Lauren Boebert cries “terrorism” after students shut down transphobic speech

Republican legislators and right-wing media outlets are accusing trans activists at San Francisco State University (SFSU) of “terrorism” and silencing free speech for shutting down a speech by transphobic former college athlete Riley Gaines and then allegedly physically assaulting and trapping her in a room for several hours.

Gaines posted a one-minute video in which she exits a classroom while protestors yell, “Trans rights are human rights,” and “Why are you running?” One protestor records Gaines on their cell phone and says, “Yeah, you f**king transphobic b**ch, I f**king see you!” Police then walk Gaines into a hallway and block the protestor while the protestor screams, “You crying?”

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“Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport.”

The video didn’t contain any evidence of Gaines being physically assaulted or trapped in a room for three hours.

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However, the independent news website Golden Gate XPress reported that Gaines, who was set to speak about banning trans women from sports, was trapped in a classroom for four hours while protestors filled the speaking venue’s hallways. Near the end of this time period, SFSU police told students to disperse, and officers led Gaines out of the building, the news website reported.

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“Instead of a thoughtful discussion at SFSU, Riley was violently accosted, shouted at, physically assaulted, and barricaded in a room by protestors. 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,” Gaines’s agentsaid in a statement, according to KNTV.

SFSU’s Queer and Trans Resource Center said that the protest organizer wasn’t a student. The center also wrote that it “supports students’ freedom of speech and freedom of expression that does not include hate speech prohibited by Title IX and does not incite violence,” the aforementioned news outlet reported.

“The prisoners are running the asylum at SFSU,” Gaines wrote in her tweet containing the video. “I was ambushed and physically hit twice by a man. 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.”

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.

Still only further assures me I'm doing something right. When they want you silent, speak louder.