Sam Nordquist Benefit to Remember the Man, Not Just the Murder

Sam’s family and friends want to tell the community about who he was and seek justice for his murder.

Just a few months after the tragic murder of Sam Nordquist, friends and family hope to get justice and introduce people to the man from Red Wing for who he was in life, not just the events that led to his death.

With trials for the seven people accused of torturing and murdering Sam still looming, Linda Nordquist, his mother, is holding a benefit on July 20 at Richard Walton Park in Oakdale, Minn., from noon to 6 p.m. Linda and her daughter started a GoFundMe to pay for funeral expenses, travel to New York (where the trials are being held and where Sam was recently added to the National LGBTQ+ Wall of Honor in the Stonewall Inn) and, hopefully, to invest in the community and provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ people in Minnesota.

Beyond raising money, they want to share the love they have for Sam and the love he had for everyone in his life. And, of course, they want justice for the man they say would give the shirt off his back for anyone who needed it.

“He was just such a kind and caring soul,” says Sam’s childhood friend, Reagan Bearsaveslife. “And he’s so rare. He’s just such a rare person to come by. And it’s honestly a blessing to have had him in your life.”

When Sam’s murder became national news, his identity as a trans man was front and center. The New York Times headline initially referred to Sam as a trans man, then a man, then, finally, simply as a person. Bearsaveslife says she wishes the focus wasn’t on that aspect of his life.

“Him being transgender is one of the main things that is going to be misunderstood,” she says. “I’ve seen a lot of hate comments and a lot of people trying to go back and forth with other people who never knew him, trying to paint a picture about who he was or how he identified himself, or who he should be. And I think everybody just needs to settle and understand that, you know, he is a man, and that’s how he would want to be addressed. That’s how he’s asked everybody to address him. That doesn’t make him any less of a person or less deserving of justice.”

Outside of some of the transphobia and hateful speculation online, Linda says she’s had mixed feelings about the community in the wake of her son’s death. In particular, she says she wishes Minnesotans were more invested in supporting her son.

“They had it on the news when it first happened. But, I mean, they don’t even follow up with what’s happening with the court cases or anything,” Linda says. “Sam’s always on the news in New York. It’s like they forgot about Sam here in Minnesota. And it surprises me how many people in Minnesota don’t even know about this case.”

Hopefully, through this benefit, greater support from Minnesotans will arise. Despite some lacking coverage, Bearsaveslife says she has appreciated the care shown by those who do know Sam’s story.

“I’ve been in contact with people you wouldn’t expect from places I’ve never been, never heard of, and just, I think that’s really helpful for everybody right now who is struggling with this, everybody who loves Sam,” Bearsaveslife says. “Being able to lean on other people, and especially ones that don’t know you personally, it makes things a lot easier.”

Linda and Bearsaveslife hope that, through this support, they can get justice for Sam. Linda says she plans to be at every single trial. Through justice, they hope to find some catharsis.

“I wanna see these bitches just rot away for the rest of their lives,” Bearsaveslife says. “They don’t deserve anything.”

While the trials are still a long way away, Linda wants to use this benefit and Sam’s story to support the LGBTQ+ community and keep people safe.

“People that are in that community, they don’t feel safe. They don’t want to go out. Everybody has the right to live their life as they choose, and it’s a shame that that community of people are treated differently, and it shouldn’t be like that,” Linda says.

The benefit on July 20 will have karaoke, face painting, a silent auction and snacks for purchase. Linda is setting up the benefit on her own and hopes to open housing or a community center for LGBTQ+ people in the future.