The transgender daughter of Democratic House Minority Whip Katherine Clark was sentenced to one year of probation for assaulting a police officer in Massachusetts earlier this year.
23-year-old Riley Dowell was arrested by Boston police in January after allegedly spray-painting a monument in the historic Boston Common with the anti-police slogans “NO COP CITY” and “ACAB.”
Dowel allegedly struck a police officer in the face during her arrest, which resulted in charges of assault and violence on a police officer in addition to vandalism, tagging, vandalizing a historic marker or monument, and resisting arrest.
According to the Boston Globe, Clark’s daughter and the prosecutors reached an agreement that will see her case dismissed after she wrote a letter of apology to Officer Daniel Roca, who received a bloody nose during the incident on Jan. 21, finished 30 hours of community service within a year, and paid the city back for the cost of removing her graffiti.
Dowell was referred to by her birth name, Jared Dowell, in police reports. The Democratic congresswoman acknowledged her daughter’s arrest in a statement in January.
“I love Riley, and this is a very difficult time in the cycle of joy and pain in parenting,” Clark said. “This will be evaluated by the legal system, and I am confident in that process.”
Clark has always championed her transgender daughter in public events, most recently on the House floor during International Trans Day of Visibility.
“Ahead of Trans Day of Visibility, I rise in honor of a community that is being forced to fight for its very existence. I rise in honor of trans voices that deserve to be heard – not silenced and not criminalized. I rise in honor of trans joy that deserves to be celebrated – not eradicated,” she said at the time.
“I rise with unconditional love for my trans daughter, Riley. And I rise in solidarity with every trans American seeking nothing less than their inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness.”
This comes as transgender issues have become hot-button topics in recent years. Several states across the U.S. are trying to push bills targeting transgender people.
