Port Townsend, Washington, a small town of fewer than 10,000 residents, has become the hub of the single-sex space debate. After an 80-year-old model citizen was banned from the local YMCA for confronting a biological male who identified as a female being in the women’s dressing room, RevFoxxUSA, a feminist group, organized a rally #LetJulieSwim supporting Julie Jaman.
On Monday, a group of pro-trans activists infiltrated the participants at the event, creating fear as they bullied the speakers and verbally abused rally members.
The 80-year-old woman who was banned from her local swimming pool for raising concerns about a male in the female washroom was heckled as she gave a speech tonight.
Trans activists ripped down the suffragette flags behind her and tried to sabotage her microphone. #LetJulieSwim pic.twitter.com/LjHBFMfBHr
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) August 16, 2022
Reportedly, they tore down flags and signs. Participants were shoved and pushed, phones were grabbed and attempted to be destroyed, and attacked sound equipment.
Well done ladies made uk news #LetJulieSwim https://t.co/PEOAdTiC1C
— deirdre mary (@molucco) August 18, 2022
Rally organizers Amy Sousa and Gabrielle Clark, founding members of RevFoxxUSA, denounced the actions of the protestors and the police.
Sousa said that the protestors heckled her and Jaman as they spoke.
Sousa added, “All kinds of men were assaulting us, crawling between our legs,” the organizer said. “They continued to move in on us closer and closer until we were pinned against the wall. They were touching us and stealing our things, trying to turn off our sounds, trying to disrupt our equipment.”
Clark said she had called the police in advance of the rally as a precaution.
“We called them ahead of time to make sure they would keep the peace. They assured us that they would,” Clark said. “We told them that there would be mostly seniors; police did nothing. They let the mob attack senior citizens. They could have kept the peace, but they hid around the corner.”
Clark, a free speech advocate, said the activists became so aggressive that she was genuinely frightened for Jaman’s safety and the safety of the supporting women in attendance.
“We were attacked by [trans activists]. Fully grown men were getting in our faces, shoving, verbally abusing us, and attacking our equipment … Most of us were senior women. These were feminists who protested in the 1970s for women’s rights.”
Sousa claimed that at least one event member was filing charges against the protestors.
Other event participants said the police were present but offered little assistance to stop the attack against a group of 30 – 40 primarily senior citizen women by mainly aggressive male activists.
Earlier this year, Jaman was showering after swimming and heard a male voice in the dressing area. She saw a male watching the little girls as they were taking off their suits. Jaman left the showers and informed Rowen DeLuna, an aquatics manager, of the situation. Much to Jaman’s surprise, DeLuna accused her of “discriminating” and banned her from the pool, according to Jaman. Her 35-year YMCA membership was the collateral damage of believing that men do not belong in women’s bathing, dressing or locker rooms.
