An investigation into claims by former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines that she was held hostage for ransom and assaulted at an event on San Francisco State University’s campus last year has been called “unsubstantiated” by university police. The investigation was called off.
Ms Gaines was physically attacked by activists and barricaded in a classroom for hours after storming an event where she spoke about her experience competing with controversial trans swimmer Leah Thomas as a student. That’s what it means.
She later spoke in detail about the April 6, 2023 incident in Congress.
gaines told Fox News Digital On Wednesday, she said she followed up with the San Francisco State University Police Department last month and was disappointed to learn they were not investigating the alleged attack.
“Could you please let me know when the investigation is complete?” she wrote in an email that reviewed the outlet.
“Could you please let me know what conclusions you have reached regarding the investigation and whether any charges will be brought against those who blackmailed, threatened and attempted to harm me? Is there a timeline regarding this matter? Is there any information you need?”
“Following a thorough investigation, the charges in this case are unfounded and have been suspended pending further evidence,” a police officer responded in a Feb. 2 email.
The department said in a statement that it sent emails to Gaines in June and July last year to follow up on the incident, but the messages were “unanswered.”
If Gaines can provide additional photos and videos, police said, “the incident may be investigated further.”
But Gaines said Wednesday that she spoke with police for hours after the incident and gave them a public statement about what happened.
“We talked for hours. I told them over and over again what happened, and during that time both of the police officers I was talking to were not there. It’s not like they didn’t know what happened because they were there,” he told Fox.
She said she was “reluctant” to meet with police “again” to share her story when she was contacted by police over the summer, as she had already filed a statement. . She said police also promised to provide her with her security camera footage by July, but it was never sent to her.
“These guys were turning off the lights and flashing the lights for a little while. I think it was completely strategic,” she recalled of that day. “I was confused and trying to understand what was going on.”
Gaines told Fox that during the alleged assault, a female police officer tried to take her to another location after she called off the investigation.
“I didn’t see the police before the event, but she was completely unmarked, dressed all in black and had a mask on her face. So she came up to me and said, ‘Come with me. Please, I’m the police.” He grabbed me and pulled me away,” Gaines said. “She couldn’t believe she was in the police force because there was no indication that she was actually in the police force, but she honestly had no other choice.”
Gaines, along with other clips shared on social media, showed security guards and university staff blocking an angry crowd from pursuing the distressed guest speaker as he was escorted to a secure room. The video was released.
She said she was eventually barricaded and held hostage for four hours while angry protesters negotiated a ransom for her release. Gaines said her students decided she would have to pay $10 each, but San Francisco police arrived and took her away.
Gaines said closing the investigation could set a dangerous precedent for other speakers to face mass harassment.
The newspaper has contacted the San Francisco State University Police Department for comment.
Since finishing fifth in the 200 meters at the 2022 NCAA Championships alongside the University of Pennsylvania’s Thomas, Gaines has argued that women’s sports should be biologically exclusive to women.
