Authorities arrested a protester on April 13 outside an event at the University of Buffalo (UB) where Riley Gaines, a former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) swimmer, gave a speech on protecting women’s sports.
John Della Contrada, a spokesperson for the New York-based university, told Campus Reform that police arrested a 22-year-old protester and charged the Buffalo resident with harassment and disorderly conduct.
“The individual has no affiliation [with] UB,” Della Contrada said, adding the protester “was released with an appearance ticket.”
Rebecca Brannon, an independent photojournalist who attended the event, said in a series of Twitter posts that she was near the incident when it happened and commended Buffalo police for doing “a tremendous job.”
“A Trans Rights protester was just arrested for assaulting a photographer outside Riley Gaines speaking event,” Brannon wrote in the caption of a video showing the arrest. “He initially ran away but officers cornered and caught him in a nearby parking lot.”
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Campus Reform, the parent organization of Leadership Institute, suggested that the protester might identify as a transgender woman after Della Contrada said, “[t]here was only one person arrested.”
Judging from the protester’s appearance in the video shared by Brannon, this seems a possibility. However, there hasn’t been official confirmation if this is the case.
A video shared on Twitter shows the events leading up to the protester’s arrest. In the 30-second clip, three people are seen to be following and intimidating camerawoman Sofie Salmon, the deputy director of Leadership Institute.
Salmon told Campus Reform that one protester—who appears to be the 22-year-old “transgender” activist—”tried to block [her] camera with his poster” before shoving it into her lens as she “stumbled back.” The short social media clip shows police immediately intervening as the protester is seen running away.
Authorities eventually caught up to the protester and placed the individual under arrest. Salmon, meanwhile, said she’d be pressing charges against the person who shoved her camera.
Sarah Clark, a coordinator at Leadership Institute, told the publication that approximately 25 to 30 people gathered outside the event to protest Gaines’ speech.
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