Trans influencer Nikita Dragun released after being held in men’s jail for Miami incident
By Bryan Ke
Social media influencer Nikita Dragun has been released from a Miami jail after being arrested earlier this week.
Court records reportedly show that the transgender YouTuber was held in a men’s unit of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center — a situation her public relations representative called “extremely disturbing and dangerous.”
“The situation with Nikita, who is legally female, being placed in a men’s unit of a Florida jail is extremely disturbing and dangerous. This decision made by the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department directly violates their protocol, which mandates that transgender inmates are classified and housed based on safety needs and gender identity,” Jack Ketsoyan of Full Scope Public Relations said in a statement.
Dragun, 26, left the posh Goodtime Hotel in handcuffs on Monday after allegedly wandering around naked in the pool area, playing loud music from her room and throwing an open water bottle at a security guard and a responding police officer. She was arrested on felony assault, misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges.
“Your honor, may I ask one question? Do I have to stay here in the men’s unit still?” Dragun asked a judge during a Zoom call. To this, the judge replied, “Yeah, I don’t make the rules up there. But a possible accommodation for you is a separate area.”
In the U.S., an overwhelming majority of transgender inmates are held in facilities based on their sex at birth. A 2020 investigative report by NBC revealed that only 15 out of 4,890 transgender prisoners in 45 states and Washington, D.C., were detained according to their lived gender.
Earlier this year, three transgender individuals filed a federal lawsuit against Miami-Dade County for alleged abuse they suffered after being arrested for participating in protests for Black lives in 2020. The plaintiffs claimed they were threatened, illegally stripped and searched, physically hurt, called degrading names, called the wrong gender pronouns, denied medical treatment and forced to wear attire that did not align with their lived gender as a condition of their freedom.
Dragun was reportedly held on a $2,000 bond but was released on her own recognizance. In his statement, Ketsoyan confirmed that she “has been released and is now safe.”
She is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 7.
Featured Image via WPLG Local 10
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