A UTD student was charged with aggravated assault on Tuesday after attacking student members of the Turning Point USA chapter at UTD.
Biomedical engineering junior Alyssa Nguyen was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of criminal mischief, one count of attempting to take a weapon from an officer, one count of resisting arrest, search or transport and one count of assaulting a peace officer.
A video of the incident was published on X, formerly known as Twitter, by TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk. As of publication, Kirk’s video has received over 4.6 million views. Kirk said that the incident, which occurred around 3 p.m., involved the TPUSA chapter president Paige Neuman, and her alleged vice president, identified only as “Grace.” In an interview with the Dallas Morning News Neuman said that she and her vice president Shreyas Dalal were the ones attacked.
“The attacker took a metal bike lock and slammed it against Paige’s head, hitting her so hard that it completely shattered Paige’s phone,” Kirk wrote on X. “It’s unclear if the perpetrator is female or trans.”
Kirk is the president of the national branch of TPUSA, a right-wing nonprofit organization that has been associated with neo-Nazis, anti-semtitism, racism, bigotry and transphobia according to groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti Defamation League and Rolling Stone. His X post contained transphobic rhetoric, saying that trans people are more inclined toward violence, and generated significant anti-trans backlash on the platform. The incident was widely covered by right-wing websites like Townhall and Dallas Express.
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News Neuman said that after Nguyen hit her on the back of the head, she asked others to begin recording at which point Nguyen went on to hit Dalal on the wrist with the bike lock.
After the incident, Nguyen biked to another location on campus before UTDPD arrested her.
Nguyen is being held at the Collin County Jail with a cumulative bail amount over $50,000. Nguyen is being represented by Dallas defense lawyer John Helms. As of publication, Helms’ office has not responded to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for UTD said UTDPD is currently investigating the assault, reported March 25 on campus and that Nguyen has been banned from campus no longer able to attend any activities or classes at UTD.
“We consider this to be an isolated incident,” the spokesperson said. “Our goal is to ensure that UTD remains a safe learning environment where students can express various political and social viewpoints.”
This is a breaking news story. The Retrograde will provide more details as new information emerges.
One Comment
‘Are you an illegal immigrant?’ Right-wing instigators disrupt Trans Day of Visibility demonstration with bigotry toward students, administration – The Retrograde
[…] in response to what the organization called a “culture of hate” TPUSA had created since the Plinth attack last week. Along with roughly 30 YDSA officers and demonstrators, the event was attended by a […]