Swimmer Riley Gaines Ambushed By Protesters at Event Over Trans Views, Calls for ‘Sex-Protected Spaces’ Over Incident
Swimmer Riley Gaines called for “sex-protected spaces” after being ambushed by protesters at an event over her views on transgender athletes.
The former NCAA swimmer ended up barricaded in a room at San Francisco State University on Thursday after a speech she gave on women’s sports during a Turning Point USA event. Footage posted to social media by Gaines and others show her being screamed at and followed down a hallway by activists cursing at her and chanting, “trans rights are human rights.”
In her own tweet about the incident, Gaines posted footage of her trying to get away from the activists and she claimed that one person in the video assaulted her while she was being chased.
“The prisoners are running the asylum at SFSU…I was ambushed and physically hit twice by a man. This is proof that women need sex-protected spaces,” the athlete tweeted. “Still only further assures me I’m doing something right. When they want you silent, speak louder.”
Police officers can be seen in some of the posted footage escorting Gaines and trying to keep her away from the crowd.
Gaines spoke about transgender athletes in sports during her talk, something that has earned her a fair amount of pushback, her agent, Eli Bremer, told Fox News Digital after the incident. Gaines is opposed to biological males participating in women’s sports.
“Instead of a thoughtful discussion tonight at SFSU, Riley was violently accosted, shouted at, physically assaulted, and barricaded in a room by protestors. It is stunning that in America in 2023, it is acceptable for biological male students to violently assault a woman for standing up for women’s rights,” Bremer said.
Gaines received plenty of support from mainly conservatives on Twitter, including from former Vice President Mike Pence.
“Last night, the courageous and accomplished athlete @Riley_Gaines_ was held hostage and assaulted for speaking about saving Women’s Sports. This latest attack on Free Speech and Conservative Values on a college campus is a disgrace,” Pence wrote in response to the video of Gaines.
