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A woman says she was assaulted by a prominent LGBTQ+ activist at a recent New York City protest as she was questioning his push for transgender medical procedures for children, according to video of the incident provided by the alleged victim.
Christiane Torello was a counter-protester at the rally outside Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on Nov. 5 when she was allegedly elbowed in the chest by Jay Walker, the president of Gays Against Guns who also served as a 2026 NYC Pride Grand Marshal.
Walker was part of a group rallying against the hospital’s decision in September to end transgender treatments for minors to resolve a Department of Justice investigation into youth gender transition procedures.
“The hospital is no longer providing any type of gender-affirming care for minors, including surgeries, puberty blockers and hormones,” Torello told Fox News Digital. “There’s always a group of individuals who go to these protests to show their discomfort and displeasure with the hospital stopping these procedures because they want the children to transition. I usually go there in opposition to them. I support the hospital’s decision to stop providing that care. I always go by myself and ask questions.”
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In the video she captured of the incident, Torello questioned Walker why he wanted to “have penises in the locker room” as he was yelling and walking away from her on a sidewalk. Walker then stopped, wound his elbow up and allegedly struck her in the chest before repeatedly shouting at her to “get away from me.”
She said demonstrators often attempt to obstruct her path and shove their signs in her face, but that this incident was more violent than most of the rallies she has been to.
“I’m usually followed around the protest by two or three people. They block me and put signs in my face, which is fine because they’re allowed to do that. But this time, it became particularly violent,” Torello said.
“When I asked the organizer of the protest, Jay Walker, what size dongs he’d like in the girls’ locker room, he didn’t have an answer. They never have answers to those questions. They don’t like to talk about it,” she continued.
Torello said Walker was shouting slurs at her as he was walking away from the protest and she followed him to question him more about what he was saying.
She then accused Walker of hitting her in the chest with his elbow, adding that she thinks he intended to strike her in the face but had “pretty bad aim.”
“As we were walking, he stopped in front of me, wound up his elbow and blasted me in the chest,” she said. “He’s about 6’5″ and I’m 5’5″, so I’m pretty sure he intended to hit me in the face but had pretty bad aim and hit me in the chest.”
After the alleged assault, Torello continued following Walker down the street.
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The video shows both Torello and Walker yelling and cursing at one another as they were walking.
Walker was heard calling her “psychotic,” “scumbag,” a “garbage person” and a “stalker,” while she accused him of being a “woman abuser.” At one point, he was allegedly seen lunging at Torello, to which she dared him to “do it again” and said she would post the video on social media.
“I’m so glad I got it on camera,” she shouted at Walker.
Torello told Fox News Digital that she reported the incident to the New York City Police Department, but she is not confident any charges will be filed.
“I want to press charges because I feel like New York doesn’t do anything when it comes to a lot of violence,” she said. “But this is a different type of violence. I have a First Amendment right to be there and peacefully protest. I wasn’t hitting anybody. Do I ask questions that may be annoying or triggering? Sure. But that’s the extent of what I do. That doesn’t warrant me getting hit, elbowed or punched.”
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“This is actually the second time a man has put his hands on me at a protest,” she continued. “The first happened about a month and a half ago. There were two NYPD detectives in front of that other protest who watched me get hit, and they didn’t even talk to me. I asked them if they could direct me somewhere, and they wouldn’t say one word to me. I had to figure it out on my own. I filed a report, and nothing happened to that man either.”
It is unclear if police plan to make any arrests in connection with the alleged assault.
The NYPD and Walker’s group, Gays Against Guns NY, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s multiple requests for comment.
“I just really hope this brings some awareness and puts pressure on the NYPD to do something, because they don’t do anything at all,” Torello said.
