Colorado Springs was a center for anti-trans vitriol long before the deadly Club Q attack. Leia-jhene Seals mourns the Club Q dead at a November 20 vigil at All Souls Unitarian Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Those who stoke anti-trans bias are "essentially creating a boogeyman and then unleashing forces on that boogeyman," one expert on extremism told Insider. Many media reports said the Club Q attacker's motives were unknown. "The shooting was a tragedy, but it strengthened their enemy," Erin, a local transgender woman, told Insider.

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