Over the past weekend, I broke the story that a Trump campaign flag was flying at the Long Beach City Police headquarters. The news was picked up by practically every major local outlet, including affiliates for NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox, as well as the LA Times and the LAist. I appeared on camera for the NBC4 Nightly News and FOX 11 LA.

FOX LA reporter Rick Lozano filmed me and my partner outside the Long Beach Police Department for about half hour for the news clip, repeatedly violating basic social distance guidelines as he pressured me to AirDrop photos that I’d already agreed to text from a safe distance.

More egregiously, Rick repeatedly misgendered me on air, even after identifying me as a transgender woman. Rick also repeatedly referred to me as “Thomas Malone,” even as a news chyron listed me correctly.

https://twitter.com/ianthomasmalone/status/1312930937299062784?s=20

As a post-operative transsexual with two male names, I know the unique challenges that my situation presents. Whenever I do press, I repeatedly make this clarification known to prevent such cringey scenarios. Rick Lozano knew my pronouns. He deliberately chose to ignore them.

The news desk for FOX LA promptly hung up when I called to speak to a producer about this situation. I am calling for an apology from FOX LA and for disciplinary action to be taken against Rick Lozano.

Ian Thomas Malone (she/her)