During a Wednesday appearance on the Fox News show “Outnumbered,” conservative activist Riley Gaines said she wrapped her 3-month-old daughter in a bulletproof blanket while attending the Supreme Court to hear arguments in a case that could bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.
Gaines, who joined the in-studio panel that included Harris Faulkner and Emily Compagno, said “there [was] a certain level of emotion” to having to protect her daughter Margot from potential threats at the event.
“She goes everywhere with me, she’s here with me today. She’s been to 16 states. She’s met the president,” Gaines shared.
“She was there with me on the Supreme Court steps, and honestly, like, yeah, just as you said, there’s a level of emotion to it, especially when you have to consider the fact [that] you have a 3-month-old baby that you have to wrap in a bulletproof blanket because of the threats that were present there yesterday,” she said.
Riley Gaines had to wrap her 3-month-old baby in a bulletproof blanket as she spoke outside the U.S. Supreme Court due to threats. @Riley_Gaines_ has been a leading voice in the national debate over fairness in women’s sports. pic.twitter.com/P1CGdCJTKx
— Outnumbered (@OutnumberedFNC) January 14, 2026
In addition, Gaines said that Democratic activists who support allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports are “giving the middle finger” to her daughter, not President Donald Trump.
“All these Democrats and their insane policies and the things they support — I think 130 Democrats signed a brief supporting the boys in the case. They think they are giving the middle finger to President Trump. That’s not who they are giving the middle finger to. They are giving the middle finger to my little baby girl,” Gaines continued. (RELATED: McMahon Vows ‘Biological Reality’ Not Up For Debate As Supreme Court Hears Title IX Cases)
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a pair of cases from Idaho and West Virginia in which federal courts blocked state laws that would prohibit transgender athletes from playing on sports teams based on their gender identity, according to ABC News. The outcome of the two cases will determine similar measures in at least 25 other states, the outlet reported.
Transgender athletes Becky Pepper-Jackson and Lindsay Hecox challenged the bans, NBC News reported. Both athletes won lower court injunctions that allowed them to continue to compete in sports.
As of Tuesday, the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold state laws banning transgender athletes from participating in sports based on their gender identity, according to NBC News. The court has not yet officially ruled on the cases, however.
Gaines, a former competitive swimmer, has consistently shown support for keeping transgender athletes out of women’s sports.