Hillary Clinton Sends Message of Support to Transgender Woman Allegedly Attacked on NYC Subway

The presidential hopeful wrote, "every single person deserves to be safe."

ByABC News
May 5, 2016, 9:44 PM

— -- Hillary Clinton sent a message of support today to a transgender woman who recorded herself being verbally assaulted on the New York City subway last Thursday.

Clinton, as it turns out, met the woman in mid-April at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York.

The woman, Pearl Love, told ABC News this week she took the video last Thursday afternoon -- and subsequently posted it on her Facebook page -- while commuting to her new job as an outreach social worker for Translatina Network.

"I just sat down and started reading my book but then this woman across me just randomly started yelling profanities at me and saying racist things," Love told ABC News. "I tried to just ignore it as I usually do, but this woman kept going for over five minutes. She was getting louder and more aggressive, so I started recording because I was scared."

Clinton on Thursday, wrote the following in the comments section of Love's post citing the subway incident: "Pearl, I'm so sorry that you experienced this. The all-too-high prevalence of violence and hatred faced by the transgender community—today, in 2016!—is a rebuke to all of us. Every single person deserves to be safe and live free from discrimination and cruelty, period. And transgender people need to hear from every one of us that you are loved, respected, and deserving of equality under the law. Know that you have my support, and I'm on your side."

In Love's video, the woman who unleashed the verbal tirade toward her can be seen getting up from her seat and appearing to slap the cellphone out of Love's hand before the video cuts off.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department told ABC News on Tuesday that no formal complaints have been filed with police, though the department is aware of the video and has forwarded it to its Transit Bureau for review.

With contributions from Avianne Tan