Transgender student's arrest for violating Florida bathroom law is thought to be a first

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Transgender student’s arrest for violating Florida bathroom law is thought to be a first

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Updated 5:46 PM EDT, April 3, 2025

A transgender college student declared “I am here to break the law” before entering a women’s restroom at the Florida State Capitol and being led out in handcuffs by police. Civil rights attorneys say the arrest of Marcy Rheintgen last month is the first they know of for violating transgender bathroom restrictions passed by numerous state legislatures across the country.

Capitol police had been alerted and were waiting for Rheintgen, 20, when she entered the building in Tallahassee March 19. They told her she would receive a trespass warning once she entered the women’s restroom to wash her hands and pray the rosary, but she was later placed under arrest when she refused to leave, according to an arrest affidavit.

Rheintgen faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge punishable by up to 60 days in jail and is due to appear in court in May.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/florida-transgender-bathroom-arrest-be735cfe5eafa7f510692cfb3c58269e