School Board Candidate Says Doctors Who Help Trans Kids ‘Should Be Hanging’ From Trees

A conservative school board candidate in Santa Rosa County, Florida, called for doctors who provide gender-affirming care to children to be lynched.  

“These doctors that are going along with mutilating these children and prescribing hormone blockers to these kids, in my opinion, they should be hanging from the nearest tree,” said Alisabeth Janai Lancaster on Monday, before the audience burst into applause.

In her now viral speech, Lancaster said she’s against “social engineering projects” and “ideologies” that “do not belong in the school platform.” She listed critical race theory, or CRT, as an example.

“Children should not be burdened with the woke agenda that is leaving a path of destruction everywhere it goes,” Lancaster said, adding that her main priorities are the welfare and protection of students. 

She also referred to herself as a conservative, a mother, and agrandmother, and said she holds Christian values and beliefs. “I would love to see the prayer reinstated instead of the moment of silence,” she said. 

Lancaster is a candidate for the Santa Rosa Country District 3 school board seat race—a nonpartisan position. And yet, she touted politicized views and was endorsed by the Santa Rosa County Republican Executive Committee. She made the speech at a political forum hosted by Gulf Coast Patriots, a local conservative group. It took place in Navarre, the county’s largest city. Most of the county’s conservative local candidates attended the event, according to the Pensacola News Journal. 

Gulf Coast Patriots, Santa Rosa County Republicans, and Lancaster did not respond to VICE News’ requests for comment. 

Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade, who was at the forum, told Pensacola News Journal that he wants to protect kids from “woke indoctrination.” He said that Lancaster was joking, but then he criticized her words.

“It’s wrong to joke about lynching political opponents,” Andrade said. “We should never call for the murder of the Americans that disagree with us; it’s un-American.”

Devin Cole, president of Socialist Trans Initiative, a Florida-based transgender justice group, told the paper that Lancaster’s comments are “disgusting.” 

“We absolutely have to unite and fight these horrible reactionary people who want to kill us,” Cole said. “She pretty much said it. They want to kill us, and we have to do everything in our power to overthrow them, because now it’s boiling down to a matter of life and death for us as transgender people.”

Lancaster’s speech comes at a time when LGBTQ rights are under attack by Florida Republicans. Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans gender and sexuality education in schools for grades K through 3, and restricts it for older students. According to critics, the language in the bill is so vague it has caused confusion among teachers regarding what they are and aren’t allowed to teach. Last year, DeSantis also signed a bill that bars transgender girls from playing on women’s sports teams in schools—a move that’s been condemned by human rights organizations and Democrats.

Like other red states, Florida has also banned several books from schools, including many about LGBTQ justice and equality. 

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