CNN
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The father of a Minnesota transgender high school student who he says was beaten at school said Thursday he wants criminal charges brought against the students who beat and harassed his daughter.
Mark Walztoni told CNN that his daughter, 17-year-old Kobalt Sovereign, a junior at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, was in the school bathroom last Thursday when a student began yelling transphobic slurs at her. As she was leaving the bathroom, she said the student and two others surrounded Sovereign and followed her down the hallway, and when she turned around and asked them to stop, they punched her in the mouth.
During the attack, Sovereign’s jaw was broken in two places, he said, as well as compound fractures that knocked out a tooth and required reconstructive surgery. Walzutoni said the student perpetrators should face criminal prosecution.
“There has to be a consequence for their behaviour, and if for some reason they aren’t prosecuted, which is our concern, it just escalates their behaviour further, because once they get away with it, they’re going to continue doing the same thing,” he said. “There needs to be some kind of punishment and there needs to be a serious discussion about whether these kids can go back to the same schools.”
He also said he was informed of the incident by a school social worker and told by school officials to call police, and complained that the incident “was not treated as an emergency.”
Walzutoni told CNN she’s worried about whether her daughter will be able to safely return to school and wants to see changes.
“This is unacceptable. In my opinion, transphobia and homophobia are things of the 20th century and should be a thing of the past. And it’s clear that things are getting worse in this regard,” he told CNN’s Caitlin Collins on “The Source.” “We have received tremendous support from the community here and Cobalt feels very loved, but you know the children that are here today are not safe.”
CNN
Kobalt Sovereign, a transgender high school student in Minnesota who says he was beaten at school, and his father, Mark Walzutoni, speak with CNN’s Caitlin Collins.
Sovereign told CNN that she had never met or seen the students who attacked and harassed her prior to the incident, and that while she had been harassed in the past, “it had never been this bad.” She also said that as someone who identifies as non-binary, using bathrooms has always been an issue for her.
“When public or family restrooms are available, I try to use them, but when that option isn’t available, I use the men’s restroom because it makes people around me the least uncomfortable. Making other people uncomfortable is something I was trying to avoid. It’s one of my biggest fears,” Sovereign told Collins.
In a statement to CNN, the Minnetonka Police Department said it was investigating the attack that happened that day at Hopkins High School as a “possible hate crime,” but that “details are limited as the incident was reported to police after school had ended.” Hopkins said it was investigating an “act of violence” that “involved a student who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community.”
“We will address any issues that undermine the safety and inclusivity of our school environment,” the school said in a statement to CNN. “We support and stand with all marginalized groups, including our LGBTQ+ scholars and staff.”
Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Beaboom told CNN that Sovereign’s mother called police on the day of the incident, but Sovereign didn’t find out about it until the following Monday.
Boerboom said he wished the school had notified police as soon as the incident occurred.
“We arrive at the school, we meet with the victim, Cobalt, we speak with the suspect, we identify the suspect, we hear their side of the story, we speak with the victim, and at that point we are required to notify the parents,” he said. “That initial contact allows us, as first responders, to assess the situation and access emergency services and medical services.”
Boerboom also said a video of the assault exists and that he has viewed it. Boerboom, per policy, served the school with a subpoena for the video, which he said shows a boy assaulting Sovereign in the hallway. Two other boys were nearby, but they were not involved in the assault, Boerboom said.
The attack comes amid rising anti-LGBTQ legislation that advocates say has led to increased threats and violence against LGBTQ students, and nearly four months after Nex Benedict, a nonbinary 10th grader in Oklahoma, died after police said he confronted her in a school bathroom and beat her until she lost consciousness.
Courtesy of Mark Walzutoni
Colbalt Sovereign is a junior at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka.
Melanie Willingham Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate intolerance and homophobia in primary and secondary schools, said the attack was “a heartbreaking reminder of the violence and discrimination that transgender young people face every day.”
“GLSEN stands in solidarity with Kobalt and his family and calls on school officials to take immediate, concrete steps to ensure the safety and dignity of all students,” Willingham-Jaggers said in a statement to CNN. “Hate has no place in our schools, and it is up to all of us to create a system in which all students can thrive without fear.”
Minnesota Assemblyman Lee Finke, a Democrat and the first openly transgender member of the state Legislature, condemned the school and police response to the incident. Finke said violence against trans youth like Benedict and Sovereign “will continue unabated until there is accountability and responsibility.”
“The response of Hopkins High School and the Minnetonka Police Department so far sends the same transphobic message to the world: that you can do what you want, as long as no one speaks out about it, and get away with it. Is this the message we want to send?” Finke said in a statement.
“We hope that Hopkins High School and the Minnetonka Police Department, and in the future, all schools and police departments, will do the right thing and take immediate action — not just because they’re getting attention, but because transgender people everywhere have the right to live lives free of fear and violence,” Finke added.
CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.
