Danielle Muscato (she/her)

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@DianeNashville Wilson County, I'm afraid — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@Cranberry43 Thank my supporters who made it possible!! This is only the first step of a legal fight that will take months to years. I'm getting justice for this, they must be held accountable. We have a fundraiser going here for legal fees! https://t.co/IOs2TK6PH6 — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@stealthygeek The way I was treated cannot stand. I'm raising money for legal fees so I can hold them accountable. We need to abolish cash bail, it's a racket through and through. We need to abolish carceral punishment, it doesn't work & it's cruel & inhumane. We need social workers, not cops. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@stealthygeek I am traumatized, exhausted, and sexually violated by the way I was treated. And I was only there 5 days! If I hadn't been able to make bond, my court date isn't until January!! I have not been convicted of a crime. It's dehumanizing & torturous to put a woman through this. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@stealthygeek showing up after the fact & taking notes, even if stopping crime were their actual purpose. The function of police is social control according to the will of the 1%, and protection of the 1%'s property. They literally exist to oppress everyone else. That's it. #AbolishThePolice — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@stealthygeek You can't. This system is working exactly as intended. It's like asking how to reform a meat grinder to make ice cream. You don't. An ice cream maker is a totally different machine designed for a polar opposite task. Cops don't exist to stop crime. They're laughably bad at that, — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@Doncor_Leonie Thank you for your kind words. I'm staying with a friend overnight nearby & plan to head home tomorrow, now that I've got my car back too. (That was another $360 since I was in there so long) 🙃 I appreciate your support. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

More ways to support me & fight systemic injustice against #trans people: Venmo @DanielleMuscato https://t.co/nKIXe1Hbfh Cash app: $DanielleMuscato And/or make a monthly pledge to my https://t.co/7uz1EUez7g I'll write more as soon as I possibly can. I'm exhausted. THANK YOU — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

If you want to help, the best way is funding. Litigating this could take months or years & we're exploring our options. Please give whatever you can. Even if you can't give now, THANK for your support & please share widely & often. Here's the GoFundMe! https://t.co/IOs2TK6PH6 — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

I was later able to get a golf pencil & 2 sheets of paper. I wrote you all a letter, which I'll type & post soon. I'm overwhelmed right now & need a break from talking about all this. My lawyer is fantastic & we're working hard to build a case for the trans rights violations. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

which was life-changing! versus being alone with nothing but my thoughts the last 3 days. I have anxiety & PTSD & wasn't getting my meds—without them, I ruminate obsessively, pace about, dissociate. Being able to read was WONDERFUL. Not my usual selection, but here's what I read https://t.co/yfQPm52DEq — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

When I told them that neither apply to me, each of them responded the same way: "That's fucked up." They took it upon themselves to help get me things to make my isolation less unbearable—a kind inmate named Casper brought me 2 young adult historical fiction romance novels — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

The inmates were VERY kind & compassionate to me. A dozen stopped on their walk to ask me why I was in isolation—my cell was the only 1 without cellmates & the only 1 with cameras. They told me it's normally reserved for inmates who are prone to seizures or have attempted suicide — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

I was only allowed out from around 10:35p to 10:50p, after all the other inmates went to their cells for the night. I was alone in the main room. I didn't have to share the phones, but you can't exactly take care of legal matters at 11 at night. I was also not permitted to shower — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

where you can buy things from commissary, read the inmate handbook, file grievances, etc. Most inmates walked the perimeter much of the time for exercise & to chat. I was denied all these things. I was locked in the "medical isolation" cell—alone, 23 hours & 45 minutes each day. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

They moved me to the men's unit. The "pod" they put me in had maybe 100 men in it, two per cell, but much of the time inmates are free to walk around the main room w/chairs & tables, chess sets, shared telephones, an intercom for requesting things from staff, the electronic kiosk — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

Retelling this is traumatizing & I want to make sure I get the details right. Sorry for delays After that, they decided to put me with the men. I told them twice, "This is not a threat, but I'm a #trans civil rights activist, & if you do that, there will probably be a lawsuit." — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

They kept me in that 3rd holding cell in Booking another day & night (my 3rd)—I didn't get ANY bc of all the screaming & fighting just outside my cell, nonstop 24 hours a day, florescent lights on full, 60° cold. That night was the 1st time I got ANY meds (2 of usual nighttime 9) — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

@PennyOaken @ACLU We have a fundraiser going for the legal expenses (it's the same fundraiser we started initially to bond me out): please share far and wide! https://t.co/IOs2TK6PH6 — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

I feel sexually violated for being forced to show a male corrections officer my genitals. My license says female & I made it clear repeatedly to the arresting officer, detective, the other officer on the scene, the booking people, and the COs that I'm medically & legally female. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

I told him if he was ordering me then I wanted my objection logged in writing. I'm confident this never happened. I did, and he gave me a set of orange jail clothes to change into. I did that, too. Then I was moved to ANOTHER holding cell in Booking, lights on 24/7, 60°, etc. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

Some time later, a man corrections officer took me to another holding cell with him. We were alone. I noticed this room was different, in that it had a shower stall instead of chairs & a table, a blacked-out window—& no cameras. He ordered me to show him my genitals. I refused. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

She left, I went back to trying to get some rest. It was traumatizing. I was unable to think clearly because of sleep deprivation, not having my meds or food, and the background screaming from new arrivals coming down from substances or angry they'd been arrested. It was terrible — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

She asked me if I had a penis. I refused to answer on the basis that she is a corrections officer, not a doctor, let alone my doctor, and it's none of her business. She asked if I had surgery, I told her it's not that simple, that's like the 2nd grade version of what trans means. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

At some point a woman corrections officer came to talk to me about my gender. I told her the truth: medically and legally, just like it says on my driver license, I'm female. I explained also that sex and gender aren't interchangeable, that there are far more than 2 genders, etc. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

Normally folks are locked in a holding cell in Booking for a few hours until charges are filed & then moved to either men's unit or women's. After being held in a booking cell without even a blanket, freezing cold, lights on full 24/7, for TWO DAYS, they gave me a blanket. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

I can't get into specifics of charges publicly while my lawyer gets it going, but I want you to know: I did not do the things I'm being accused of doing. I'm being unfairly targeted with baseless charges. I wish I could tell you details because you'd say "WTAF!?" just like I did. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

The cop wore a #BlueLivesMatter insignia. I believe as soon as he saw my #BlackLivesMatter shirt (I have 4, & a hoodie, see profile pic), he decided he was gonna arrest me, for something or other. I believe he decided to go all out when he took my ID & learned I'm #trans, too. — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

To answer some questions: I wasn't on anything while driving nor driving erratically. AFTER he decided to call for a K9 to sniff for drugs, the cop told me why he claims he pulled me over—for allegedly going over the solid white line & driving on a rumble strip for ½ of 1 second https://t.co/v0KymNuFwl — PolitiTweet.org

Danielle Muscato (she/her) @DanielleMuscato

I take a lot of meds, as many of you know. I write about my health openly & often. I MUST have my cardiac meds or I will have a stroke. For 5 days, I only got 5 of my meds, & only 2 of my heart meds. Here is what I normally take daily as ordered by my usual docs (AM, noon, night) https://t.co/Q1Ilcx6ZB2 — PolitiTweet.org