Trans student attacked in boy's room with broken jaw

Toilet cubicles – Photo: David Tonelson, via Dreamstime

On May 30, Cobalt Sovereign, a student at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, entered the boys’ restroom and used one of the stalls. But another student looked over the booth and began harassing her, calling her anti-LGBTQ slurs while throwing insults at her.

Sovereign left the bathroom, only to be followed down the hallway by the student and two other people.

She lifted the blanket to confront them, but when she turned to verbally confront her harasser, he punched her in the mouth.

“He had no reason to have anything against me,” the 17-year-old told Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE. “I never spoke to him, I never did anything negative to him. And I was insulted, then finally punched in the jaw.

“I was hit in the jaw, and at that point one of my teeth was knocked out, pieces in my mouth. My jaw was broken in two places… molar, just broken.

Sovereign’s father, Mark Walztoni, confirmed that his daughter’s jaw was broken in two places. She suffered a compound fracture and lost teeth, requiring reconstructive surgery.

Although she had to be hospitalized for her injuries, Walztoni said school officials told her to notify police rather than do it themselves. He told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, the show’s host The sourcehe was unhappy that the incident “was not treated as an emergency.”

Walztoni believes the students responsible for his daughter’s attack should face criminal charges as well as disciplinary action.

However, whether charges are ultimately filed will depend on whether police can gather enough evidence and whether the Hennepin County Prosecutor’s Office determines that it can successfully prosecute the case.

“There must be repercussions for their actions,” Walztoni said.

The Minnetonka Police Department is investigating the incident, calling it a “possible hate crime.” The department noted, in a statement to CNN, that “details remain limited as the matter was reported to police after the end of the school day.”

Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Boerboom told CNN that the police department received a report from Sovereign’s mother – not school officials – the day of the attack, and that he had only personally learned of the incident the following Monday. He said he would have preferred the school to notify police directly as soon as it happened.

Boerboom confirmed that there is video footage of the assault and that he has seen it. He says police filed a subpoena for the school video. In the video, a boy is seen molesting Sovereign, while two other boys stand nearby and watch.

On June 4, Hopkins High School Principal Crystal Ballard released a statement calling the assault “upsetting” but noting that the incident has not yet been considered a hate crime.

“Regardless of the facts of this particular case, we know that even hearing a rumor that an act of violence has been committed against a member of a certain group – in this case, our LGBTQ+ community – is upsetting and can be traumatic,” Ballard said. in the declaration. “Hopkins Public Schools works very intentionally to create safe places for LGBTQ+ families, staff and scholars. »

Supporters started a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help Sovereign cover his medical costs. The campaign raised more than $48,000.

On June 5, hundreds of the teen’s supporters also gathered outside Hopkins High School to condemn the attack on her and criticize the school for what they see as an insufficient response to the violent incident.

The school confirmed that the student accused of punching Sovereign in the face was “immediately disciplined,” which typically includes suspension. But because June 5 was the last day of classes, the perpetrator will only serve less than a week of suspension unless the school adds additional disciplinary measures at the start of the next school year.

Perhaps most worryingly, Sovereign was attacked for using what anti-LGBTQ opponents would consider the “proper” bathroom for her.

One of the arguments frequently given to justify banning transgender people from women’s restrooms is that their presence intimidates and poses a potential threat to women and girls.

As such, the argument goes, even people like Cobalt Sovereign, who outwardly present as female, should be forced to use the men’s restroom.

The incident at Hopkins High School highlights that anti-transgender violence is not only possible, but perhaps even likely, whether or not transgender people use the bathroom or locker room that corresponds to their sex assigned at birth.

Cobalt Sovereign told CNN that while she has faced harassment for being transgender in the past, it has never reached this level.

She noted that using the restroom has always been an issue for her — because even though Hopkins High School has gender-neutral bathrooms, sometimes they are already occupied or aren’t as easily accessible.

“I try to use all gender-neutral or family-friendly restroom options if available, but when that option isn’t available to me, I use the men’s restroom because that’s the least crowded. uncomfortable around me and makes other people uncomfortable, that’s something I’ve tried not to do,” she said.