I spoke with a current employee of Rise, the chain of medical cannabis dispensaries where Robin Westman worked as a personal care specialist (similar to a budtender who discusses products with customers) from late March until Aug. 16, who knew Westman. 1/5
The employee said Westman never identified as a transgender woman to anyone there during that time. Rise workers wear badges that display their preferred pronouns and Westman wore both he/him and they/them, the employee said. 2/5
This source estimated that about 1 in 6 Rise employees identifies as nonbinary or trans, so Westman's colleagues were very surprised to learn that Westman may have identified as a trans woman elsewhere. 3/5
Westman was well-liked by colleagues and never spoke of an interest in guns or talked about religion at work, the employee said. Westman quit shortly after being disciplined for attendance issues, the colleague said. 4/5
The Rise employee asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media and could be fired for doing so. 5/5
One addendum to the fourth post in this thread: Westman did express admiration for Luigi Mangione, who is charged with the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, on multiple occasions, the Rise employee said.