At a high school in Minnesota, a transgender girl was taken to the hospital with a broken jaw after being reportedly attacked by a classmate.
Cobalt Sovereign, 17, told KARE 11 this week that she was raped by a male student on May 30 as she was leaving the men’s bathroom at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, which is about 15 miles west of Minneapolis. Sovereign said she had to be in the hospital for two days and have surgery on her jaw.
The singer told KARE 11 that she was hit in the jaw and one of her teeth broke off, leaving pieces in her mouth. “I broke my jaw twice.”
Sovereign said the male student called her sexist names and then hit her.
Sovereign said, “In the bathroom, he looked over the stall right where I was trying to use the bathroom, and that’s where he first called me an f——.”
Sovereign said she then got up from the bathroom stall and walked out to talk to him.
No reason for him to be angry at me, Sovereign said. “I’ve never talked to him and never done anything bad to him.” “And I was called names and then hit in the jaw.”
Sovereign said that Hopkins High School has bathrooms for both men and women, but she didn’t try to use them on the day of the claimed assault because they are usually full or hard to get to.
“I’d rather be uncomfortable than make other people uncomfortable by going to the bathroom with the women,” she said.
The Minnetonka Police Department did not answer right away when asked for a statement. The police told KARE 11 this week that they were looking into a “possible hate crime” at Hopkins High School but did not name Sovereign.
Someone from Hopkins Public Schools told NBC News in an email that the school system and the police are “looking into a violent act that happened last Thursday involving a student who identifies as LGBTQ+.”
Someone from Hopkins Public Schools wrote, “Hopkins Public Schools is a welcoming community that values diversity and inclusion.” “We will take care of any problems that make our school less safe and welcoming for everyone.” We stand with and support any group that is being left out, including our LGBTQ+ staff and students.
A group of students, activists, and some local politicians gathered outside of Sovereign School on Wednesday to protest what they saw as an attack.
Democratic State Rep. Leigh Finke, who was the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Minnesota Legislature, shared a picture of herself at the protest on Instagram. She said that the alleged attack on Sovereign was similar to the death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict.
Friends and family say that Benedict, a 16-year-old transgender student who used his/him and they/them names, killed himself the day after a fight at Owasso High School in February. LGBTQ activists used Benedict’s death as a rallying cry, saying that the high number of laws that hurt transgender people has made trans kids less safe at school.
Finke wrote on Instagram, “These attacks happen too often, and the institutions that are supposed to protect our children always do things that are disappointing, careless, and dangerous.” “Cobalt lived.” Thank the goddess. Nex didn’t. Help us make sure there isn’t a next time.
