USA Today has awarded one of its “Women of the Year” awards to a trans-woman who recently testified that the sexual assault of a minor was “irrelevant” to deciding whether to fund a government-sponsored project.
Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Leigh Finke was nominated as one of USA Today’s “Women of the Year” on Friday, according to USA Today. Finke is Minnesota’s first transgender legislator.
Finke’s nomination comes the same day Finke publicly testified that the sexual abuse allegations against a minor were not relevant factors when deciding to continue funding a nonprofit.
In the news: $8 Million In Drugs Seized, 35 Arrested In Florida, Puerto Rico Drug Trafficking Ring
Finke was “embarrassed,” “upset” and “angry” that a previous lawsuit against a central community organizer for the Indigenous environmental group, Honor the Earth, was brought up in deciding whether to keep funding Honor the Earth.
Michael Dahl, the former central organizer for Honor the Earth, was accused of pedophilia in 2015 after a group of women confronted the founder and co-executive director, Winona LaDuke, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
LaDuke said that Dahl “probably did have sex” with the 15-year-old in question in the 1990s, according to court records.
In the news: Scandal-Plagued Hunter Biden Threatens To Sue GOP Bad Boy Roger Stone For Defamation
“This is not what we should have been talking about,” Finke said during a Legacy Finance Committee Meeting in Minnesota.
When Finke was asked by USA Today how the representative overcame the pressure of being a transgender representative, Finke said, “I think about what we’re doing for our children’s sake, for the next generation, for 30 years from now.”
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter . Signup for our free newsletter . We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.