On January 7, three girls attacked 16-year-old transgender student Nex Benedict in the restroom of his Oklahoma high school.
Following the attack, Benedict’s mother took him to Bailey Medical Center, where he was treated and discharged that same evening.
The next day, Benedict collapsed and died on the living room floor of his home.
In Ohio, LGBTQ+ people are gathering across the state to mourn Benedict’s death, holding vigils to honor the teen’s life and memory – and connecting the violence he faced to an unprecedented wave of anti-transgender sentiment.
LGBTQ+ Ohioans gather to mourn
Outside the Ohio Statehouse – where Republican lawmakers recently passed Ohio House Bill (HB) 68, banning healthcare for transgender youth and barring transgender girls from competing in sports – mourners gathered around a faux casket draped with the nonbinary flag.
LGBTQ+ organizers lit votive candles bearing Benedict’s image, left handwritten messages for the teen and spoke openly about his life and death.
The vigil was one of dozens held for Benedict across the country, including gatherings in Toledo and Cincinnati.
Who was Nex Benedict?
In Oklahoma, Benedict’s own community gathered, too.
During a vigil on Feb. 26, Benedict’s partner and several close friends told NBC news that while he was originally identified as non-binary by media, and sometimes used they/them pronouns, Benedict self-identified as transgender.
“I want to start off by saying that Nex was transgender, and he used he/him pronouns,” said 16-year-old Robin Gray, a close friend of Benedict. “He was so much more than his transness.”
Benedict’s friends called him a talented artist with particular love for drawing.
In a Feb. 20 written statement, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. directly addressed Benedict’s death:
“Upon searching our database, we have no indication that Nex was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. However, Nex was a child living within our reservation and deserved love, support and to be kept safe,” Hoskin said.
“The more we learn about Nex’s life, the more we come to know a wonderful child whose experience and identity mattered as was worth celebrating,” he added. “Above all, Nex deserved to live a full life.”
What we know about the assault
A sophomore at Owasso High School on the Cherokee Nation reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, Benedict told an Owasso Police Department (OPD) officer that he had been facing ongoing harassment from other students.
In body camera footage released by the OPD and recorded several hours after the assault occurred, Benedict spoke with the officer while lying on a gurney in the emergency department, accompanied by his mother.
“I got jumped,” Benedict said. “They grabbed on my hair. I grabbed onto them. I threw one of them into a paper towel dispenser and then they got my legs out from under me and got me on the ground, started beating the shit out of me.”
When questioned further, Benedict told the officer the students had been harassing him “because of the way that we dress.”
Growing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment
In 2022, Owasso became the center of an anti-LGBTQ+ firestorm after “Libs of TikTok” – a collection of far-right social media accounts with nearly 3 million followers operated by former real estate agent Chaya Raichik – targeted former Owasso teacher Tyler Wrynn.
In a viral video pushed via Raichik’s accounts, which have been linked to dozens of bombs and death threats since 2021, Wrynn directly addressed LGBTQ+ students in his classroom: “If your parents don’t accept who you are, fuck them. I’m your parents now.”
The video garnered intense anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender backlash, effectively forcing Wrynn to resign from his position with the school district.
In the wake of the incident, Raichik – who does not live in Oklahoma – was appointed to Oklahoma’s Library Media Advisory Committee.
Just days after Benedict’s death, Wrynn told NBC News he knew Benedict and his friends well.
“He and a plethora of queer kids were always in my room,” Wrynn told reporters. “Nex was a fiery kid. He would light up a room and jump to defend any of his friends if they were getting picked on.”
LGBTQ+ organizations respond
Now, LGBTQ+ organizations are linking Raichik’s anti-transgender rhetoric to Benedict’s death – along with a marked increase in anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender violence across the country.
In the first 60 days of 2024 alone, lawmakers have introduced 268 new pieces of anti-transgender legislation.
Oklahoma currently leads the nation in anti-transgender legislation with 60 active anti-transgender bills – many of them containing language identical to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation already passed or proposed by Ohio lawmakers.
Today, more than 350 national, state, and local organizations advocating for equality across the U.S. – alongside notable public figures like Kristin Chenoweth, Demi Lovato, Cynthia Nixon, k.d. lang, and Jonathan Van Ness – issued an open letter to Oklahoma legislative leadership urging justice for Benedict.
“We are outraged that a climate of hate and bigotry has been not only allowed to thrive, but encouraged by the person who is responsible for education in the state of Oklahoma,” the letter read. “State officials must be held accountable for bringing the politics of hate into Oklahoma’s schools and making our most vulnerable youth pay the price.” 🔥
ignite action
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio senator, click here.
- To access the full Trans Legislation Tracker, click here.
- For more information on active designated hate groups across Ohio, click here.
- If you are a young person struggling, contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
Know an LGBTQ+ Ohio story we should cover? TELL US!
Submit a story!
