After the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, his friend and fellow conservative influencer Riley Gaines is speaking out about her own experience with left-wing campus violence — and what it means for conservatives on college campuses.
Gaines said that at a 2023 Turning Point USA event at San Francisco State University, radical trans student activists attacked her, forcing her to take refuge in a classroom for hours while university police failed to control the crowd. The former NCAA swimmer, who became well-known in 2022 for speaking about competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, said that a mob of protesters stormed the event, disrupted her with aggressive chanting, flickered the lights, and surrounded her.
“I [was] so disoriented, you have men and dresses and women with beards. I’m confused, fists are flying in my face,” Gaines, who hosts her own Outkick show, told Fox News Digital.
The conservative activist said a plainclothes police officer pulled her out of the crowd and through a back exit into a hallway, where even more protesters were waiting. She took refuge in a nearby classroom for hours as demonstrators gathered outside.
Gaines told Fox News Digital that protesters demanded money if she wanted “to see my family again,” while campus police allegedly said they couldn’t intervene because they didn’t want to appear antagonistic to the transgender community.
“I was scared. I was scared for my life. I broke down in tears and I looked at the officer and I said, ‘I just want to go home,’ and he looked at me and he said, ‘that’s a bit selfish, don’t you think we want to home too?’” Gaines said.
The 12-time All-American swimmer said she was eventually freed when the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) arrived. She emphasized that she supports law enforcement but criticized how campus police handled the incident. Gaines later returned to the campus with Kirk in May as part of his American Comeback Tour. She said she was disappointed to see many of the same campus officers there for her security.
“There was no accountability, there was nothing done to the students, to the university administrators who enabled this, there was nothing done to the campus police who facilitated an environment where the students were able to get away with this. They were still there working… I was very shocked by that, but now I realize I really shouldn’t have been,” Gaines told Fox News Digital.
Security for conservative speakers on college campuses has become a growing concern after Kirk’s assassination. The Turning Point USA co-founder was killed on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University after he answered a question about transgender mass murderers. His alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, had a transgender partner and was turned in to law enforcement by his father. Robinson allegedly texted his partner confessing to the murder, saying he “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred.”
“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” Robinson allegedly wrote.
Gaines said that after Kirk’s assassination, colleges are likely to disinvite conservative speakers to avoid becoming targets. She added that she has ten college stops planned for the fall, some of which were supposed to be with Kirk. With a baby on the way, she now feels worried about continuing to appear at universities.
“I hate to admit it, but it has me afraid, especially as I’m about to enter into this new stage of life where I’m due with a baby girl any day now… I have to consider my family,” Gaines said.
Ultimately, she feels a deep sense of mourning for her lost mentor and friend. Gaines told Fox News Digital that Kirk gave her her start as a speaker and that she often relied on him for guidance.
“He had this ability to connect with people that very, very few people have. It is such a rare, underrated trait to be able to make people feel seen. It doesn’t matter if it was the president himself or an 18-year-old freshman in college. Charlie made them feel seen, and so I think his legacy will live on, but it’s going to require more and more people to be bold in the process,” Gaines recalled.
