Court says trans woman must face trial after pulling gun during alleged attack
A judge has ruled a trans woman must face trial after being accused of pulling a gun on a man who allegedly attacked her (Getty Images, stock)
A Wyoming judge has ruled that a transgender woman accused of pulling a gun on a man who allegedly shoved her to the ground must face a criminal trial.
Ríhanna Kelver, a trans bartender and University of Wyoming student, was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent following an encounter outside the Crowbar in Laramie on 13 September 2025.
According to Kelver, Scott Durham shouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at her and threatened to “f***” her up before she crossed the street to confront him.
Durham denies using anti-LGBTQ+ slurs. Video of the encounter shows Durham pushing Kelver backwards, causing her to fall into the street. Kelver then pulled a .380 handgun from a bag at her hip and pointed it at Durham for several seconds before putting it away.
Kelver’s lawyers argued that she was protected by Wyoming’s stand-your-ground law, which allows people to defend themselves without a duty to retreat when certain legal requirements are met. They argued that Durham was the first person to use physical force and that Kelver could not know whether the attack would continue after she was shoved to the ground, as reported by The Laramie Reporter.
Prosecutors took a different view, arguing that Kelver was the initial aggressor because she approached Durham with her hand on or near the firearm and that she was not facing an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury when she drew it.
Judge Misha Westby ruled Monday (31 August) that Kelver was not entitled to immunity under the state’s self-defence statute. The court found that Durham was the first person to make a physical act of aggression, but concluded that Kelver was not in imminent danger when she pointed the gun and that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would not have considered the action necessary to prevent imminent death or serious injury.
That does not, however, mean the court has ruled that Kelver was guilty or that she cannot claim self-defence. She will still be able to present that defence when the criminal case goes to trial on 30 November, where prosecutors will have to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Kelver has maintained her innocence and says Durham’s shove caused a spinal injury. She told The Laramie Reporter that she remains hopeful about her chances at trial, where the prosecution faces a substantially higher burden of proof than it did at the pretrial immunity hearing.
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