Lesbian couple receives community support after getting threatening note
St. Peter police are looking into the crime and could consider bias enhancements to any charges that are filed
A lesbian couple in St. Peter, Minn., is receiving overwhelming support from their local community after they received a threatening note in the mail implying that the author would kill them and knows where their daughter goes to school.
Out of safety concerns, the women have decided to remain anonymous when sharing their story. But they believe the letter writer lives near them, and want to make sure this person knows their efforts to scare them into moving away have failed.
The letter suggests the couple is mentally ill, and accuses them of lowering property values, because no one wants to live next to “faggots.”
“Why don’t you get the hell out of this town…No one want you here you God Damn FAGGOTS!!!” the letter reads. “Don’t you get it — this is “small town rural Minnesota,” we don’t go for you FAGGOTS here. If you want to be FAGGOTS, why the hell don’t you go to San Francisco, where they approve of this FAGGOTISM!”
The anonymous author also tells the couple that their friends aren’t really their friends, but aren’t willing to confront them directly.
The author also suggests that someone might take action against the family, adding that he or she knows where the couple’s young daughter goes to school.
“You never know…your house could be torched, a gun could be used to eliminate you,” the letter states. “This is your last warning! It’s not going to be PRETTY, cause you never know…YOU GOD DAMN FAGGOTS! You are the ruination of this country, and there will soon be 2 less FAGGOTS in this country!”
St. Peter police are investigating the letter as a possible crime, Police Chief Matt Peters told the Mankato Free Press.
If found, the author of the letter could be charged with bias enhancements, which would carry harsher penalties if it’s determined that the person acted with bias against a protected class.
The letter was typed and mailed to the couple, without any indication of who sent it, but the women’s lawyer, Lori Peterson, believes publicizing the letter and its unique writing style may result in leads that could help police find the author.
Since their story was made public, the women have been receiving supportive messages on social media, and friends will drive by their house and honk their horns as a sign of approval.
The Mankato Free Press even penned an editorial denouncing the author, which in turn generated more social media comments in support of the couple.
“If anything, it’s made me more proud to live in St. Peter,” one of the women said of the positive responses they’ve received from their friends and neighbors. “Reading and hearing and seeing all the amazing things that people are saying and doing for us.”
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