Marcy Rheintgen wasn’t trying to be subtle. “I am here to break the law,” she declared before stepping into the women’s restroom at the Florida State Capitol. It was a calculated move — and the 20-year-old transgender college student knew exactly what she was doing. Her arrest last month is believed to be the first of its kind under Florida’s controversial bathroom law, and LGBTQ advocates are watching closely.
Capitol police were tipped off and ready for her. After she washed her hands and said a rosary, she refused to leave — and was led away in handcuffs. Rheintgen now faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge that could put her behind bars for 60 days. “If I’m a criminal, it’s going to be so hard for me to live a normal life,” she said. “All because I washed my hands. Like, that’s so insane.”
This isn’t just a bathroom break turned courtroom drama — it’s a flashpoint in the escalating war on trans rights. At least 14 states have enacted bans on transgender women using women’s restrooms in public buildings. But only Florida and Utah went full carceral, making it a potential criminal offense. In Marcy’s case, she could even end up in a men’s jail if convicted — with her long hair cut off and her hormones temporarily withheld.
She didn’t do it for attention. She did it out of pain. Rheintgen, who was visiting her grandparents in Florida, said the state has grown increasingly hostile to trans people she once felt safe around. She sent letters to all 160 Florida lawmakers, explaining her planned act of civil disobedience. “I know that you know that transgender people are human too,” she wrote. “You can’t arrest us away.”
Nadine Smith of Equality Florida called the arrest what it is: a “deliberate erosion of human dignity.” And she’s right. This isn’t about public safety — it’s about publicly shaming trans people, trying to scare them out of existence. While politicians peddle fear of “single-sex spaces,” trans people like Rheintgen just want to pee, pray, and live with dignity.
Let’s be clear: trans people have been using restrooms aligned with their gender for generations without incident. The only thing that’s changed is the cruelty of the law. Rheintgen is now the unwilling face of that cruelty. And while her courage is undeniable, the emotional toll is real. “I’m horrified and scared,” she said. “This has never been prosecuted before.”
Florida wants to make an example out of her. But what they’ve actually done is hand the LGBTQ community a powerful symbol of resistance. Marcy Rheintgen didn’t just walk into a bathroom — she walked into history.