EXCLUSIVE: Police Won't Bring Charges In Attack Against Riley Gaines At SFSU
Almost one year after Riley Gaines was attacked and held hostage after a speaking engagement at San Francisco State University, it appears no one will be held accountable.
Gaines — a former Kentucky swimmer and current host of OutKick's Gaines for Girls podcast — was harassed and threatened while giving a speech on the SFSU campus on April 6, 2023. Gaines says she was also struck by a man wearing a dress.
Campus police barricaded her in a room for safety, where she was held for several hours while the protesters screamed outside. The angry mob tried to demand money for her release.
"I told the police in the moment, there needs to be charges filed against anyone who's responsible," Gaines told OutKick. "I don't care if it's the police. I don't care if it's the school. I don't care if it's the individuals themselves. But whoever is responsible for me being held against my will — with my life and danger — deserves to be held accountable."
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In the months following, though, the SFSU police gave her the runaround. Gaines sat in on a Zoom call with officers to re-hash the incident and requested to see bodycam and CCTV footage.
"They told me I would have it by the end of June. So June, July rolls around," Gaines said. "I never received the footage. I hadn't heard anything from them in months and months and months."
SFSU Police Finally Respond To Riley Gaines
Gaines again reached out to SFSU police at the end of January for an update on the case. And in an email sent on Feb. 2, Detective Corporal Thalya Fernandez informed Gaines that there wouldn't be charges filed.
"After a thorough investigation, the alleged charges are unfounded and have been suspended pending further lead," Fernandez wrote in the email obtained by OutKick.
"If you could please provide us with any photos and/or videos you may have in your possession as well as the contact information for anyone who was present that may have digital evidence, please do so, and the case may be further investigated."
Two problems with that: First, there are photos and videos of the attack all over the Internet and the news. Not to mention the fact that police could access bodycam and security footage.
And the second problem with the email response is that Officer Fernandez was in the room with Gaines when the incident occurred. She, herself, is an eye-witness.
"It's left me confused and upset," Gaines said. "What do you mean the charges are unfounded? She was locked in the room where I was held against my will for an extended period of time because it was unsafe for me or for campus police to leave. Only after SFPD arrived were we able to exit."
Who Is Responsible For Mayhem At SFSU Event?
Gaines feels SFSU and its campus police department did not adequately prepare for the possibility of a threatening mob.
With the event set to begin at 7 p.m., Gaines had a scheduled meeting with officers at 5:30 p.m. to discuss protocol should a protest break out.
"We had coordinated a time to meet in this parking garage," she explained. "Well, I was there, and the police never showed up. We were going to go over exit strategies and things like that if something were to happen. They never showed up."
Officials were also supposed to make sure the doors were locked once Gaines' event began, but that didn't happen either. While barricaded in the room, she asked officers why the doors didn't get locked, to which they responded, "Well, there's a lot of doors."
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"The place just failed entirely on every account," Gaines said. "Not to mention [VP for student affairs] Jamillah Moore sent a university-wide email to their student body, saying they were so proud of their brave students for handling me in that manner. So it just feels like there were so many people who failed — not just me — but set a dangerous precedent for other conservatives on campus."
RELATED: San Francisco State University Thanks Protesters Following Riley Gaines Attack
It's important to note that it is illegal in California to make threats that cause someone to fear for his or her safety. California Penal Code 422 makes it a crime to communicate a threat to somebody that could result in great bodily injury or death. The law still applies "even if there is no intent to actually carrying it out."
On Feb. 6, Gaines responded to Fernandez's email with a folder full of photos and videos — reminding her that "the evidence is overwhelming and compelling that crimes have been committed." Officer Fernandez has not since responded.
OutKick also reached out to SFSU police, but they declined to comment.