Swimmer Riley Gaines, a 12-time All-American champion and former rival of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, claims she was "attacked and physically struck" by trans-rights protesters and forced to seek refuge for three hours following her speech on defending women's sports.
Late Thursday at San Francisco State University, Gaines shared disturbing footage of police officers rushing her to safety as protesters pursued her. One demonstrator shouted, "Why are you running!" before another, with short hair, confronted her, yelling abusive language.
Gaines' video and other social media clips depict security guards and university staff preventing the enraged crowd from pursuing the visibly shaken guest speaker as she is escorted to a secure room at 8:30 p.m.
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.
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 7, 2023
Still only further assures me I'm doing something right. When they want you silent, speak louder. pic.twitter.com/uJW3x9RERf
One individual from the group can be heard shouting derogatory remarks, while others holding "Trans Lives Matter" signs chant "trans rights are human rights" and "Trans women are women."
Eli Bremer, Gaines' agent, stated that she was "barricaded" in a room for three hours. "The police cannot break Riley free," he added. Student publication Golden Gate Xpress revealed that over a dozen San Francisco Police Department officers arrived in multiple patrol cars as backup.
At 11:21 p.m., officers announced through a bullhorn that the assembly was unlawful, and those who refused to disperse would be arrested. Gaines finally exited at 11:38 p.m., over three hours after first being escorted to safety, with a significant police presence to prevent her from being followed, as seen in online videos.
Gaines later stated that she had been "ambushed and physically hit twice" during the chaos. "The prisoners are running the asylum at SFSU," she wrote. "This is proof that women need sex-protected spaces. Still only further assures me I'm doing something right. When they want you silent, speak louder," she added.
Her husband, Louis Barker, told Fox News Digital that the young swimmer reported being "hit multiple times." He expressed his frustration, stating, "I was shaking. It made me that mad. It makes me sick to feel so helpless about it."
Earlier in the night, footage showed police attempting to keep protesters out of Gaines' talk, but their chants still partially drowned out her words. According to a spokesperson for the university's conservative group Turning Point USA, the demonstrators, "organized by SFSU's Queer and Trans Resource Center," waited outside before "rushing in when the event was over."
If you ever feel frozen by trauma or fear, remember this image I’ve clipped: a young woman, @Riley_Gaines_, in a ponytail, baby blue sweatshirt + shorts faces the mob, squares her shoulders + turns her camera on the mob. You too can do it.
— Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani) April 7, 2023
Thank you @GGXnews. pic.twitter.com/zvd4IxcC2e
Bremer, Gaines' agent, said that Gaines aimed to "share her personal story of competing against a biological male athlete, Lia Thomas, at the Women's NCAA Swimming Championships last year." He added, "Instead of a thoughtful discussion tonight at SFSU, Riley was violently accosted, shouted at, physically assaulted, and barricaded in a room by protestors."
Bremer emphasized that the incident would not deter Gaines from continuing to educate people about the dangers of biological males participating in women's sports.
The university and San Francisco Police Department have not yet commented on the incident or reported any arrests.