Case dropped: Trans woman who used Florida Capitol restroom as protest 'glad to be free'
Marcy Rheintgen, 21, of Illinois, was arrested March 19 on a charge of misdemeanor trespassing after going inside the restroom on the second floor of the House Office Building in an apparent act of civil disobedience.
She wrote Florida lawmakers beforehand saying exactly when and where she would arrive. She also spoke out against the GOP-backed bill that passed in 2023 making it a crime for someone to enter a restroom 'designated for the opposite sex' in certain public buildings.
'I'm just a normal college student who thinks this law is wrong,' Rheintgen wrote in the letter.
After her arrest, Rheintgen was booked into the Leon County Detention Facility, where she spent the night in a solitary cell. She was placed on pretrial release the next day.
According to court records, the case was assigned for diversion about a week after the arrest.
But that's not what ended up happening.
On June 18, Assistant Public Defender Theodore Summers filed notice that the 90-day time period for a speedy trial had expired. He also filed a motion asking for Rheintgen, who never waived her right to a speedy trial, to be 'forever discharged' of the crime.
'Although the state indicated that an information was filed at the pretrial hearing on June 11, 2025, it has not been docketed ... nor has a copy been served to counsel,' Summers wrote. 'Counsel emailed the state that same day asking for a copy and did not receive a response.'
According to court records, Assistant State Attorney Chapman Evans did file an information against Rheintgen. And while it was dated June 16, it wasn't electronically filed until June 18, after the speedy trial period had lapsed and about 40 minutes after the defense asked to have the charge dropped.
Leon County Judge Lashawn Riggans dismissed the charge in an order signed June 20 in chambers.
Rheintgen told the Tallahassee Democrat on June 29 that she was 'shocked' the case was dropped and thought the state intentionally set it up for dismissal.
'I think they messed it up on purpose because they knew this was bad publicity for them,' Rheintgen said. 'And they were scared of what could happen, like politically, that this would just cause a bunch of political blowback, which I think it would if I went to jail.'
Evans did not immediately respond to an email from the Democrat asking why the state didn't proceed faster.
Capitol Police and the State Attorney's Office referred to Rheintgen by her male birth name in court documents. However, both the Public Defender's Office and Judge Riggans referred to her as 'Marcy' and explained why in footnotes.
'The American Bar Association (ABA) has passed a resolution encouraging the respectful use of language, which includes respecting an individual's gender identity, preferred name and pronouns, which this court honors,' it says.
Rheintgen said she was glad the charge was dropped and noted she had been 'really scared' about being prosecuted.
'I'm so glad to be free,' she said.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Trans woman has case dropped after Florida Capitol restroom visit
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