Father of a transgender adolescent victimized at school calls for legal consequences for the assailants.
Last Thursday, 17-year-old Cobalt Sovereign, a student at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, encountered bullying while in the bathroom. A classmate started hurling transphobic slurs at her. When she exited the bathroom, she was followed by that student and two others. Sovereign asked them to stop, but was then punched in the mouth, shattering her jaw and causing severe facial injuries.
Cobalt's father, Mark Walztoni, has expressed his desire for accountability, stating, "There has to be repercussions for their actions. And if they are not charged for some reason, which is our fear, then that is just going to further escalate their behavior because when you get away with stuff, you continue to do stuff." He further emphasized the need for "punishment [...] and some serious discussion as to whether those kids should be able to come back to the same school."
Walztoni learned about the incident through a school social worker and felt let down by the school's response. He suspected the issue wasn't prioritized appropriately and regretted that police were not notified immediately.
Minnetonka Police Department is conducting an investigation on a possible hate crime, yet acknowledged that details were scarce since the case was reported upon school dismissal. Hopkins High School, on the other hand, referred to the issue as "an act of violence." The school condemned discrimination and affirmed its support for all marginalized groups within the system, including the LGBTQ+ community.
Chief of Police Scott Boerboom was unaware of the incident until Monday and would've preferred immediate notification from the school. He explained that police would've been faster in addressing the situation had they been informed upon occurrence. According to Boerboom, a video recording of the incident is available, but only showed one boy punching Sovereign. There were two other boys nearby who were not physically involved in the assault.
The case highlights the growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment and the rising numbers of threats and violence against LGBTQ students. This incident also occurred just four months after the tragedy involving a non-binary 10th grader named Nex Benedict in Oklahoma.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, Executive Director of GLSEN, an organization dedicated to curbing intolerance and homophobia in high schools, described it as a devastating reminder of the daily threats trans youth face: "GLSEN stands in solidarity with Cobalt and their family, and we call on their school officials to take immediate, concrete steps to ensure the safety and dignity of all students."
Rep. Leigh Finke, Minnesota's first out transgender lawmaker and a Democrat, heavily criticized the delayed response of both school and police, emphasizing: "The response of Hopkins High School and Minnetonka Police so far sends the same transphobic message to (...) the world: do as you will and if no one decides to take it public, you'll get away with it. Is that the message we want to send?"
Finke sought changes: "We want to see Hopkins High School and Minnetonka Police, and every school and police department in the future to do what is right and take immediate action, not because people are looking, but because transgender folks everywhere are entitled to live a life free of fear, and violence."
Andy Rose from CNN also contributed to the story.
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Mark Walztoni, Cobalt's father, urged that "if the assailants are not charged, it could further escalate their harmful behavior towards the LGBTQ+ community." He also expressed his concern that "justice must be served to protect other students from facing the same violence."
