Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old transgender college student, faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge after being arrested for entering a women’s restroom at the Florida State Capitol on March 19. Rheintgen’s act of civil disobedience, in which she declared, “I am here to break the law,” is reportedly the first known arrest under laws restricting transgender individuals from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Capitol police were waiting for Rheintgen when she entered the building in Tallahassee. After she entered the women’s restroom to wash her hands and pray the rosary, police informed her she would receive a trespassing warning. However, when she refused to leave, she was arrested.
Rheintgen now faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge, which is punishable by up to 60 days in jail. She is set to appear in court in May. In a statement, Rheintgen expressed her frustration with the law, saying, “If I’m a criminal, it’s going to be so hard for me to live a normal life, all because I washed my hands. Like, that’s so insane.”
Currently, 14 states have passed laws restricting transgender women from entering women’s bathrooms in public schools and government buildings. Of those, only Florida and Utah criminalize the act. Rheintgen’s arrest in Florida is the first known case under such a criminal ban, according to the ACLU’s Jon Davidson.
Rheintgen’s protest was a response to her anger over the hostile environment toward transgender people in places she once considered safe. She had sent a letter to Florida’s 160 state lawmakers informing them of her intention to challenge the law. In her letter, she wrote: “I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust. I know that you know that transgender people are human too, and that you can’t arrest us away.”
Opponents of the law, including Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, argue that such measures do not enhance safety but instead fuel cruelty and humiliation. Smith stated, “Transgender people have been using restrooms aligned with their gender for generations without incident. What’s changed is not their presence—it’s a wave of laws designed to intimidate them out of public life.”
As the legal battle unfolds, Rheintgen is concerned about the potential consequences if she is convicted. She fears being jailed with men, losing access to gender-affirming hormones, and being forced to cut her long hair. Despite these concerns, she remains resolute in her desire to bring attention to what she calls the absurdity of the law, emphasizing that her protest was driven by deep frustration, not an attempt to “test the law.”
