Women's prayer group alleges harassment from pro-trans activists during 'Save Girls Sports' protests
A contentious school board meeting in Riverside, California, drew large opposing protests outside the district office Thursday night. One side argued to "Save Girls Sports," wearing T-shirts with that message, while the other side came equipped with transgender pride flags and signs.
Members of a women's prayer group that attended the protests on the "Save Girls Sports" side has alleged the pro-transgender side harassed them during the event and interrupted their attempts at public speaking and filming content.
The prayer group, Young Women for America (YWA)'s Inland Empire chapter in California, alleged pro-transgender activists showered them with insults Thursday in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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"Members of the pro-LGBTQ groups started heckling and harassing the people in line who were speaking in opposition of their values. Some of these adult protesters were even coming up to the young girls that were going to be speaking and were yelling at them close to their face," YWA Inland Empire Chapter President Tori Hitchcock alleged.
Hitchcock claims the harassment forced them to move their prayer circle away from the offices.
"Seeing how quick these protesters were wanting to make a scene, we decided that we needed to wait and move our prayer rally away from the main lot for safety reasons. We were able to find a spot that was removed but overlooking the event, which allowed us to really visualize what we were praying for. We spent time also praying over the young female athletes who were there to speak. Many of them were the students who were ostracized by their school," Hitchcock said.
Hitchcock did not name an specific individuals in her harassment allegations.
Other witnesses present Thursday have provided their accounts of the events to Fox News Digital.
Julianne Fleischer, an attorney for the religious liberties legal firm Advocates for Faith & Freedom, was at the protests Thursday to conduct a pre-meeting press conference that included a parent whose family had been affected by a transgender athlete competing on a girls sports team.
"It was initially peaceful, but the LGBTQ activists became increasingly more vocal and were trying to stir up agitation by heckling people," Fleischer said.
Fleischer also claims the pro-trans activists were using megaphones to drown out the sound of normal conversation.
"The LGBTQ activists were screaming and blowing their megaphones so as to prevent SGS supporters from participating in media interviews. We moved media away from the LGBTQ activists to a more secluded area so the activists couldn’t interfere with SGS supporters’ ability to talk to the media," Fleischer added.
California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt told Fox News Digital he also witnessed the pro-trans activists actively interrupting the pro-girls protests and interviews.
"They had bullhorns, and every time someone used a camera to do a video, they would jump behind and make noise," Burt said.
One anonymous parent told Fox News Digital about witnessing a child being bombarded with vulgar insults by pro-trans protesters after the meeting.
"My 16-year old son and a few others were standing outside after speaking when a group of the LGBTQ community intentionally walked by them pointing at each one of them saying, ‘FU FU FU,’" the anonymous parent said.
Footage reviewed by Fox News Digital showed a sizable pro-LGBTQ presence at the event. The limited footage reviewed showed the protesters standing calmly. Multiple accounts have suggested the pro-LGBTQ protesters outnumbered the "Save Girls Sports" protesters.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) for verification but has not received a response.
Thursday's RUSD board meeting was anticipated nationally amid an ongoing controversy at Martin Luther King High School, which has since spread to other schools in the district. A transgender athlete on the girls cross-country team prompted students to wear the shirts that said "Save Girls Sports" in protest. But those students were punished by administrators, some with detention. A lawsuit filed by two girls cross-country runners alleges the school compared the T-shirts to swastikas.
But the student body responded in support of their biologically female classmates by wearing the shirts in droves of hundreds at a time. Many of the students posted photos on social media of them wearing the shirts together, and some were sitting in detention.
Eventually, the school stopped disciplining students after more than 400 Martin Luther King High School students showed up wearing the shirts Dec. 11.
Sources have told Fox News Digital students at Arlington High School, Riverside Polytechnical High School and Romona High School have also been seen wearing the shirts at their respective schools.
Ryan Starling, the father of a girl at the school who is involved in a lawsuit against the school, spoke at the press conference outside the district office Thursday. The lawsuit alleges Starling's daughter, Taylor, lost her varsity spot to a transgender athlete and that her T-shirt to express opposition to the athlete competing was compared to a swastika.
"It's just heartbreaking to see what my daughter has gone through this season," Starling said.
"This is unfair. This is completely unfair. It breaks my heart as a father to see my daughter go through this and have it stripped away from her, have her come up to me and just hug me. And I can't do anything about it. So, it's just heartbreaking."
The father of the other girl involved in the lawsuit, Dan Slavin, previously told Fox News Digital he "couldn't even digest" hearing that his daughter's shirt was compared to a swastika.
"I didn't even know how to digest that right away," Slavin said. "There were no words. I still can't even digest it to this day. It's unfathomable. It's strange. It's weird. I'm sure there were better illustrations they could use instead of that one."
In a statement previously provided to Fox News Digital, RUSD said it has allowed the transgender athlete to compete on the team because it must comply with California state law.
"It is important to remember that RUSD is bound to follow California law, which requires that students be 'permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records,'" the statement said.
"As these matters play out in our courts and the media, opposition and protests should be directed at those in a position to affect those laws and policies, including officials in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento."
California has had laws in effect to protect transgender athletes in women's sports since 2014. That year, AB 1266 took effect, giving California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right to "participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records."
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