Fury after swimmer ‘assaulted’ by trans activists (2024)

WARNING: Strong language

A swimmer has blasted a US university for allegedly praising a “peaceful” protest where she alleges she was attacked by trans activists after urging that transgender athletes be kept out of women’s sports.

Riley Gaines, 23, threatened legal action against San Francisco State University for its alleged failure to help her after droves of trans-rights protesters pushed back at her controversial speech last Thursday, the NY Post reports.

Video of the chaos shows dozens of protesters berating the former NCAA swimmer and 12-time All-American champ following the speech.

Ms Gaines claims she was punched twice by a transgender woman and was forced to barricade for hours in a classroom.

Following the mayhem, Jamillah Moore, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrolment Management, emailed students thanking them for taking part in the event.

“It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space,” Ms Moore wrote. “I am proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions”.

She added, “I am also proud of the moments when our students demonstrated the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully”.

After the statement was tweeted out, Ms Gaines wrote, “I’m sorry did this just say PEACEFUL …. I was assaulted. I was extorted and held for random [sic]. The protesters demanded I pay them if I wanted to make it home safely. I missed my flight home because I was barricaded in a classroom … We must have different definitions of peaceful.”

In the school’s notice about the incident, Ms Moore offered Ms Gaines no apology — and instead focused on the students’ commitment to standing with the trans community and diversity.

“I have no problem with ‘peaceful’ protest,” Ms Gaines wrote.

“I actually welcome it. I was grateful to see a diverse crowd in the room during my speech which I expressed multiple times. We had great dialogue and listened to each other. But that ambush was the opposite of peaceful.”

Following the protest, the university’s police department told The Post there had been no arrests and that the school was probing the matter.

“We are conducting an ongoing investigation into the situation,” a spokesperson said on Friday.

“The disruption occurred after the conclusion of the event which made it necessary for police officers to move the event speaker from the room to a different, safe location.”

Speaking with TV show Fox & Friends Weekend host Rachel Campos-Duffy, Ms Gaines said she demands justice for the alleged assault, announcing that she was planning to sue the school.

“The campus police did nothing,” she said.

“The dean of students was there and did nothing. There will be no repercussions unless I have something to do with it.”

Ms Gaines, a former swimmer at the University of Kentucky, has been a vocal critic of trans athletes participating in women’s sports after competing against forme rUniversity of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, with whom she tied for fifth place in a national swimming competition last spring.

This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission