Riley Gaines Rages at Police Not Charging Activists Who Held Her 'Hostage'

Riley Gaines has expressed her disgust after she said she was informed by police that nobody will be charged over an incident in April 2023 when demonstrators shut down a talk she was giving at San Francisco State University (SFSU).

During the incident, parts of which were recorded and shared on social media, Gaines alleges she was assaulted twice, barricaded in a room as an effective "hostage" and had her life threatened.

Gaines, a former college swimmer turned political campaigner, rose to prominence after competing against Lia Thomas, who in 2022 became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship.

Gaines has argued that the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's competitions is unfair and said she was required to share a changing room with Thomas, who she considers to be a biological male. She added this was a form of sexual abuse. Gaines currently hosts the Gaines for Girls podcast for sports media website OutKick.

On February 2, Gaines received an email from a SFSU police officer saying they didn't plan to bring any prosecutions as "the alleged charges are unfounded and have been suspended pending further lead."

Speaking to Newsweek, Gaines said: "It's pretty chilling we live in a society where an ample amount of provided proof of assault, being held hostage, and having my safety and life threatened is not enough to press charges against all responsible.

"Being unable to condemn violence against women and the infringement of First Amendment rights sets a terrible precedent for everyone, not just conservatives."

Gaines shared a one minute video of the April 2023 incident on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after it took place. The video went on to record 22.4 million views.

The footage begins in the room where Gaines' talk, hosted by conservative campaign group Turning Point USA, had just been shut down by protesters. In the chaotic footage Gaines is seen being pursued and jostled by demonstrators chanting "trans rights are human rights" before reaching a number of police officers. After the event, Gaines claimed she was "physically hit twice by a man" during the ruckus.

Newsweek contacted the SFSU Police Department by email at around 5 a.m. ET. This article will be updated should they comment.

Speaking to OutKick, Gaines also claimed police officers failed to attend a scheduled security meeting before her event and that external doors hadn't been locked by university staff.

She said: "We had coordinated a time to meet in this parking garage. Well, I was there, and the police never showed up.

"We were going to go over exit strategies and things like that if something were to happen. They never showed up."

In an earlier interview with Newsweek Gaines claimed she'd feared for her life due to the backlash over her campaign against transgender athletes competing in women's sports.

She said: "I've been in situations now where in the case of San Francisco I was physically assaulted, I was held for ransom for four hours by these protesters, I've been spit on, I've had drinks poured on me, glass bottles thrown at me, I've been called the most obscene things you can imagine, I've had drones flying above my house, people showing up to my house, people staking outside my hotel room when they find out where I'm staying.

"At first it did really scare me, but I realized pretty quickly actually that that's exactly what they're trying to do—scare me and scare me into silence."