A trans activist walked free on one technicality that will have Ron DeSantis fuming

Ron DeSantis thought he had this one in the bag.

His tough bathroom law was supposed to send a message to the radical Left.

But a trans activist walked free on one technicality that will have Ron DeSantis fuming.

Florida prosecutors fumble the ball on high-profile case

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s Safety in Private Spaces Act in 2023 to protect women and children from men invading their private spaces.

The law makes it a crime for someone to refuse to leave a restroom designated for the opposite sex when asked by a government employee.

It was groundbreaking legislation that only Florida and Utah have been willing to pass with actual criminal penalties.

Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old man from Illinois who identifies as a woman, decided to make himself a test case for the new law.

On March 19, he walked into the women’s restroom at the Florida Capitol building during a radical Left event called “Pride at the Capitol.”

Rheintgen wasn’t subtle about the plan to break the law.

The activist actually wrote letters to around 160 Florida lawmakers beforehand announcing exactly when and where the law would be violated.

“I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust,” Rheintgen wrote to legislators. “I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are human too, and that you can’t arrest us away.”

Rheintgen was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing rather than under the specific bathroom law that was being protested.

The case should have been straightforward – the activist admitted to violating the law and dared authorities to make an arrest.

But Florida prosecutors completely bungled what should have been an easy conviction.

State attorneys drop the ball when it mattered most

Leon County Judge Lashawn Riggans dismissed all charges against Rheintgen on June 20 after prosecutors missed critical filing deadlines.

Assistant Public Defender Theodore Summers filed a motion pointing out that the state failed to file charging documents within the required 90-day speedy trial period.

“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 in his motion.

The prosecutors tried to file their paperwork at the last minute, but it was too late.

Assistant State Attorney Chapman Evans didn’t electronically file the charging documents until June 18 – after the speedy trial deadline had already passed.

They filed the paperwork about 40 minutes after the defense asked to have the charges dropped entirely.

Judge Riggans had no choice but to grant the motion to dismiss because prosecutors couldn’t meet basic legal deadlines.

The whole case fell apart because of prosecutorial incompetence.

Activist celebrates victory over Florida’s bathroom law

Rheintgen celebrated the legal victory on social media.

“My charges, they got dropped … we won, we didn’t even have to go to trial, my lawyer was very smart,” the activist said in a video.

The activist claimed the dismissal was evidence that DeSantis and Florida officials “didn’t know what they were doing.”

“DeSantis doesn’t really know what he’s doing generally, but we won, essentially. We won, we got it dismissed,” Rheintgen stated.

The activist also praised the judge for using preferred pronouns in the court documents.

“The American Bar Association (ABA) has passed a resolution encouraging the respectful use of language, which includes an individual’s gender identity, preferred name, and pronouns, which this court honors,” the judge wrote in a footnote.

Rheintgen called that “a win” as well.

The activist told reporters being “shocked” the case was dropped and suspected prosecutors intentionally sabotaged their own case.

“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.”

Florida’s bathroom law still needs enforcement

The dismissal doesn’t invalidate Florida’s bathroom law, but it’s a embarrassing setback for DeSantis and state prosecutors.

Rheintgen was believed to be the first person arrested under Florida’s bathroom law and potentially the first person in the country to face criminal prosecution for violating a state transgender bathroom ban.

His case was being watched closely by civil liberties groups and transgender activists across the nation.

The botched prosecution hands the radical Left a propaganda victory they can use to claim Florida’s bathroom law is unenforceable.

DeSantis has built his political brand on being tough on woke ideology and protecting women’s spaces.

But this humiliating legal defeat shows that passing good laws is only half the battle.

Florida needs prosecutors who are competent enough to actually enforce the laws DeSantis signs.

The governor may want to take a hard look at the Leon County State Attorney’s Office to figure out how they managed to lose what should have been a slam-dunk case.

Florida taxpayers deserve better than prosecutors who can’t meet basic filing deadlines when defending the state’s most important legislation.