On Sept. 4, Christopher Lamar Price, of North Charleston, surrendered to police, who had put out “Wanted” posters seeking information so they could arrest him.
He has been charged with a misdemeanor count of second-degree assault and battery for punching the woman following an altercation outside of a popular nightclub, reports the Charleston Post and Courier. If convicted, Price could serve up to three years in prison.
Price has also been ordered, upon his release from prison, to stay away from the area around Deco Nightclub and the Charleston Visitor Center parking garage, where the assault occurred.
On Aug. 19, the victim was walking with her boyfriend and her sister to their car after a night out at King Street bars when they encountered a man near Deco Nightclub on Ann Street.
Surveillance video shows the victim’s sister getting into a verbal confrontation with two men, one of whom is believed to be Price.
Police say the two men taunted the transgender victim and her boyfriend, making derogatory comments about their sexual orientation. Price is shown holding up a smartphone and appears to be filming as the victim and her boyfriend pull the sister away from the two men.
Minutes later, as the victim and her companions tried to take an elevator to the parking garage, police say Price kicked the victim’s sister in the stomach. The victim then began confronting Price, at which point, he punched her in the face, knocking her out. Price and his friend fled as the victim’s sister chased them.
Police were called to the crime scene and found the transgender woman lying on the ground, unresponsive. She later awoke and was transported to a local hospital, where she received eight stitches in her cheek and two staples in her scalp, according to an affidavit.
Price appeared on a video screen from Charleston County jail for the bond hearing. He stood in silence as a victim’s advocate read a statement on behalf of the victim. The statement alleged that the altercation was fueled by his “hatred” for members of the LGBTQ community.
The Charleston Police Department says it’s now classifying the crime as bias-motivated, for reporting purposes. Initially, they denied the assault was a potential hate crime, but later amended that designation after learning more details about the incident, as well as receiving pushback from the local LGBTQ community.
On Tuesday, at a meeting with the pro-LGBTQ group Alliance for Full Acceptance, Charleston police apologized for not classifying the crime as bias-motivated, reports local NBC affiliate WCBD News 2.
CPD Chief Luther Reynolds characterized the mistake as an oversight, and other officials within the department apologized for their role in mischaracterizing the nature of the attack.
“When I got the incident report, there was nothing in there that said she was a transgender,” Charleston Francis, the CPD’s public information officer, told the audience at the meeting. “I asked, ‘Do we know that she was assaulted because she was transgender?’ They said no, there’s no indication at this time that she was assaulted because she was transgender. That’s what we had at the time, but once we realized and got additional information, that’s when we put out.”
Depputy Chief Naomi Broughton apologized for only looking at what was written on the incident report and not asking further questions.
South Carolina doesn’t have a hate crime law, meaning there are no extra enhancements, or harsher penalties, that can be doled out if Price is found guilty. However, information about the prevalence of bias crimes is collected by the State Law Enforcement Division and tracked by the FBI.
Thanks to the Trump administration, policing gender is becoming the norm -- and it's about much more than trans women.
By Riki Wilchins
March 29, 2025
A Tucson Walmart called the police on a Black "stud"-identified lesbian last month, claiming a man had entered the women's room.
The two male Pima County sheriff's deputies accosted 19-year-old Kalaya Morton just after she had used a tampon and while she was in the stall still trying to pee.
They demanded that she come out immediately, which she was unable to do. Even after she finished her business and exited the stall, lifting her shirt to show the two men that she was a cisgender woman, one of the male deputies still complained that Kalaya "looked like a man."
Sheriff's deputies accused Kalaya Morton of being a "man" due to her gender expression, demonstrating how cis women can be targeted by anti-trans restroom laws.
A Black 19-year-old cisgender lesbian from Phoenix says she was humiliated after Pima County Sheriff's deputies barged into a Walmart women's restroom in Tucson that she was using last month.
Kalaya Morton, who describes herself as a "stud," and is a masculine-presenting woman, says she believes the deputies were called by a store employee who assumed she was transgender.
