Riley Gaines 'ambushed and physically hit' by male trans activist, swarmed by violent mob: 'The prisoners are running the asylum'

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines has been subject to verbal and written abuse in recent weeks after she took a stand against the inclusion of men in women's sports. On Thursday night, however, her attackers turned to physical violence.

A man in a dress reportedly struck Gaines at least twice Thursday night after the 23-year-old swim star gave a speech about keeping women's spaces female-only. Her attacker was part of a hysterical mob of transsexual extremists and LGBT activists that descended on the Turning Point USA and Leadership Institute event at San Francisco State University.

Kim Shasby Jones, co-founder of the Independent Council on Women's Sports, tweeted, "These people are UNHINGED and dangerous. It is 2023 and a young women is physically assaulted simply for speaking up for her rights!"

The Independent Women's Forum, for which Gaines is a spokeswoman, issued a statement strongly condemning the violence, adding, "Riley was violently accosted, ambushed, and physically assaulted during a speech on sex discrimination women face in their own single-sex sports category."

The IWF noted that "Riley is courageous in speaking up for truth, science and common sense. She has experienced firsthand the injustice female athletes face across America in their own sport."

"The effort to silence, threaten & harm women for standing up for #WomensRights is absolutely ludicrous. The Biden administration @POTUS & governing bodies of sport @ncaa @iocmedia pushing for biological males in women’s sport for the sake of inclusion are responsible for this," continued the statement.

Gaines had dared to tell her story to SFSU students about competing in the women’s NCAA swimming championships against male athlete Lia Thomas, whom she claimed in a February interview had exposed his male genitalia in a women's locker room after a meet.

Her agent, Eli Bremer, told Fox News Digital, "Her goal in speaking at universities has been to educate her peers about her experience and what the impact of the growing number of biological males in women’s sports will do to the integrity of Title IX. She has been questioned in civil and somewhat uncivil manners about her views many times, and she thoroughly encourages diverse viewpoints and debate on this issue."

Concerning Gaines' attack by a transsexual extremist, Bremer said, "This will not stop Riley from boldly educating people of the dangers of biological males in women’s sports. She will continue to speak the truth against the radical left that no longer understands the difference between men and women."

Footage taken by the student-run news outfit Golden Gate Xpress shows police escorting Gaines down a hallway and away from the angry mob. When the officers reach the end of one corridor, they appear to find the door to a safe room locked, at which point Gaines turns to calmly face the extremists, who held signs that read, "Go the f*** home," "trans lives matter," and "trans women are women."

One LGBT activist can be heard screaming, "transphobic b****."

Gaines was ultimately barricaded in a room with police protection for roughly three hours, during which time some transsexual activists attempted to extort her, saying they would disperse if paid off.

The All-American athlete did not leave campus until 11:38 p.m., 20 minutes after police announced that those who stuck around to protest would be arrested.

Upon learning that Gaines had been attacked, her husband, Louis Barker, said, "I was shaking. It made me that mad. It makes me sick to feel so helpless about it. ... She was under police protection and was still hit by a man wearing a dress."

A TPUSA spokesman told Fox News Digital that the mob had been "organized by SFSU's Queer and Trans Resource Center."

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