(Screenshot via Marcy Rheintgen’s Instagram)
A Florida judge has dismissed the case against Marcy Rheintgen, a transgender woman who was arrested March 19 for washing her hands in a women’s restroom at the Florida Capitol.
The 20-year-old Illinois resident was arrested and charged with trespassing by two officers during Equality Florida’s Pride at the Capitol. Her demonstration was a response to Florida’s anti-transgender Facility Requirements Based on Sex law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023.
The law bans people who are transgender from using shared restrooms that align with their gender identity in publicly owned or leased buildings or government facilities like the state Capitol building.
Ahead of time, Rheintgen was visiting her grandparents in the region and wrote a letter to Florida state lawmakers detailing her intent to use the women’s restroom. “I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust,” she wrote. “I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are human too, and that you can’t arrest us away. I know that you know that I have dignity. That’s why I know that you won’t arrest me.”
Rheintgen’s arrest was believed to be a first.
“I wanted people to see the absurdity of this law in practice. 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,” she told the Associated Press afterwards.
Court documents show that Rheintgen’s attorney filed a motion for discharge after the state failed to file documentation within 90 days. Leon County Judge Lashawn Riggans granted the motion June 20.
“THIS CAUSE came before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion for Discharge,” it reads. “Having reviewed the Motion and being otherwise duly advised in the premises and law, the Court hereby finds … IT IS ORDERED that the Defendant’s Motion is granted, and the charges against Ms. Rheintgen in the above-styled case are to be dismissed because the speedy trial period has expired.”
Rheintgen celebrated the matter July 1, sharing via social media that “my charges, they got dropped … we won, we didn’t even have to go to trial, my lawyer was very smart.”
The student also noted the document used her she/her pronouns, something it reads was updated because “The American Bar Association (ABA) has passed a resolution encouraging the respectful use of language, which includes an individual’s gender identity, preferred name, and pronouns, which this Court honors.”
Rheintgen called the update “a win.”
“We got it thrown out of court … these people, I guess they didn’t know what they were doing,” she added. “DeSantis doesn’t really know what he’s doing generally, but we won, essentially. We won, we got it dismissed.”
The law is still in place, Rheintgen added, thanking the public for offering her their support.
Watch her video below:
