<p>A transgender woman was arrested at the Florida state Capitol last month after she used a bathroom there to protest a state law that blocks transgender people from using a restroom that aligns with their gender identity.</p><p>The woman, Marcy Rheintgen, 20, said Sunday that she had intentionally broken the law. Civil rights experts said that this was the first known case of someone being arrested for challenging a law that bans transgender people from using bathrooms in government buildings that do not align with their gender assigned at birth.</p><p>Rheintgen said she sent 160 letters to state representatives, the attorney general and governor to tell them when she would use the bathroom and asked that she not be arrested.</p><p>She arrived at the bathroom on the second floor of the House office building of the Capitol in Tallahassee on March 19.</p>.US admiral at NATO fired in expanding national security purge.<p>Two police officers spoke to Rheintgen outside the bathroom and told her that she would be given a trespass warning if she entered, according to an arrest report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which used male pronouns to refer to her.</p><p>According to the report, Rheintgen told the officers, “I am here to break the law,” and entered the bathroom. She said in an interview with The New York Times that she spent probably 30 seconds to a minute inside.</p><p>“I was originally intending to pray the rosary, but I didn’t have enough time,” she said. “I was just washing my hands, and they told me to leave.”</p><p>An officer followed Rheintgen and told her she would be subject to arrest if she did not leave, and Rheintgen said, “OK,” according to the report.</p><p>She said she spent about 24 hours in jail. If convicted, she faces up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Her arraignment is scheduled for May, according to court records.</p><p>The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in an email Monday that Rheintgen was arrested for “trespass on property after warning,” not specifically for violating the state’s bathroom law.</p>
<p>A transgender woman was arrested at the Florida state Capitol last month after she used a bathroom there to protest a state law that blocks transgender people from using a restroom that aligns with their gender identity.</p><p>The woman, Marcy Rheintgen, 20, said Sunday that she had intentionally broken the law. Civil rights experts said that this was the first known case of someone being arrested for challenging a law that bans transgender people from using bathrooms in government buildings that do not align with their gender assigned at birth.</p><p>Rheintgen said she sent 160 letters to state representatives, the attorney general and governor to tell them when she would use the bathroom and asked that she not be arrested.</p><p>She arrived at the bathroom on the second floor of the House office building of the Capitol in Tallahassee on March 19.</p>.US admiral at NATO fired in expanding national security purge.<p>Two police officers spoke to Rheintgen outside the bathroom and told her that she would be given a trespass warning if she entered, according to an arrest report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which used male pronouns to refer to her.</p><p>According to the report, Rheintgen told the officers, “I am here to break the law,” and entered the bathroom. She said in an interview with The New York Times that she spent probably 30 seconds to a minute inside.</p><p>“I was originally intending to pray the rosary, but I didn’t have enough time,” she said. “I was just washing my hands, and they told me to leave.”</p><p>An officer followed Rheintgen and told her she would be subject to arrest if she did not leave, and Rheintgen said, “OK,” according to the report.</p><p>She said she spent about 24 hours in jail. If convicted, she faces up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Her arraignment is scheduled for May, according to court records.</p><p>The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in an email Monday that Rheintgen was arrested for “trespass on property after warning,” not specifically for violating the state’s bathroom law.</p>