Susan's Place Transgender Resources

3 men assaulted a trans bartender. Now she's facing felonies for defending herself.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/06/3-men-assaulted-a-trans-bartender-now-shes-facing-felonies-for-defending-herself/

Greg Owen (5 June 2026)

A transgender bartender in Laramie, Wyoming, who pointed her gun at a man she says hurled gay slurs at her and threw her to the ground, is headed to trial on felony assault and gun charges. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison.

Ríhanna Kelver says she was acting in self-defense after the man, accompanied by two companions, taunted her and knocked her to the crosswalk where the confrontation took place on a downtown street in Laramie. Video evidence shows Kelver pulling a handgun from her satchel and pointing it at the man after the attack.

While her assailant wasn't charged, she's facing felonies for aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.

Kelver's lawyer argued in a preliminary hearing last week that his client's action pulling the gun is protected under Wyoming's "Stand Your Ground" law, and that the case should be dismissed. The judge disagreed, and sent the case to trial in district court.

What?

That is the very reason for a Stand Your Ground Law. They have one in South Dakota too.

Wyoming Statutes
Title 6 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 2 - Offenses Against the Person
Article 6 - Justification
Section 6-2-602 - Use of Force in Self Defense; No Duty to Retreat.

(a) The use of defensive force whether actual or threatened, is reasonable when it is the defensive force that a reasonable person in like circumstances would judge necessary to prevent an injury or loss, and no more, including deadly force if necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to the person employing the deadly force or to another person. As used in this subsection, "necessary to prevent" includes a necessity that arises from an honest belief that the danger exists whether the danger is real or apparent.

(e) A person who is attacked in any place where the person is lawfully present shall not have a duty to retreat before using reasonable defensive force pursuant to subsection (a) of this section provided that he is not the initial aggressor and is not engaged in illegal activity.

(f) A person who uses reasonable defensive force as defined by subsection (a) of this section shall not be criminally prosecuted for that use of reasonable defensive force.

https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-6/chapter-2/article-6/section-6-2-602/

That judge is crazy. I suppose they first expect the victim to get beat half unconscious before they can pull out the gun in self defence?

I would think being verbally attacked and then physically thrown to the ground is more than enough actions to show that the trans person was under a real threat and in danger. That is what stand your ground is for.

I'm just waiting on trans people being charged with aggravated assault with a biological weapon for bleeding on their attackers.

Self defense is typically required to be proportional. If you're yelled at, you can yell back. If you're punched, you can punch back.

I didn't see in the article how the situation changed from insults being traded across a street to a physical altercation.

Seems like there were no adults in the room.

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on Yesterday at 08:57:21 PMRíhanna Kelver says she was acting in self-defense after the man, accompanied by two companions, taunted her and knocked her to the crosswalk where the confrontation took place on a downtown street in Laramie.

Being knocked to the ground is an assault. Being outnumbered 3 to 1 constitutes a reasonable cause to suspect bodily injury will result. The weapon was not fired, it was only brandished to stave off the attack.

That is my non-lawyer interpretation of the events. Whether they were transgender or not is irrelevant.

This is troubling:

Police who reviewed the footage wrote that Kelver approached Durham and that Durham pushed Kelver, per the affidavit.

Look, I like trans people. But a single woman takes on three men, gets pushed over and pulls a gun. You have to know that is going to probably going to lead to legal issues. Bad decisions were made here, from all sides.