This blog is originally appeared at LGBTQ Nation

“No one stepped in to help,” one witness said, describing how people cheered as the women were assaulted.

LGBTQ+ advocates say bystanders cheered as two transgender women were brutally attacked in Minneapolis earlier this month.

According to a statement from Minneapolis Police to The Independent, the two women were confronted by a group making derogatory comments at a downtown light rail station on November 10, which escalated into a “physical altercation.”

Amber Muhm, one of the organizers of a rally supporting the victims of the attack at the station, spoke with The Independent about the incident. She identified the two women only as Dahlia and Jess. They told her that as they were leaving the station, a man yelled anti-trans slurs at them. When Jess asked him to stop, he “sucker punched” her. In response, Dahlia struck the man with her cane, which prompted four or five other men to join in and violently assault the pair.

Both women were knocked unconscious, with Dahlia suffering a broken nose and Jess left with multiple rib contusions.

“No one came to help them,” Muhm told CBS News, recounting that bystanders cheered on the attackers while the women were being beaten. “It was a traumatic event, and they’re still dealing with the physical consequences, but the community is what’s keeping them grounded right now,” Muhm added.

Minneapolis police confirmed to CBS News that they were investigating the incident, but no arrests had been made as of Sunday night. Muhm called for more urgent action from the police. “They need to step up because this keeps happening, and it’s ridiculous and unacceptable at this point,” she said.

Dahlia and Jess had moved to Minnesota from Iowa specifically because of the state’s Trans Refuge law, which was introduced by state Rep. Leigh Finke (D), Minnesota’s first openly trans legislator. The law, passed in March 2023, protects access to gender-affirming care in the state, regardless of laws in other states.

At the rally, Rep. Finke predicted that more trans people would likely relocate to Minnesota following the re-election campaign of former President Donald Trump, whose political ads during the 2024 election cycle fueled anti-trans rhetoric. “People are so emboldened now. There’s so much false data, so many false narratives about trans people,” Muhm said, referencing claims made by rally bystanders that gender-affirming surgeries were being performed “on 10-year-olds.”

One speaker at the rally told CBS News that Trump’s re-election is instilling fear in the trans community. “People are talking to me about erasing their social media presence, going back in the closet,” they said.

Despite the mounting fear, Muhm encouraged the community to remain strong. “The community here is beautiful. We’re building a movement, we’re going to get through this, and we’re going to be stronger for it. Minneapolis is going to be such a beautiful place for trans people to live,” she said.

However, with rising concerns about anti-trans violence, Muhm acknowledged that many trans people in the city are preparing for a possible surge in hostility. “People are about to get a lot more hostile and emboldened in their transphobia,” she said. “So, what do we do to protect ourselves when we’re out?” Many in the community are enrolling in self-defense classes and looking into acquiring handgun permits to safeguard themselves.