Yambú also said Little Rock Police Department officers repeatedly patrol in front of the center — which hosts a weekly support group meeting for transgender teenagers — and have tried.
