Riley Gaines vows not to be silenced after assault by protesters
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines recounts being 'barricaded' in classroom for hours amid violent scene involving pro-trans protesters.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines vowed to Fox News that she would not be silenced or deterred after her speech at San Francisco State University was violently disrupted by pro-transgender protesters.
"This does not deter me. This assures me that I am doing the right thing," she said Friday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "This will not silence me. When they want me to be silenced, it just means I need to speak louder."
Gaines, a 12-time All-American swimmer, came to national prominence after objecting to University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas -- a transgender individual born William Thomas -- competing against her in the female division.
On Thursday, Gaines visited the SFSU chapter of Turning Point USA to give a speech about saving women's sports, and al hell broke loose, thanks to protesters.The melee led to her being barricaded in a separate classroom for three hours while college police appeared apprehensive to confront the protesters. Eventually, Gaines said, city police appeared and whisked her off campus.
"It was terrifying," she told host Tucker Carlson. "The police did not inform me of any sort of action plan. Turning Point USA invited me to the campus. I delivered a very civil and respectful speech where I had great dialog with even protesters who were participating in a sit-in.
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"All of a sudden, after my speech, the room was stormed, the lights were turned off, and I was rushed with no one there to escort me to a safe place."
Gaines said she was punched, shoved and hit by the pro-transgender protesters, adding she was unable to leave the building because of the number of angry opponents. That led her to being barricaded in the aforementioned second classroom for hours.
Carlson played tape of Gaines being accosted by raging student protesters, calling the aggressive collective "the most dangerous extremist group in the United States" and arguing they intentionally defy science and reason with utterances like "trans women are women."
Riley Gaines (Fox News)
When asked by Carlson why police did not help her out to safety under the threat of arms, Gaines said they, too, were terrified of the optics of putting their hands on the protesters because of what "these people are capable of."
The officers, she said, were also being verbally abused by the assembled protesters – adding it was "chilling" to discern the cops didn't feel comfortable doing their job because of the crowd.
Carlson said the White House has endorsed the overall pro-transgender movement, and asked how safe Gaines feels going forward.
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"I am worried about my safety. I have to be now when we have people who are willing to do this," she said. "And we know why they're willing to do this – it's because they don't have reason, they don't have logic, they don't have science, they don't have common sense on their side. That's on my side."
Gaines concluded neither the dean's office nor the campus police or any other California official of authority defended or stood up for her after the incident. However, she said the San Francisco city police did a "phenomenal job" getting her to safety after hours of being barricaded.
Gaines added she plans to identify and press charges against those protesters who assaulted her.
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"They will face repercussions," she said.
The University Police Department (UPD) at San Francisco State University issued the following statement to Fox News Friday morning:
"We are conducting an ongoing investigation into the situation. There were no arrests related to the event. The disruption occurred after the conclusion of the event which made it necessary for UPD officers to move the event speaker from the room to a different, safe location."
In a statement to Fox News, a TPUSA spokesperson said the counter-protest to Gaines' speech was "organized by SFSU’s Queer and Trans Resource Center."
Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
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