Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines’ assault investigation suspended by San Fran State University police
An investigation into former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines’ allegations that she was held hostage for ransom and assaulted at an event last year on the San Francisco State University campus has been suspended by the university’s police department, which said her claims were “unfounded.”
Gaines said she was physically attacked by activists who forced her to barricade herself inside a classroom for hours after they stormed an event where she was speaking about her experiences competing against controversial trans swimmer Lia Thomas in college.
She later recounted the April 6, 2023 incident before Congress.
Gaines told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that she followed up with the San Francisco State University Police Department last month — but was disappointed to learn that they were no longer probing the alleged attack.
“Can you please let me know if you have completed your investigation?” she wrote in an email reviewed the outlet.
“I wondered if you can share with me any conclusions you have reached regarding your investigation and whether any charges will be filed against the individuals who sought to threaten, intimidate and harm me? Is there a timetable concerning this matter? Is there any additional information you need from me?”
In an email on Feb. 2, an officer responded: “After a thorough investigation, the alleged charges in this case are unfounded and have been suspended pending further lead.”
The department said it sent emails to Gaines in June and July last year to follow up on the case but claimed their messages “went unanswered”
If Gaines could provide any additional photos or videos, police said, “the case may be further investigated.”
However, Gaines said Wednesday that spent hours with police after the incident and gave them an official statement on what had occurred.
“We talked for multiple hours. I told them over and over and over and over and over again what had happened, which, all the while, both of the officers that I was talking to were there, so it is not like they didn’t know what happened,” Gaines told Fox.
She said she “wasn’t willing” to meet with police to share her story “again” when they reached out over the summer since she had already provided her statement. Police also promised to give her security footage by July but it was never sent to her, she said.
“These people turned the lights off, flickered the lights for a bit, which I imagine was done entirely strategically,” she recalled of the day. “I was confused and trying to make sense of what was happening.”
While she was allegedly being assaulted, Gaines told Fox that a female officer — the same one who told her that the investigation had been suspended — tried to pull her away to another location.
“I didn’t meet any police before the event, and she was totally unmarked, wearing all black, her face was in a mask, so she comes up to me, and says ‘come with me, I’m the police’ and was grabbing me and pulling me,” Gaines said. “I didn’t believe that she was with the police because there really was no indication that she was, but I honestly didn’t really have a choice.”
Gaines released footage — as well as other clips shared on social media — showing security and university staff blocking the angry mob from following the distressed guest speaker as she’s taken to a safe room.
She was ultimately barricaded and held hostage for ransom for four hours while angry protesters negotiated ransom for her release, she said. Gaines said the students determined she had to pay them each $10 but San Francisco Police arrived and took her away.
Gaines says ending the investigation could set a dangerous precedent for other speakers subjected to mob harassment.
The Post has reached out to the San Francisco State University Police Department for comment.
Since tying for fifth with University of Pennsylvania’s Thomas in the 200-meter NCAA championship in 2022, Gaines has advocated that women’s sports must be reserved for biological females.
