Transgender teen describes school attack at Hopkins HS

MINNETONKA, Minn. — Last Thursday, Cobalt Sovereign had to go to the bathroom at Hopkins High School.

“I was trying to go to the bathroom and I didn’t get there until an hour later at the hospital,” she said.

The hospital where she stayed for two days to repair serious injuries sustained after being attacked while leaving the toilet.

“In the bathroom, he had looked at the stall directly where I was trying to use the bathroom, and that's when he first called me a faggot,” Sovereign described.

The student who allegedly insulted her repeated it several times.

“I left the bathroom and decided to verbally confront the child,” Cobalt said. “He had no reason to have anything against me, I never spoke to him, I never did anything negative to him. And I was insulted and then finally punched in the jaw.”

Minnetonka police are currently investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.

Cobalt's mother said the video shown to them by police Wednesday confirmed Cobalt's story.

“I saw exactly what she described, she comes out of the bathroom and there are these three kids,” Ashley Sovereign said. “They were clearly moving towards her and around her, and then one of them hit her while she was standing there, hit her really hard.”

“I got hit in the jaw and at that point one of my teeth blew out, pieces of it went into my mouth,” Cobalt said. “My jaw was broken in two places… molar, just broken.”

It wasn't just physical injuries.

“Mentally, I had some nightmares after the events,” she said.

Before the attack, Cobalt said she wasn't necessarily afraid of going to the bathroom.

“Less fear, more incredibly uncomfortable,” she said. “It makes me incredibly uncomfortable to be in the men's room.”

And yet, she assumes this discomfort because of the world in which we live. Although Hopkins has gender-neutral bathrooms, Cobalt said they are usually in or out, and she had to go where she needed to go.

“I would rather feel uncomfortable than make others uncomfortable by using the women’s restroom,” she said.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Hopkins High School Wednesday to show their support for Cobalt.

And like her mother, discomfort is just a fact of life, as a trans parent; and that lies right next to the unapologetic joy and gratitude of being Cobalt's trans parent.

“So lucky. We're all really lucky. Everyone who knows her is lucky,” Ashley said. “He It may be hard for the world to have a trans child, but it's not hard for me.”

It will be up to the county attorney to decide on any charges. Meanwhile, Hopkins High School confirmed that the student accused of hitting Cobalt was facing immediate disciplinary action. The school's policy is to suspend a student in the event of a fight. Wednesday was the last day of classes for students of the school year.