Montana Couple Faces Arrest Amid Custody Battle for Trans-Identifying Daughter

The teenager was removed from her parents’ care after they refused to agree to surgical or hormonal transition

A Christian couple in Montana is facing arrest after violating a judge’s order to remain silent on a custody battle involving their trans-identifying teenage daughter.

Last month, Todd and Krista Kolstad’s 14-year-old daughter was removed from their care by Montana’s Child and Family Services after refusing to send her to a facility where she may have been able to obtain surgical or hormonal treatments to “transition” to life as a boy.

In August of 2023, the teenager expressed a desire to end her own life and while communicating with CFS, the Kolstads agreed she would benefit from being placed in a specialized home for treatment.

However, when they refused to sign paperwork that would have sent the girl to Wyoming, where she may have been legally allowed to seek transgender treatments without their consent, they lost custody of their daughter. She has since been moved to Canada to live with her birthmother, who she was not in contact with until a few months ago but who supports the teen’s transition.

"They showed up at our house with the paperwork removing her from our care," Krista Kolstad told The Christian Post. "And if you look at the paperwork, it specifically says that we were unable or unwilling to provide medical care. And that's not true." 

While visiting an ailing relative in Ohio, the Kolstads were informed they will be placed under arrest upon returning to Montana. The Post notes that it is unclear how the judge interprets the gag order he has placed on the couple and how he believes they violated it.

"Our rights were taken away, and we were disrespected as her parents," she said. "And as a result, our relationship with our daughter has been damaged, and our daughter ultimately has been damaged, and she's the most important one here."