Author: Melanie Bennet
A trans-identified man in Courtenay, B.C., has admitted on Instagram to smacking a teenager “upside the head” at Lewis Park after a group of youths called him a “tranny,” later telling Juno News he would “do it all over again” and warning that anyone who questions his existence will be treated as a threat.
Leanne Lawson said he was “minding [his] own business” in Lewis Park when a “group of kids” directed the slur at him and “used words they weren’t supposed to.” In a series of videos posted to Instagram, Lawson said he responded by smacking one of the youths upside the head.
Lawson continued filming as he followed the teens, trading insults with them. After one teen told him to stop following, another person can be heard telling the group they would “all get [their] a*ses kicked.”
When the mother of one of the youths approached and apologized, Lawson admitted to the assault and warned that her “son better not talk crazy like that, or he’s going to get his head knocked off.”
In a subsequent video, Lawson said he is “not ok” and “terrified.” He stated that the youths’ status as minors did not matter: “anyone who talks to [him] like that… [he’s] going to react like that.”
Juno News contacted Lawson seeking comment on the park incident. He replied with another Instagram video in which he said he would “do it all over again.”
“A lot of you seem to think violence isn’t the answer,” Lawson said. “The truth is, the violence has already started.” He claimed “there’s literally a trans genocide going on” and added that if anyone approaches him to “explain [his] existence,” he will “interpret it as a threat” and “act accordingly.”
Lawson justified the assault by saying the youths used the “n-word” and are “repeat offenders.” He blamed the community for failing to “giv[e] them a bit of wisdom since their parents can’t seem to give them any,” and said it was his responsibility to discipline them. The teens were lucky, he claimed, that he “only smacked them upside the head.”
Had the youths been adults, Lawson said, he would have “drop-kicked them” and “made sure they can’t eat solid food for a while.” Looking into the camera, he added: “Just think about that next time you’re transphobic to a tranny.”
Was it arrested for assault?