Authorities have been alerted to multiple recent bomb threats targeting the TransLatin@ Coalition, an organization that provides services to transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people, according to a police report reviewed by The Times.
On March 28, the Los Angeles Police Department was contacted after an individual called 911 and stated their plans to “blow up” the coalition on or around April 15 or June 19, according to the report.
The individual said they would carry out their threats “by gasoline or plane,” the report said. The coalition leases space in a building on Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown.
The LAPD confirmed it received a report of a bomb threat but said it could not comment further on the incident.
Coalition leaders, including President Bamby Salcedo and Vice President Maria Roman Taylorson, have also been receiving hate mail, Salcedo said.
The letters often come in white envelopes attached to religious pamphlets.
One typed letter reviewed by The Times cited Bible verses and said the LGBTQ+ community, the abortion movement and the Democratic Party were filled with sin and pride.
Leaders of the coalition said the organization, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, will not fold to the intimidation.
“We are experiencing scary moments,” Salcedo said. “But for all of us, it’s an everyday thing. Every day that we walk out of our doors — if we have a home — we’re targets of physical violence, oftentimes sexual violence. For many of us, this is not new.”
Salcedo said that some of the coalition’s community members have expressed discomfort visiting the center in the wake of the threats.
“We’re encouraging people to not allow those individuals to intimidate our community in that way,” Salcedo said. “We’re hoping it’s just a scare. We should not let those type of things hinder us to become the beautiful and amazing people that we are.”
In January 2022, the coalition evacuated the building after an individual called in a bomb threat, stating, “You are all going to die,” a press release said at the time.
California, along with Florida, New York and Texas, saw the highest numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ incidents between June 2022 and August 2023, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD.
“There’s times where I think, ‘How can there be people so cruel to think that we can just be blown up?’ Like, with no remorse or not even thinking of us as people?” she said.
Transgender rights advocates say new laws can do only so much if they aren’t properly implemented and funded, and designed to help the community’s most vulnerable members.
Roman said the coalition — which provides housing, legal and outreach services — refuses to “live in fear” in the face of the bomb threats and hate mail.
“We stand tall, vigilant and united as survivors of adversity,” Roman said. “Together, we will continue to support and uplift our community, living our truth without fear.”
Rita García, manager of the coalition’s Violence Prevention Programs, said it would not be deterred with carrying out its mission.
“We march forward with resilience, knowing that love and inclusivity will always triumph over hate,” she said.
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