A 30-year-old trans man was attacked last Friday in Denver while waiting for a train, and he couldn’t even get home after the beating because the Uber car he ordered kicked him out when he said he was trans.
At about 10:30 p.m., Syre Klenke was on his way home after spending time at a gay bar with friends.
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While at the train station, someone Klenke described as male-presenting and about 5′ 8″ with a “heavy” and “athletic” build approached him and began repeatedly punching him in the side of the head while yelling anti-LGBTQ slurs.
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The attacker was much larger than Klenke, who said he is only 5′ 2″ and 125 pounds. By rolling on his back and pushing away from the attacker with his feet, Klenke was able to escape.
Following the attack, Klenke shared photos of himself with the media, which show him bloody and bruised with a black eye.
Unfortunately, his horrific night didn’t end there. After he escaped, Klenke decided to call an Uber as a safer route home, but once he got in the vehicle, he again faced discrimination.
Klenke informed the driver he was a trans man and had just experienced a brutal attack. The driver reacted by getting out of the car, opening the door next to Klenke, and telling him to leave or he’d pull him out.
Klenke reported the incident to Uber, which refunded his cancellation fee and is investigating the incident.
“What Klenke reported is heartbreaking and something nobody should ever have to experience,” the company said in a statement. “Uber does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and we will take the appropriate action.”
Klenke expressed his shock that these incidents occurred in a city like Denver, which received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index and is widely considered one of the country’s most LGBTQ-friendly cities.
“I never would have expected, of all places, for this to happen here,” Klenke said.
He added that his experience shows that anti-LGBTQ sentiment is everywhere and that the dangers of being LGBTQ are not exclusive to conservative areas.
“I think it definitely highlights, you know, that this isn’t a problem that’s only happening in the south; this isn’t a problem that’s only happening in a specific area; it’s not even a problem that’s only happening in the United States,” he said.
Klenke also said that he has appreciated the response from both the LGBTQ community in Denver as well as the Denver Police Department.
“We just really need to be standing up for each other as a community,” he said.
