An Illinois man masquerading as a woman apparently walked into a women’s restroom at the Florida Capitol last month — and was shocked when officers standing nearby arrested him.
Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old college student from Illinois who identifies as transgender, notified scores of public officials of his intention to defy Florida law and use a bathroom designated for females only.
‘All because I washed my hands.’
While visiting his grandparents in the Sunshine State earlier in March, Rheintgen wrote a letter to each of the 160 state lawmakers telling them of his plans to use the ladies’ room. He even included a photo of himself for easy identification.
“I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust. 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,” he boldly asserted in the letter.
So when Rheintgen arrived at the Capitol in Tallahassee on March 19, Capitol police were waiting for him. Two officers met Rheintgen outside and tried to work with him, but Rheintgen insisted on using the women’s room, the Miami Herald claimed.
The AP, citing an arrest affidavit, indicated that Rheintgen intended to walk into the women’s room, wash his hands, and pray the rosary — an act which typically takes at least 15 minutes. However, Rheintgen reportedly copped a “sassy” attitude, refused to leave, and even threatened to use the women’s room again.
Rheintgen was arrested on second-degree misdemeanor trespassing, taken to jail, then released the following day. If convicted, he faces up to 60 days in jail — likely with other men.
Rheintgen professed to be “horrified and scared” about the prospect. “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,” he said, according to NBC News.
The arrest seems to have affected Rheintgen’s perspective on the stunt. “Everything that is politics seems very abstract and philosophical from far away,” he said. “This is the first time it’s really affected me. I got arrested and I got sent to jail because of Gov. [Ron] DeSantis’ policies — like that’s crazy, that’s crazy!”
The Republicans who sponsored the bathroom law in Florida, state Rep. Rachel Plakon and state Sen. Erin Grall, did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.
Outlets reporting on the incident all uniformly referred to Rheintgen as a “transgender woman” and used female pronouns to describe him. They also noted that his is likely the first arrest in connection with new bathroom laws that have popped up around the country to protect women and girls from male infiltration.
“People are telling me it’s a legal test, like this is the first case that’s being brought,” Rheintgen continued. “It’s how they test the law. But I didn’t do this to test the law. I did it because I was upset. I can’t have any expectations for what’s going to happen because this has never been prosecuted before.”
Florida and Utah are the only states that criminalize entering a bathroom designated for the opposite sex — or as the AP has it, a bathroom “inconsistent with … sex assigned at birth.”
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