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Cyclist Charged After Video Shows Her Attacking First Nations Woman For Not Wearing A Bra
A viral video of a woman attacking another woman for supposedly not wearing a bra shows the altercation from the victim’s perspective.
Laura Gagnon, a First Nations woman in Ottawa, Canada, shared the video on Twitter. While the woman in the video has yet to be publicly identified, people online are calling for action against her.
According to Gagnon, she initially shared the video to Instagram and later uploaded it to Twitter.
\u201cYesterday evening I was attacked by a white woman who was upset I was wearing no bra. I utilized IG live to record her actions against me. I have never experienced a white mob chasing me and it\u2019s the scariest thing that\u2019s ever happened to me in my life. Please be safe out there\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662637720
The footage, taken last week, showed the two women yelling at each other. Gagnon questioned why she was being shamed for what she was wearing, and said she was an Indigenous woman on un-ceded Algonquin territory.
The women appeared to get into a fight, with Gagnon telling the woman not to touch her.
Things took a turn when the woman realized Gagnon was recording her.
She screamed:
“Stop filming!”
From there, the encounter escalated.
\u201c@LauraGee77 What the hell! This is horrible.\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662637720
\u201c@hdshovel1 @TizzyEnt @LauraGee77 Right? Like they would have had some Nerve to be offended by someone else\u2019s body when they look the way they do. It was totally racially Motivated, charge all these people with a hate crime.\u201d— TizzyEnt (@TizzyEnt) 1662667165
\u201c@MatthewGreenNDP It felt like that 100%, I am astounded the man who punched my driver side window hasn\u2019t been charged @OttawaPolice\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662637720
\u201c@SerenaSims17 @LauraGee77 I love the "broken can of biscuits" reference. It helped me laugh.\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662637720
\u201c@flowabug @TizzyEnt @LauraGee77 Aerosol Hairspray ladies......if you happen to have to use it to defend yourself...hey it was all you had...\u201d— TizzyEnt (@TizzyEnt) 1662667165
\u201cDon\u2019t peak in high school.\u201d— The Platypus \ud83c\udf41 (@The Platypus \ud83c\udf41) 1662747251
Police were called to the area over the incident. According to the Ottawa Citizen, police responded to reports of a “collision.”.
The suspect was charged with assault and mischief, and released pending a court appearance. They have not chosen to prosecute this as a hate-crime related incident.
Regardless, the two minute video seemed to escalate very quickly from a verbal altercation to a mob attacking Gagnon in her car. What could Gagnon have done to upset them so much?
According to her, the fight began because the suspect was upset she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Since then, Gagnon has released some updates on what happened.
\u201cFirst of all, I want to say how overwhelmed and grateful I am to have received the love, support and kindness from strangers around the world. As an Indigenous woman, I embody the messages of survivorship through autonomy and sovereignty over my body everyday.\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662757663
\u201cI choose not to fixate on the negativity and hope that these people will one day honour themselves by creating a safer world for all of us and for our future generations. The hyper-sexualization, aggressive jealousy and violence towards us is despicable for Canada\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662757663
\u201cAgain, I\u2019m thankful to have had Ottawa to be a haven during times I desperately needed that change my life for the better - but once I became strong and resilient - it was as if this city failed the very creation I worked so hard for.\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662757663
\u201c@TrendS3tter_ @LauraGee77 I believe the police investigated & an assault charge was laid. The info is in a tweet by Ottawa Police\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662757663
\u201c@NJNadine1975 @LauraGee77 the main attacker has been arrested and charged with assault, though her name has not been released, no follow-up on the other attackers yet. https://t.co/BaZIC4uqaD\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662757663
\u201c@juliederigaud @LauraGee77 Thank god!\u201d— Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA (@Laura Gagnon B.Coms, MA) 1662757663
The suspect is expected back in court later this year. Ottawa police have also reached out to Gagnon and offered support.
While it hasn’t been charged as a hate crime, it does seem strange that Gagnon would be attacked out of nowhere. That said, hate crimes have been happening more often lately.
Just last month a woman got into a fight, assaulting and making racist comments about a group of Indian-American women. That altercation is being investigated as a hate crime.