Swimmer Riley Gaines attacked, barricades self from transgender rights activists

Controversial swimmer Riley Gaines has been forced to barricade herself after transgender rights protesters stormed her public appearance.

Swimmer Riley Gaines says she was “ambushed and physically hit” and forced to barricade for three hours from a mob of transgender-rights protesters who stormed her speech about protecting women’s sports.

The 12-time All-American champ — a former rival of controversial trans swimmer Lia Thomas — shared alarming footage of police hustling her to safety from San Francisco State University.

“Why are you running!” one of the protesters yells — before a short-haired activist jumps in front of her to scream abuse, The New York Post reports.

“Yeah you f***ing transphobic b****. I f***ing see you!” the angry activist screams as Gaines tries to escape down a hallway.

Gaines’ footage — as well as other clips shared on social media — show security and university staff blocking the angry mob from following the distressed guest speaker as she’s taken to a safe room on Saturday morning (AEDT).

“You crying! You f***ing crying b****. F*** you!” one member of the group screams.

“Bye bitch! F*** you,” the protesters yells, as others holding “Trans Lives Matter” signs chant “trans rights are human rights” and “Trans women are women.”

The disturbing scenes were later shared by Riley Gaines.

Gaines’ agent, Eli Bremer, said that she was then “barricaded” in a room “for three hours.”

“The police cannot break Riley free,” he said, with student outlet Golden Gate Xpress showing more than a dozen of San Francisco Police Department cops arriving in several squad cars as backup.

Police officers later that night announced through a loudspeaker that the gathering was an unlawful congregation and those refusing to leave would be arrested.

Gaines was finally able to leave at 11.38pm — more than three hours after being first led to safety — with a huge police presence to stop her from being followed, online videos show.

The confronting videos are not fit for publishing.

One video of the incident has more than 4 million views on Twitter. Photo: independent Women's Forum.

She later said that she had been “ambushed and physically hit twice” in the mayhem.

“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 said.

Her husband, Louis Barker, also told Fox News Digital that the young swimmer reported being “hit multiple times.”

“I was shaking. It made me that mad. It makes me sick to feel so helpless about it,” the hubby said. “She was under police protection and was still hit by a man wearing a dress.”

Riley Gaines shared the image on Instagram.

Riley Gaines' social media following has reached 71,000 on Instagram.

Footage from earlier in the night showed cops trying to keep the protesters out of Gaines’ talk, with the chants still partially drowning out her words.

The activists — “organised by SFSU’s Queer and Trans Resource Center” — waited outside and then “rushed in when the event was over,” according to a spokesperson for the university’s branch of the conservative group Turning Point USA, which hosted the event.

Bremer, Gaines’ agent, told Fox that Gaines wanted to “share her personal story of competing against a biological male athlete, Lia Thomas, at the Women’s NCAA Swimming Championships last year.”

“Instead of a thoughtful discussion tonight at SFSU, Riley was violently accosted, shouted at, physically assaulted, and barricaded in a room by protesters,” he said.

“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.

“This will not stop Riley from boldly educating people of the dangers of biological males in women’s sports.

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was too quick for Riley Gaines at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in 2022. Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

“She will continue to speak the truth against the radical left that no longer understands the difference between men and women.”

A study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2022 found that transgender women have higher muscle mass and lung capacity than cisgender women — but lower than cisgender men, according to Medical Xpress.

However, a 2015 study of transgender runners found that transgender women who received treatment to lower their testosterone levels did no better against female peers than they had previously done against male runners — suggesting trans athletes don’t have an advantage, according to Science Magazine.

On Twitter, he decried how the fracas was just days after Cash App founder Bob Lee was brutally stabbed to death in the Golden Gate City.

“What is wrong with San Fran that they cannot protect tech executives nor can they protect women’s rights advocates????” he asked.

The university’s police department told The Post on Friday that there had been no arrests.

“We are conducting an ongoing investigation into the situation,” a spokesperson said.

“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.”

— This story originally appeared on nypost.com and has been republished with permission

Originally published as Swimmer Riley Gaines attacked, barricades self from transgender rights activists