Police in Portland, Oregon, arrested 51-year-old William Thomas Ashley for allegedly attacking a transgender woman at a light rail station last Sunday after making transphobic and racist comments.

Ashley allegedly approached the woman aggressively, called her “a man,” then grabbed her umbrella, and hit her with it several times, KPTV reported. He then allegedly grabbed her by the hair, pulling her to the ground and punching her while screaming, “You don’t belong in my country!”

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Security video from the light rail station showed Ashley trying to stab the woman. However, she used her bag to block the assault. When police arrived, they found the woman “bleeding profusely” from her knees and transported her to a local hospital.

Police officers approached Ashley, and he allegedly headbutted and kicked one officer, and then used an anti-Asian slur. Even after the police arrested Ashley and put him in the back of a patrol car, he allegedly repeatedly called an officer the n-word and spat at him through the partition.

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Ashley underwent a February 9 court hearing and now faces charges of first-degree bias crime, attempted second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, fourth-degree assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault on a public safety officer, and interfering with public transportation.

“We see Portland as a really trans-friendly town,” said Mikki Gillette, a trans woman who works at the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon. “We try to make Oregon the best place in the country for queer and trans people, so when something like this, which seems deliberately hateful against the trans community, happens, it’s really frightening.”

Oregon reported 11 hate crimes against trans people in 2023, a slight decrease from the 14 reported in 2022 and the 13 reported in 2021, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). It’s unlikely that the DOJ will continue reporting hate crime incidents against trans people in the near future, as the president has issued an executive order instructing the federal government to no longer recognize the existence of trans people.

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