Transgender Arrested After Using Woman’s Bathroom At Florida’s State Capitol Building

A transgender was arrested inside the Florida State Capitol building after using the women’s restroom.

Marcy Rheintgen, a biological male, was arrested on a trespassing charge after alerting state officials that he planned to use the bathroom in protest of Florida’s law that prohibits transgenders from using the bathroom that doesn’t match their sex at birth.

Rheintgen, in a letter to officials, wrote, “I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust.” Rheintgen said in her letter.

“I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are human too, and you can’t arrest us away,” added Rheintgen.

20-yr-old student Marcy Rheintgen was arrested on March 19 at the Florida State Capitol for using the women’s room as a trans woman. She’s a lady, not a threat — gov’t overreach is the real crime here. pic.twitter.com/HdqqfuihOI

— Mélodie Pimentel (@melodiepimentel) April 1, 2025

Here’s what The Tampa Bay Times reported:

In what could be one of the first arrests under a bathroom bill lawmakers passed in 2023, Florida police earlier this month jailed a transgender woman who washed her hands in a women’s restroom at the Capitol.

Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old Illinois resident, was arrested by Capitol police March 19 on a trespassing charge after she alerted state officials that she planned to use the bathroom in protest of the law.

Lawmakers in 2023 passed legislation making it a criminal offense for some people to use restrooms in correctional facilities, schools or public buildings that don’t match their sex at birth.

Rheintgen calls Florida a “home away from home” and said she felt disturbed at the idea she could be targeted for using a women’s restroom.

She sent letters earlier in March to Florida lawmakers warning them that she planned to use a specific women’s bathroom in the Capitol and included a photo of herself for identification.

“I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust,” Rheintgen said in her letter. “I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are human too, and you can’t arrest us away.”

The sign on the door 🚪 clearly states Women's restroom So a transgender man who thinks he is now a woman broke the law and was arrested Apparently transgender people believe that they are special and can do anything they want to Guess what? Not in Florida pic.twitter.com/4RBHWGWvZe

— The Marine (@jarhead1942) April 1, 2025

Per The Advocate:

A transgender woman was arrested after she tried to use a woman’s restroom at the Florida State Capitol building last month, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The incident could prove to be the first arrest under the state’s laws that ban transgender folks from using the restroom and other facilities that align with their gender identity.

Marcy Rheintgen, 20, a resident of Illinois, was taken into custody by Capital police and charged with trespassing after she tried to use a women’s restroom at the State Capitol building. Hoping to use the act as a symbolic protest, the transgender college student notified police and politicians in advance about the act, sent a picture of her photo identification, and identified the specific restroom she intended to use.

“I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust,” Rheintgen said in the letter. “I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are human too, and you can’t arrest us away.”

Police met her at the Capitol on March 19 and tried to dissuade her from her plans. Rheintgen instead attempted to use the restroom and was taken into custody by the officers.

The officers initially told Rheintgen they would only issue a notice to appear before the judge and release her. They subsequently declared her unsuitable for release and arrested her after she became “sassy,” and they feared she would try to use the restroom again, according to the arrest affidavit.