Portland woman convicted of hate crime after misgendering, confronting transgender patron using women's bathroom in bar

An Oregon woman has been convicted of committing a hate crime after misgendering and confronting a transgender patron using the women's bathroom at a bar in Portland.

On Wednesday, 40-year-old Cassie McIntyre was found guilty of second-degree bias crime and harassment in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Judge Christopher Marshall sentenced McIntyre to two years of probation and 50 hours of community service, according to the Oregonian.

McIntyre's punishment stems from a 15-second confrontation with Riis Larsen, a 35-year-old, trans-identifying biological male formerly named Ronald A. Larsen.

Journalist Andy Ngo reported, "Larsen is a self-identified Marxist 'queer demi-binary trans woman' who posts online often about transphobia."

The encounter occurred at Jake's Place sports bar in Portland on Dec. 27, 2022. McIntyre was a bartender, who was at Jake's Place after finishing her shift.

Larsen allegedly cut in line to use the women's restroom, which upset a regular customer at the bar, who complained.

McIntyre purportedly confronted Larsen about using the women's bathroom.

Court documents state, "When McIntyre cornered her and told her she 'was a man' and should use the other toilet."

Larsen reportedly attempted to "explain" Larsen's gender identity, "but McIntyre, 40, told her to 'get out' using an expletive, then shoved her."

Video showed McIntyre making physical contact with Larsen, but McIntyre contended that she did not shove Larsen but instead was "making space."

Larsen claimed to have been a victim of "transphobia."

Larsen said during the trial, "Because that’s the essence of transphobic bias — erasure. It’s not being believed. In our system, people are innocent until they’re proven guilty, but in the real world, I was judged and sentenced within moments when Ms. McIntyre decided to harass me."

Prosecutor Charlie Weiss said Larsen is "scrutinized in a different way than most of us in our day-to-day lives are scrutinized."

Weiss added, "People sometimes express disagreement not with what she says, or what she does, but who she is."

McIntyre said in court, "I wasn’t trying to misgender her — I had to look up what transgender was in the dictionary. We were just arguing over spilt milk."

McIntyre apologized to Larsen in court and vowed to stay away from the neighborhood so Larsen would not have to worry about her presence.

According to the Oregonian, "The two-day jury trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court is part of a trend for Portland prosecutors, who file more hate crime charges per capita than any other district attorney’s office in the state, The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported."

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