Riley Gaines speaks out against discontinued investigation into assault at San Francisco college event
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former NCAA swimmer and women's sports activist Riley Gaines appeared as a guest alongside co-host Ainsley Earhardt on the February 23 episode of 'Fox & Friends' to discuss their reactions to the suspension of the investigation into a mob incident that escalated into a hostage situation at a San Francisco college.
While law enforcement officials reasoned that Gaines' claims were unfounded, Gaines slammed the decision by the university police as "abysmal."
What was the incident surrounding Riley Gaines?
Gaines participated as a speaker at an event organized by the conservative organization Turning Point USA at San Francisco State University in 2023.
During the event, she shared her perspective on competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas during her senior year of college. Both athletes had tied for fifth place in a national swimming championship.
According to Fox News reports, Gaines was allegedly assaulted by a violent mob of protestors who entered the room after her speech, turned off the lights, and physically attacked her.
The swimmer reported that she was hit multiple times, and the mob had demanded that she pay each student $10 for ransom.
Recalling the moment on the show, she shared, "Being held for ransom through the middle of the night in San Francisco by hundreds of protesters, you can only imagine the obscene and profane and heinous things that were being yelled at me, how I was being assaulted in ambush. I truly, in that moment, feared for my life."
Riley Gaines' reaction to the investigation being discontinued
Hitting back at the official rhetoric of "unfounded" allegations, Gaines told Earhardt, "There's an abundance of evidence that what I am claiming happened, happened. There's audio evidence, there's video evidence, there are eyewitnesses who were there at the time."
"Heck, the officer who sent me the email saying that the charges were unfounded was being held for ransom in the room with me," Gaines added.
"So I think this sets a terrible precedent, not just for conservatives or conservative speakers on college campuses like myself. This sets a terrible precedent for every single American, male, female, regardless of race, regardless of sexual orientation," she further continued.
"Because what our Department of Justice has now done by saying they can't do anything, they can't charge anyone involved here, is they're saying and honestly, they're encouraging, violence and violence against women, for that matter, and the infringement upon our First Amendment rights, our freedom of speech at that. So I think this is an abomination, really. That's how I feel," Gaines concluded.
