Trans beauty influencer arrested in Miami after pool incident says she was placed in men’s jail
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A transgender woman who was arrested at a Miami hotel after walking around a pool nude earlier this week was placed in a men’s jail, her publicist says.
Nikita Dragun, a social media influencer and content creator with nearly 30 million followers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, was arrested Monday at the Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach on charges of battery of a police officer, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor battery, according to an arrest affidavit.
Dragun, who’s also the founder of a makeup line, was arrested after allegedly causing a scene and walking around the hotel’s pool area naked and throwing water at a police officer and a security guard.
She also allegedly refused to lower loud music in her room, after authorities told her she would need to leave the premises if she didn’t comply.
Dragun, who’s 26 and came out as trans as a teen, was held for at least a day in a men’s unit of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, NPR reported, citing court records.
A request for comment from the Daily News wasn’t immediately returned Thursday morning, but Dragun’s publicist Jack Ketsoyan confirmed the incident in a statement sent to The Advocate.
“The situation with Nikita, who is legally female, being placed in a men’s unit of a Florida jail is extremely disturbing and dangerous,” he said.
“This decision made by the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department directly violates their protocol, which mandates that transgender inmates are classified and housed based on safety needs and gender identity. Nikita has been released and is now safe. Thank you for respecting her privacy during this time,” Ketsoyan added.
On Thursday, MDCR spokesperson Juan Diasgranados pushed back against the allegations, telling local television station WPLG-TV that “Dragun never made it beyond the booking process prior to release; therefore, she was never placed in a men’s unit.”
An MDCR official contacted by the Daily News Thursday afternoon said that, “this is a male-and-female facility,” but that she “wouldn’t know” whether Dragun had been housed in a male cell or not.
