Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer, said she was assaulted during a performance at San Francisco State University, where she spoke out against allowing transgender women to compete on women’s teams, CNN reported.
“I was physically attacked by a person. I was hit twice, both times hitting my shoulder with the second hit grazing my face,” Gaines said. “The rest of the protesters just ambushed me and cornered me before I could move out with the help of campus police.”
A video shows her walking after the speech, followed by protesting students shouting, “Trans rights are human rights.”
“We are conducting an ongoing investigation into the situation. There were no arrests related to the event,” university police said in a statement. “The disruption occurred after the conclusion of the event that necessitated it [police] Officers to move the event speaker from the room to another safe location.”
PEN America, a literature and free speech advocacy group, called the incident a “disaster.”
“Physical intimidation or violence is never an acceptable response to speech, no matter how hateful or controversial the speech is,” said Kristen Shahverdian, PEN America’s senior manager for freedom of speech and education.
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