Trans woman faces assault charges for self-defense despite Wyoming's 'Stand Your Ground' law

This story originally appeared on Them.A trans woman in Wyoming is facing two felony charges — aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent — after pulling out a gun on someone who had pushed her to the ground, per Slate.Rihanna Kelver was standing outside the Crowbar & Grill in Laramie, Wyoming, when a man — whom local state news publication Cowboy State Daily identified as Scott Durham — began to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs at her. Durham later shoved Kelver to the ground with such force that she injured her tailbone, per court testimony and surveillance footage reviewed by Slate.In response, Kelver drew a pistol from her bag, put in a round and pointed the weapon at Durham, which caused him to flee. Kelver, per Slate, kept the safety on and never fired.Despite Wyoming’s “Stand Your Ground” statute, which allows people to use reasonable force in moments of self defense, Kelver faces up to 15 years in prison for both charges, as well as up to $11,000 in fines, per Cowboy State Daily. Kelver faces an additional year and $1,000 fine for a charge of interference with a peace officer.Per the statute, “A person who uses reasonable defensive force … shall not be criminally prosecuted for that use of reasonable defensive force.” According to video evidence reviewed by Slate, Kelver was “alone, outnumbered, physically assaulted and left on the ground facing multiple aggressors,” as Durham was not alone during the incident.Despite the overwhelming evidence that Kelver acted in self defense, a judge at a pretrial hearing agreed with the charges against Kelver, forcing her to go to trial. Some of the facts of the case are disputed, per Cowboy State Daily, including Durham’s claim that Kelver initially approached him and that Durham only shoved her because she was the aggressor, despite Durham admitting this was a “three-on-one” situation, with the numbers stacked against Kelver. Police who reviewed the foot