A transgender student at a Minnesota high school was reportedly attacked by one of her classmates, leaving her hospitalized and suffering from a broken jaw.
This week, Cobalt Sovereign, 17, told that she was raped on May 30 at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, a city located around 15 miles west of Minneapolis, by a male student as she was leaving the men’s restroom. According to Sovereign, she needed her jaw fixed and spent two days in the hospital.
“I was hit in the jaw and at the time one of my teeth exploded, pieces in my mouth,” Sovereign stated. “My jaw was broken in two places.”
The guy student allegedly yelled Sovereign derogatory names for homosexuals before striking her.
“In the bathroom, he had looked over the stall directly where I was attempting to use the bathroom, and that is where he initially called me a f—– in the first place,” Sovereign stated.Â
Then, according to Sovereign, she left the restroom stall to confront him verbally.
“He had no reason to have anything against me, I’ve never talked to him, never done anything negative to him,” Sovereign stated. “And I was insulted and then eventually hit in the jaw.”
Although Sovereign claimed that Hopkins High School offers gender-neutral restrooms, she claimed that because they are typically occupied or out of the way, she didn’t try to use them on the day of the alleged assault.
“I would rather be uncomfortable than make other people uncomfortable by using the women’s bathroom,” she stated.
Read Also: Florida’s LGBTQ+ Community Gains Momentum as Pride Month Begins
This Thursday, the department informed that they were looking into an incident at Hopkins High School as a “possible hate crime,” without disclosing the identity of Sovereign.
The school system and police “are investigating an act of violence that occurred last Thursday and involved a student who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community,” a Hopkins Public Schools representative stated.
“Hopkins Public Schools is an inclusive community that values diversity and inclusion,” as per the spokesperson. “We will address any issues that compromise the safety and inclusivity of our school environment. We support and stand by any group that is marginalized, including our LGBTQ+ scholars and staff.”
A protest over the claimed attack on Sovereign was staged on Wednesday outside the school by students, activists, and a few local legislators.
Democratic state representative Leigh Finke, the first openly transgender person elected to the Minnesota Legislature, likened the alleged attack on Sovereign to the death of student Nex Benedict in an Instagram photo she shared from the event.
According to his classmates and family, Benedict was a 16-year-old transgender student who used the pronouns he/him and they/them. He committed suicide the day following a brawl at Owasso High School in February.
LGBTQ advocates used Benedict’s passing as a call to action, claiming that historically high rates of anti-trans laws had decreased the safety of transgender students in schools.
