- Lynette Matusik captured part of the attack with a camera in her glasses
- She went into a bar and was grabbed by a security guard, lifted into the air and thrown
- Matusik had a black eye and the security company was fired
This is the shocking moment a bouncer punches a transgender woman in the face, giving her a horrific black eye, after shouting transphobic insults at her.
Lynette Matusik, who captured part of the attack on a camera in her Meta smart glasses, claims she was the victim of a hate crime.
She was out with friends last Friday night and wanted to end the evening at Billy Jack’s Shack, a popular restaurant and bar in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I was just jumping around,” Matusik said. “At the end of the night I was looking for food and went to Billy Jack’s cabin.”
But she claims she was grabbed by the arm by the bouncer, lifted into the air, thrown to the ground and choked while being hurled with homophobic abuse.
Lynette Matusik, who captured part of the attack on a camera in her Meta smart glasses, claims she was the victim of a hate crime
As she entered, she claimed a man grabbed her by the arm and lifted her into the air, threw her to the ground, and eventually put his arm around her throat while he shouted homophobic terms
“Wow, hey, get your hands off me,” she says as he grabs her and tells him she’s recording this. “I don’t care,” the bouncer replies, before Matusik asks, “Why are you choking me?”
“I asked you for your ID,” the bouncer replies. Matusik denies ever asking for identification.
The attacker, who claimed Matusik bit her thigh, called police after she was taken outside. Authorities and medics responded and transported her to a hospital.
Her body was bruised and bruised, including a brutal black eye.
When shown a video of the incident, he declined to comment if warranted. However, the company has since stated that no one should be suffocated by security guards, WCNC reported.
Gridiron Protection Services, the company hired to guard Billy Jack’s, hasn’t even applied for a license to do security work, an illegal but common practice in the state, according to the Charlotte Observer.
“They are not security forces, and I will not use that word,” Matusik said.
Matusik says her body was bruised and bruised, including a brutal black eye
Gridiron Protection Services, the company hired to guard Billy Jack’s, hasn’t even applied for a license to do security work, an illegal but common practice in the state
Unarmed guards are required by law to complete a 16-hour course that covers the basics; there is a 20-hour course for armed guards.
Last Sunday, the bar released a statement on its social media channels saying it had severed ties with Gridiron, claiming the incident “goes against exactly what Billy Jack’s Shack stands for.”
North Carolina’s Private Protective Services Board said it is opening an investigation into Gridiron, which has not yet commented on the situation.
In the last two years, the agency says it has investigated 74 security companies in North Carolina for lacking licenses, six of them in Charlotte alone.
Only Matusik, who received a simple assault charge, was charged in that incident for the alleged bite of the security guard.
Matusik shared her video with the hope “that the resolution of this incident will stimulate a broader discussion about security measures” and says the vitriolic accusation is “ridiculous.”
She is calling for the case to be investigated as a hate crime.