Sumner County's Riley Gaines 'assaulted' at conservative event in California
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Riley Gaines — a Sumner County native and former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer who advocates against transgender athletes competing in female sports — said she was recently assaulted at a Turning Point USA event in California.
Gaines posted on her social media account that on April 6 she was ambushed, physically hit and forced to barricade by a mob yelling obscenities at San Francisco State. The incident, she said, caused her to miss a scheduled flight home.
Led by Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA is a conservative activist organization that conducts and participates in right-wing events throughout the nation.
Gaines swam in high school at Station Camp in Sumner County and is the daughter of former Vanderbilt football standout Brad Gaines. In 2022, Gaines competed against Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who won an NCAA national women’s swimming championship in the 500-yard freestyle.
Gaines was also part of an February event in conjunction with Brave Books at the Hendersonville Library that included Christian actor Kirk Cameron and Missy Robertson of “Duck Dynasty.” The event led to the Sumner County Library Board voting to fire the library director after Cameron said he and others were treated poorly.
The San Francisco State University police department is conducting an investigation.
The event “was deeply traumatic for many in our trans and LGBTQ+ communities and the speaker’s message outraged many members of the SF State community who value inclusion and social justice,” San Francisco State President Lynn Mahoney said in a statement to the campus community.
I have no problem with "peaceful" protest. I actually welcome it. I was grateful to see a diverse crowd in the room during my speech which I expressed multiple times. We had great dialogue and listened to each other. But that ambush was the opposite of peaceful
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 9, 2023
Mahoney said the incident occurred after the event concluded. “The first amendment was honored and the president’s information indicated discussion was constructive and polite during the event,” Mahoney added.
Gaines also posted on social media that before she was assaulted, the event enjoyed "great dialogue." She also described the crowd as diverse.
Turning Point USA stated on social media: “After speaking with eyewitnesses, TPUSA is confident that Riley Gaines was criminally assaulted and the organization is “working to identify and hold accountable those responsible.”
Gaines has indicated on social media plans to pursue legal action.
“Still only further assures me I'm doing something right,” Riley Gaines posted on Twitter. “When they want you silent, speak louder.”
Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Riley Gains reports being assault at Turning Point USA event in San Francisco
