Rihanna Kelver, a bartender and LGBTQ activist from Laramie, Wyoming, is facing a felony aggravated assault charge along with a charge of possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent in the state of Wyoming. His trial is set to start in November 2026.
The incident that he is being tried for took place in September 2025. Kelver, a transgender woman, was smoking a cigarette outside the bar where he worked when, according to his account, one of two men hurled a slur at him from across the street.
Kelver then walked over to confront the man, who pushed him to the ground. In response, Kelver drew his gun and pointed it at the man while still on the ground. The initial aggressor at that point was walking away from Kelver.
Kelver himself, LGBTQ activists, and the profile piece on Kelver published by The New York Times all allege that the suspect was only charged with a crime because he is a biological man who identifies as a woman. On the other hand, the NYT cites the county attorney, who claimed that gender identity played no part in the charging decision.
Coverage of the event in left-leaning media also focuses on the hypocrisy of Wyoming state officials. The Cowboy State is one of the most Republican states in the Union, and, accordingly, it has very gun-owner-friendly laws on firearms and self-defence. Just like the majority of the states, it applies the ‘stand your ground’ principle over ‘duty to retreat’, meaning a person does not have the legal requirement to retreat in safety before using deadly force. Wyoming is also a ‘constitutional carry’ state, which means that a person does not have to get a permit from the state government to carry a gun concealed in public.
On the other hand, the left-leaning stories about the case ignore the hypocrisy of their own side. Progressive LGBTQ activists tend to overwhelmingly be on the side of gun control and restrictive gun use. However, in this case, they do not question whether Kelver was justified in his actions and portray him as the morally righteous hero of the events.
However, the reality of the situation is that this is in fact a prosecutable case regardless of the defendant’s sexual identity.
Parallels between the Wyoming Transgender Case and the Michael Drejka
The circumstances of this case bear some resemblance to the case of Michael Drejka, which took place in July 2018 in Clearwater, Florida—another gun-friendly state.
Drejka was knocked to the ground by Markeis McGlockton after he had confronted his girlfriend in their car for parking in a handicapped parking space. While on the ground, Drejka fired a single shot from his handgun that hit McGlockton in the left side of his chest, ultimately killing him. The shooter was convicted of manslaughter and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in a Florida state prison.
In both cases, the defendants were put to the ground by a shove. And, according to the prosecutors, neither of them was justified in responding with deadly force. The key factor in both incidents is that the initial aggressors were walking away from the eventual defendants when they drew or fired their guns and were not advancing on them.
Evidently, the major difference is that while Drejka actually fired his gun and ultimately killed his victim, Kelver only brandished his firearm. However, that key fact is reflected in the different charges.
In addition, Kelver’s defence is hindered by the statements he gave to the police immediately after the incident.
He claimed that he pulled a knife in response to the shove, not a handgun. Also, he stated that he was in fear of death or great bodily harm, which would justify the use of deadly force, because he has severe back injuries. However, in the security camera footage that captured the incident, the defendant is shown easily getting off the ground without any help, then bending over and getting back up repeatedly to pick up his belongings that he had dropped during the confrontation. That is not consistent with a severely injured back.
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