King County jurors convict Seattle man of hate crime for targeting transgender women

A Seattle man is facing five to seven years in prison for attacking a transgender woman in the University District neighborhood last March.

Andre Karlow was part of a group of men who punched, kicked, and shouted anti-trans slurs at Andie Holcepl, a transgender woman. Holcepl suffered black eyes, broken teeth, and other injuries.

On Thursday, a jury in King County Superior Court convicted Karlow of a hate crime as well as second-degree assault, finding he targeted Holcepl over her gender identity.

Yessenia Manzo, senior deputy prosecutor for hate crimes in King County, said Holcepl was heading to attend the Seattle Mariners' opening game on March 27, 2025, when she passed a group of men, including Karlow, in the University District.

Holcepl testified Karlow “called her a drag queen, unprovoked, and told her to take her makeup off.” Manzo said Holcepl stopped and tried to record Karlow, who punched her in the mouth.

“He proceeded to assault her, punching her in the throat, in the side of the face, took her to the ground,” Manzo said, referring to Holcepl's testimony about the attack. “The other men also got involved.”

Manzo said Holcepl got up and ran, but Karlow took her to the ground again and “the biased slurs continued throughout the assault” until Holcepl ran into a nearby restaurant for help.

Karlow was the only person charged in the assault because he was the main aggressor, Manzo explained; the others haven’t been identified.

The verdict came as a relief to Lexi Young, a trans woman who Karlow was convicted of assaulting six months earlier.

RELATED: Victim of alleged transgender hate crime ‘distraught’ at news of second attack

“I’m relieved that it’s all over. I’m relieved that Mr. Karlow is not going to walk away without having to speak for what he’s done to both Andie and I,” Young said in an interview with KUOW. “I’m sad that it happened, that both of us have had to go through this entire process. That is heart-wrenching.”

Young testified in this latest trial to show evidence of Karlow’s bias against trans people.

Young was working as a fare ambassador for Sound Transit on Sept. 14, 2024, when she approached Karlow for proof of payment in the Chinatown-International District light rail station. According to charging documents, Karlow mocked her, calling her a slur.

Karlow then boarded the train as Young tried to photograph him. Charging documents say Karlow “then stepped back off the train and punched Young in the face unprovoked.”

In Young’s case, the King County prosecutor charged Karlow with a hate crime for targeting someone based on their gender expression and sexual orientation, because he allegedly used an LGBTQ-targeted slur and told the victim to "‘put some bass in your voice.'"

But the jury in Young’s case was split on the hate crime charge, resulting in a mistrial. The jury did convict Karlow of fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor.

Karlow committed the assault on Holcepl while he was out on bail in Young’s case. He hasn't been sentenced yet in either case.

Karlow’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to KOMO News, Karlow's defense attorney, Maxwell Evans, told the jury, “The state is asking you to convict on a politically charged narrative based on a flashpoint in today’s culture by relying exclusively on the words of the witness that has the most to gain from this case.”

According to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, there were 24 hate crime cases referred to the office and charged in 2025. Of those cases, 10 involved race or ethnicity; six involved sexual orientation; two involved national origin; four were anti-gender or gender expression; and one involved religion.

Since 2018, the office has filed 384 hate crime cases.

RELATED: New Washington hotline to report hate crimes launches in 3 counties