A Wyoming county district court ruled on Monday that a criminal case against a trans woman who pulled a gun on a man who pushed her to the ground will go to trial. According to The Laramie Reporter, the court found the woman’s lawyers failed to prove that her actions were covered under the state’s stand-your-ground law, which allows people to defend themselves if they are attacked and fear for their lives.
The case involves an incident that took place the night of September 13, 2025, during which University of Wyoming student Scott Durham allegedly shouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at trans bartender Ríhanna Kelver while insulting her place of work. Kelver alleged that Durham shouted, “F**k the Crowbar, that f** bar should close down,” while she stood across the street before the start of her 10 p.m. shift.
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Kelver said she stood up and yelled, “‘Hey, what the f**k?’” to which Durham and his two associates allegedly responded, “What are you going to f**king do about it, f**got? I’ll f**k you up.” Kelver also alleged Durham used the slur, tr**ny, though Durham denies having shouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs.
Video of the incident shows Kelver crossing the street to approach Durham while her hand was seemingly on or in a bag on her right hip containing a .380 subcompact semi-automatic handgun. Durham pushed her backward, sending her stumbling and falling on her back in the street. Kelver then quickly retrieved and pointed her firearm at Durham as he walked around her and continued crossing the street with his two friends.
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Police charged Kelver with aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent. Kelver’s lawyer sought a pre-trial hearing, asking the judge to swiftly dismiss the charges because Kelver had legally drawn her weapon in self-defense under the state’s stand-your-ground law. The law says attacked individuals do not have a duty to retreat and can brandish weapons if they are not the initial aggressor and believe their life is in danger.
Albany County’s prosecutor Kurt Britzius argued that Kelver was the initial aggressor because she approached Durham “with her hand on a firearm” and that Kelver’s life wasn’t in danger when she drew her weapon.
Kelver’s attorney, Andrew Holcomb, argued that Durham was the initial aggressor because he was the first person in the encounter to use physical violence. Holcomb also argued that Kelver had no way of knowing whether Durham’s physical attack would continue at the moment when she decided to point her firearm at him. Video shows she had the firearm out for only a few seconds and pointed it only at Durham before she eventually put it away, stood up, and collected her hat, which rolled into the street after Durham pushed her down.
“The evidence supports that [Durham] was the first person to make a physical act of aggression when he shoved Ms. Kelver to the ground,” according to the court order, issued Monday by Albany County District Court Judge Misha Westby.
“While Ms. Kelver did not have a duty to retreat because she was not the initial aggressor, she was not entitled to use deadly force because she was not in danger of imminent death or serious bodily injury and a reasonable person in like circumstances would not have judged her actions necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury. Therefore, the State has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that Ms. Kelver is not entitled to immunity under [Wyoming’s self-defense statute].”
Despite the ruling, Kelver can still claim self-defense in her November 30 criminal trial. She told The Laramie Reporter that she feels hopeful because prosecutors will have to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that she wasn’t acting in self-defense. Prosecutors in full trials have to meet a much higher evidence threshold than those in pre-trial hearings, who must simply prove that they “can” win their arguments, not that they “will” win.
“We knew that opportunity [to get the charges dismissed early] was extremely unlikely,” Kelver told the publication. “Nonetheless, we took the opportunity, and in my eyes, we were so close to the finish line… And the bar, especially for the state standard, is so much higher at trial. I think [the county prosecutor] is going to be hard-pressed to prove the state’s argument to a full jury, especially given everything we saw at the hearing, and given other factors.”
Kelver has claimed innocence and said that Durham’s shove left her with a spinal injury. The publication also noted that Durham has connections to the anti-LGBTQ+ white supremacist group Patriot Front and claimed he has made racist and antisemitic social media posts.
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