OMG! Lassen County’s institutions are indoctrinating our children to be transgender!

Correction: Beth Young Bourne asked for this correction: “Only the portion of the meeting that involved the ongoing lawsuit with Shasta County CPS could not be shared. (About 5 minutes of an hour plus presentation.)” LassenNews did not attend this meeting. We have corrected this story to honor her request for clarity. LassenNews regrets the error.

Publisher’s note: I’m sure some in the Lassen County Republican Assembly will loudly cry foul about this story. I am sorry about that. I am not attacking your organization or your point of view. In fact, I wish all of you well, and I honestly appreciate your involvement in our political process. Please don’t shoot the messenger. But let’s get this right — these people came to our town to share their anti-transgender stories with your group and your group alone? They asked that some of this information not be shared with the media (who might then share it with the public)? Secret information only for the initiated few? I see a forest of red flags waving in the breeze.

Just for the record, I do not consider myself one of those evil “woke” Democrats on a mission to transform our society into something else. That’s not me.

And just for the record again, lest some conservative starts spewing such nonsense, George Soros did not send me a big, fat check to write this opinion piece about last week’s presentation to the Lassen County Republican Assembly by anti-transgender activist Beth Young Bourne and others.

I am a free and independent journalist, and I cannot be bought by anyone. That’s what I consider a sacred trust and promise I have made to our LassenNews readers — one I will honor to my dying breath. That’s why the Founding Fathers empowered the Fourth Estate — a free and independent media — through the First Amendment to our Constitution. It’s a foundational cornerstone of our republic being eroded every day by the social media echo chambers and others who believe their view is the only one worthy of any attention.

And as a last resort, I guess some can just hurl that worn out “fake news” absurdity — except I dare you to find a single, fake falsity in this report. I double-dare you. I triple-dare you. Alright. Let me pick some of the meat off these bones.

I had seen a Facebook announcement of Bourne’s appearance last Sunday at the Susanville Senior Center, but as a rule, I don’t attend meetings of our local political parties because I feel they’re essentially one-sided events appropriate for those with that particular political slant. No judgement here, just why.

But after the meeting, one of the attendees called me and suggested a great story for LassenNews. I always tell people if you want to get the word out to our readers, we have a place for you. I was asked by this reader to write this story, so, I started looking into the alleged struggles of a Ukrainian couple desperately seeking to stop the process of the deep state transitioning their 17-year-old daughter into manhood against their wishes. It sounded absolutely horrifying.

The person who thought this would be a good story for LassenNews gave my number to the mother, and sure enough, she called me.

She said her attorney had advised her not to make any statements to the media. She also told me her attorney had advised her not to provide any of the court documents to the media either after I asked for them.

She told me her story off the record, but I can’t report what she told me here because I gave her my word that our conversation was private. I can’t recount her story, but frankly, I found it pretty hard to believe, understand or comprehend.

Just for perspective, I spoke to an attorney and local law enforcement officers who are familiar with CPS about the story this woman had told me. The attorney laughed out loud and said it sounded like a modern rendition of an old QAnon conspiracy theory. The law enforcement officers said the story I shared with them could never happen in the real world.

I heard someone had recorded the meeting, but when I asked that person to share the recording with me, I was told Bourne asked that the portion of the recording of the meeting involving the ongoing lawsuit with Shasta County CPS could not be shared with the media because any reporting in the press might damage their court case — due for a resolution in court this Tuesday or Wednesday.

So, I told the person who suggested the story to me I couldn’t write a story without more information, so I was going to move on, despite the time I’d already put into it. I thought we were good.

Then I discovered the Lassen County Republican Assembly posted this comment from Bourne on the assembly’s Facebook page.

“Last weekend, Mike and I traveled to Susanville, CA for my talk hosted by the Lassen County Republican Assembly. Before the event, I had a chance to do some research on where transgender identity ideology is hitting even a small, rural, mostly conservative county in this state. It’s in the public schools, libraries and community college in Lassen County (see slides in comments).

“The people, (a LRA member’s name redacted by me) and crew, who hosted the event were amazing. They are well informed, curious and kind and generous (I love the patriotic gifts!).

“My friends (names removed at the families request Oct. 20, 2025) drove from Shasta County to join us. The audience was shocked to hear their family’s nightmare with Phoenix Charter Academy and CPS in Redding, CA basically kidnapping their 17-year-old daughter.

“I am hopeful we can turn California around, and protect our children, one conversation at a time.”

The Phoenix Charter Academy, CPS in Redding and Bourne did not respond to my requests for comment on this story. I have two friends who encouraged two members of the Lassen County Republican Assembly to contact me. Crickets, as they say these days.

Then I clicked the link to Bourne’s Facebook post where I discovered the accusations being made against our community, and I felt compelled to air these allegations and share what is being said about Lassen County with LassenNews’ readers.

Maybe this is how Lassen County looks to an anti-transgender activist from Davis, California, and an allegedly wronged mother in Redding, but this sure isn’t the way I see our community.

Here are the slides Bourne referred to earlier.

Click here to visit the Lassen County Republican Assembly’s Facebook page.

Click here to visit Bourne’s Facebook page where you can see these images and comments.

Click here to read an AOL.com story about Bourne, “A mom of a nonbinary teen became an anti-trans activist, fracturing a California family.