A boxcutter was allegedly thrown at a group of LGBTQ+ students during a homecoming parade on Sept. 27. The group is a student-led club known as “Spectrum” at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, IA.
According to Jennifer Pitkin, mother to one of the students in Spectrum, a box cutter was thrown towards the group of students from a sparsely populated section of the parade. An adult witness did validate these claims, but there is no camera evidence as the area was occupied by houses.
Attendees of the parade also allegedly yelled homophobic slurs and other offensive language at the high schoolers.
“How DARE anyone teach or even think this hate can be spewed. My 15-year-old just experienced what, frankly, is a hate crime. She just wanted to support her friends and family in the community. She is destroyed,” said Pitkin.
School officials released a statement on Facebook following the incident: “We believe that every student deserves to feel safe, respected and valued in our schools, and we want to continue to encourage our students to come forward any time they have information about something that makes them feel unsafe.”
Linn-Mar High School is conducting their own internal investigation in addition to the Marion Police Department’s formal investigation.
On Oct. 4, the Marion Police Department stated that they were “unable to substantiate the allegation regarding the knife/box cutter being thrown at anyone. This appears to be a case of several individuals putting together bits and pieces of information which resulted in an inaccurate portrayal of what occurred.”
In response, Pitkin said that “this statement is ultimately calling the kids liars, which…is history, I guess. LGBTQ+ kids are treated as less than human, which was apparent in the investigation, but I still thought the kids would get justice. We will continue to trust these kids, and the adult that came forward. Why wouldn’t we?”
Pitkin organized a GoFundMe page to raise money for a scholarship fund for students within Spectrum. As of Sunday, the fundraiser raised over $5,300.