Speaking with The Advocate, Morton said she had entered the store restroom on February 19, along with her ex-girlfriend, who had handed her a tampon, when two male deputies stormed in, shining flashlights into the stall where she was using the toilet. They demanded that she exit the restroom.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed two anti-transgender bills into law, one of which bars transgender people from public restrooms matching their gender identity and the other banning transgender women and girls from female-designated sports teams.
The laws were passed on party-line votes in both legislative chambers, with Republicans voting in the affirmative.
The first law requires public schools, correctional facilities, other public buildings -- including the state Capitol -- and domestic violence shelters to designate bathrooms, changing facilities, and sleeping areas for a single sex -- male or female. Entry to such spaces will be based on a person's assigned sex at birth, as determined by a person's chromosomal makeup.
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A South Carolina judge has set bail at $75,000 for a 30-year-old man who’s been accused of harassing and knocking out a transgender woman in downtown Charleston earlier this month.
On Sept. 4, Christopher Lamar Price, of North Charleston, surrendered to police, who had put out “Wanted” posters seeking information so they could arrest him.
He has been charged with a misdemeanor count of second-degree assault and battery for punching the woman following an altercation outside of a popular nightclub, reports the Charleston Post and Courier. If convicted, Price could serve up to three years in prison.
Price has also been ordered, upon his release from prison, to stay away from the area around Deco Nightclub and the Charleston Visitor Center parking garage, where the assault occurred.
On Aug. 19, the victim was walking with her boyfriend and her sister to their car after a night out at King Street bars when they encountered a man near Deco Nightclub on Ann Street.
Surveillance video shows the victim’s sister getting into a verbal confrontation with two men, one of whom is believed to be Price.
Police say the two men taunted the transgender victim and her boyfriend, making derogatory comments about their sexual orientation. Price is shown holding up a smartphone and appears to be filming as the victim and her boyfriend pull the sister away from the two men.
Minutes later, as the victim and her companions tried to take an elevator to the parking garage, police say Price kicked the victim’s sister in the stomach. The victim then began confronting Price, at which point, he punched her in the face, knocking her out. Price and his friend fled as the victim’s sister chased them.
Police were called to the crime scene and found the transgender woman lying on the ground, unresponsive. She later awoke and was transported to a local hospital, where she received eight stitches in her cheek and two staples in her scalp, according to an affidavit.
Price appeared on a video screen from Charleston County jail for the bond hearing. He stood in silence as a victim’s advocate read a statement on behalf of the victim. The statement alleged that the altercation was fueled by his “hatred” for members of the LGBTQ community.
The Charleston Police Department says it’s now classifying the crime as bias-motivated, for reporting purposes. Initially, they denied the assault was a potential hate crime, but later amended that designation after learning more details about the incident, as well as receiving pushback from the local LGBTQ community.
On Tuesday, at a meeting with the pro-LGBTQ group Alliance for Full Acceptance, Charleston police apologized for not classifying the crime as bias-motivated, reports local NBC affiliate WCBD News 2.
CPD Chief Luther Reynolds characterized the mistake as an oversight, and other officials within the department apologized for their role in mischaracterizing the nature of the attack.
“When I got the incident report, there was nothing in there that said she was a transgender,” Charleston Francis, the CPD’s public information officer, told the audience at the meeting. “I asked, ‘Do we know that she was assaulted because she was transgender?’ They said no, there’s no indication at this time that she was assaulted because she was transgender. That’s what we had at the time, but once we realized and got additional information, that’s when we put out.”
Depputy Chief Naomi Broughton apologized for only looking at what was written on the incident report and not asking further questions.
South Carolina doesn’t have a hate crime law, meaning there are no extra enhancements, or harsher penalties, that can be doled out if Price is found guilty. However, information about the prevalence of bias crimes is collected by the State Law Enforcement Division and tracked by the FBI.
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