The journey from those first articles featuring headlines about Republicans passing anti-LGBTQ bathroom laws and 'now a nonbinary teen is dead,' to now seems so very long ago. It's only been a week.
The death of Dagny Benedict has ignited a cultural movement of outrage and passionate activism on the left, but for those on the right, it's been a relentless struggle to get the basic facts above the raging waters of narrative.
But now there's video.
One would think this would be enough to settle some of the bigger questions and put much of the speculation to rest, but it seems to have only fueled the fires more.
Judd Legum, who likes to think of himself as a journalist, posted what he was certain would be a groundbreaking fracture in the case, proving without a doubt the victim status of Benedict.
In a new video released by Owasso Police, Nex Benedict describes how they were bullied by three girls for "the way that we dress."
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 24, 2024
After Nex dumped some water on them, the girls pinned Nex to the ground and beat Nex until Nex blacked outhttps://t.co/fgfl6wP8Rd
The only problem is ... the video shows the complete opposite of what he was going for. Instead of a frightened victim of a hate crime beating, Benedict is, well, not as sympathetic as her supporters would like her to be.
To begin, the earliest reports indicated Benedict needed support walking out of the bathroom, only to be contradicted by an official statement by the school that all the students walked on their own to the principal's office.
So, this 'blacked out,' bit seems unlikely.
Also, remember, Benedict texted a family member after the incident detailing how she'd just gotten in a fight she instigated by throwing water at three girls in the restroom. In her own words she was fine, with a few scrapes and bruises. She did not seem upset or even angry.
All of this has been significantly cleared up though by body camera footage released by the Owasso Police department interviewing Benedict in the hospital after the incident.
Benedict is alert, coherent and seemingly doing fine emotionally. She tells the story of what happened with confident calm, almost bragging about her exploits.
In between her mother, understandably frustrated by the incident and her perception of the school not doing enough to stop the alleged bullying her daughter faced, Benedict relays her own actions without a hint of concern of the consequences.
The officer asks her if she had reported the alleged relentless bullying to any school authorities and she shrugs and says no, she didn't really see the point in it. She also states she didn't know the girls in the fight and hadn't had any interactions with them before the incident. Indicating they were freshman and she and her friends were sophomores.
When the officer asks if the girls 'messed' with her and her friends, she shrugs and says, 'yeah because of the way that we dress.'
The incident began, as Benedict tells the story, 'We were laughing and they were laughing with their friends and they said something like, 'why do they laugh like that?' She says they were talking about her and her friends, in front of them.
So, she walked over and poured water on them.
She then states, again very calmly, 'They came at me, they grabbed at me and my hair, I grabbed their hair, I threw one of them into a paper towel dispenser, then they got my legs out from under me, got me on the ground and started beating the sh*t out of me.' Another shrug.
Her friends tried to jump in and help and then she says, 'I'm not sure, I blacked out.'
The officer also clarifies that if she presses charges, it will be understood to be a mutual fight. She was the first who assaulted, and the girls defended themselves. Throwing water was an assault and she initiated the conflict. Which her mom agrees.
So, to clarify, not a targeted anti-LGBTQ beating of a helpless nonbinary girl in the bathroom she was forced to be in because of hateful Republicans.
Despite these details, which clearly show her as the aggressor, LGBTQ activists were not moved from their conviction.
At one point the officer explictly called the bullying Nex was receiving "their free speech." https://t.co/6OFcIme618
— Assigned Media (Evan Urquhart) (@assignedmedia) February 24, 2024
The idea that Nex squirting water on a girl is the same thing as 3 girls beating her unconscious is fucking absurd. Yeah Nex shouldn't have done it but that doesn't mean those girls get to beat the hell out of her. https://t.co/KYpdxCdTJ7
— Stephaine Bessette hates liars. 🔥 (@Sixxwitch1) February 24, 2024
There is no doubt- a federal investigation must be done. This is a hate crime and police dropped the ball. @potus @DOJCrimDiv @SenWarren @RonWyden @JeffMerkley @RepValHoyle #JusticeForNex https://t.co/MPeK4naULk
— Julie Redman,MSW,MPH Anti-Christofascism 🏳️⚧️ (@julredman) February 24, 2024
Documentation of the police officer blaming Nex, trying them to not file a report & trying the protect the violent attackers but sure #OwassoPolice are going to get justice for the murder victim they didn’t even want to do a report for. https://t.co/0DrG8OlR37
— Scorpionturtle (@Scorpion_turtle) February 24, 2024
Multiple systems failed this trans, Indigenous youth. Absolutely tragic. https://t.co/Q6Jyb6eK0w
— Heradasha 2.0 (@notheradasha) February 24, 2024
As many noticed, one major thing stood out in the ongoing dialogue.
So. Dagney Benedict expresses NO PROBLEM with her mother or the officer repeatedly calling her “she.” She expressed no issue with her mother calling her Dangney instead of “Nex.”
— LibertyJ (@LibertyJen) February 24, 2024
She was never “beaten unconscious” or “unable to walk” (by her own admission.) SHE started the… https://t.co/CpHK7SYbI0
So. Dagney Benedict expresses NO PROBLEM with her mother or the officer repeatedly calling her “she.” She expressed no issue with her mother calling her Dangney instead of “Nex.” She was never “beaten unconscious” or “unable to walk” (by her own admission.) SHE started the fight by throwing water on the other girls. Virtually evey single talking point put out by the alphabet mafia was a lie.
Her gender identity, pronouns, even her preferred name didn't seem all that important to her at the time. So why are LGBTQ activists so aggressive about enforcing nonbinary pronouns now?
Almost as if the entire thing is solely for politics.
This is a great reminder to wait for the facts. Kids are kids and this looks like a pretty typical high school drama that turned into a fight. A fight, in her own words, she started.
Sorry, Judd, I don't think this is the slam dunk you were hoping for.
