Related: An Occupation In Eastern Oregon
Throughout the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, occupier David Fry talked openly about past mental health problems and suicide attempts. And as the final moments of the occupation ended, Fry oscillated between surrendering to authorities and dying by suicide.
More recently, Fry said he hoped to be reincarnated as a woman because he believed it would be an "easier" life.
In an audio statement made Wednesday after a detention hearing in federal court, Fry spoke by phone from the Multnomah County jail and expanded on his feelings about gender.
"I suffer from gender dysphoria," Fry said. "And so I’ve had to fight with that for 11 years. You know, it’s weird. I have to deal with it. And you can’t just pump me full of meds to try and cure that. And that’s what the whole mental hospital thing was about. They just tried to pump me full of meds."
In the seven-minute audio recording published on his YouTube channel, Fry also criticized federal Judge Robert E. Jones for refusing to release him from custody as he awaits trial.
Jones has cited Fry's mental state — including comments the 27 year-old Ohio native made about reincarnation and UFOs — as a reason for denying release.
Fry responded to that ruling by calling the judge a "bigot" and a "racist."
Fry did not say whether a doctor had diagnosed him with gender dysphoria. Many studies show around 1 percent of people has some level of gender dysphoria.