Laramie woman pleads not guilty to assault and deadly weapon charges, claiming self-defense amid a national spotlight
Kelver drew a gun after being pushed to the ground by a man allegedly shouting slurs. Her lawyer said they will look into the extremist affiliations of the man who started the confrontation.
A Laramie woman who drew a gun during a confrontation last September will contest the felonies she is now charged with, arguing she pulled her pistol in self-defense.
Ríhanna Kelver, a transgender woman, said the confrontation began when a man yelled at her from across the street, using an anti-queer slur. The two met in the crosswalk while shouting at each other. According to the police report, the man, since identified as Scott Durham, pushed Kelver to the ground, where she drew a firearm in response. The man left and Kelver never fired.
Kelver was arrested that night and later charged with two felonies: aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.
Kelver pleaded not guilty to both charges during her arraignment Wednesday in Albany County District Court. Her plea sets up the possibility of a trial before the end of the year.
If Kelver is convicted, the felonies could net her up to 15 years in prison. She also pleaded not guilty to a third charge — misdemeanor interference with a police officer — which is punishable by an additional one year in prison.
Outside the courthouse, following her arraignment, Kelver said she will pursue justice.
“I’m not guilty,” Kelver said. “I’ll maintain that through this whole thing.”
Kelver’s case has attracted national attention, from legal scholars tying her case to the history of precedent-setting “Stand Your Ground” cases across the country to LGBTQ-centric publications questioning what Kelver’s charges say about transgender rights in Wyoming.
Kelver said the man who pushed her to the ground in September, who has not been charged, should be the one heading to trial.
“Not only am I not guilty, but even if I was, the other person in this, the other party, Scott Durham, still committed a hate crime, still violently assaulted me,” she said. “But the fact of the matter is: I am not guilty, and those things still happened, and he’s still walking free.”
An investigation by various antifascist collectives uncovered Durham’s history of posting violent content online, including posts calling for the killing of immigrants and Black people. The antifascists also revealed his unrenounced membership in Patriot Front, an extremist, white nationalist group known in part for its anti-LGBTQ+ activity.
Durham is enrolled as a student at the University of Wyoming.
Kelver’s attorney, Andrew Holcomb, said Durham’s extremist connections and behavior could factor into the case, as he and his client seek to argue that Kelver acted in self-defense.
“The person that assaulted my client does have some pretty strong ties to far-right groups, which I think is an important fact for this case,” Holcomb said. “We’re going to follow up on that, and see if this is a pattern of conduct by that gentleman.”
Albany County District Court Judge Misha Westby set Kelver’s trial for Nov. 30-Dec. 2. Before that point, both parties will have discovery.
Holcomb said the video footage of that night, taken by the ever-present Second and Ivinson downtown livestream camera, could be a key piece of evidence. According to testimony during an earlier hearing in circuit court, that video does not include audio.
Despite national reports to the contrary, the downtown video has likely not been viewed by any journalist. The Laramie Reporter has not reviewed it, and Albany County Attorney Kurt Britzius has not responded to the Reporter’s request for further information.
Neither Kelver nor Holcomb have seen the video either, although Holcomb was given the opportunity before Kelver’s preliminary hearing last month.
“I declined and just said I would wait until I received it in discovery,” Holcomb said. “I just wanted to wait until they’re ordered to produce everything, instead of looking at something like that in a vacuum. [I want to] look at all the evidence as a whole and see how that looks compared with what’s in the police reports and what’s in the body cam videos, just so it can all be considered together.”
The body cam footage would not include the altercation itself, because police did not arrive until after the brief encounter had concluded.
Kelver and Holcomb will seek a pretrial immunity hearing with the aim of demonstrating that Kelver acted in self-defense and should not have to stand trial.
Kelver has long been an advocate for trans rights in Wyoming. Last summer, she protested the state’s anti-trans bathroom ban by using the women’s restroom in the State Capitol Building on the day the law took effect.
Not shocking that she is being charged and he is still free as a bird with zero repercussions. I hope he is charged with a hate crime, he should be!
Discovery should be fun, especially at the police department and DAs office. Maybe UW too.