A woman says she was assaulted by a prominent LGBTQ+ activist during a recent New York City protest after questioning his support for transgender medical procedures for children, according to video she provided of the encounter.
Christiane Torello said she was counter-protesting outside Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on Nov. 5 when Jay Walker, president of Gays Against Guns and a 2026 NYC Pride Grand Marshal, allegedly struck her in the chest with his elbow.
Walker was among demonstrators protesting the hospital’s September decision to discontinue transgender treatments for minors as part of an agreement resolving 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 News Outlet. “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.”
A man identified as Jay Walker attended a demonstration opposing Mount Sinai Hospital’s September decision to end transgender treatments for minors. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In video recorded by Torello, she can be heard asking Walker why he wanted to “have penises in the locker room” as he shouted and walked away along the sidewalk. Walker then stopped, drew back his elbow and allegedly hit her in the chest before repeatedly telling her to “get away from me.”
Torello said demonstrators frequently try to block her movement or hold signs close to her face, but she described this confrontation as more aggressive than previous protests she has attended.
“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 added.
Torello said Walker shouted slurs at her while leaving the protest, prompting her to follow him and ask additional questions about his remarks.
She later accused Walker of elbowing her in the chest and said she believed he had intended to hit her face but missed.
“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.”
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Torello continued down the street behind Walker after the alleged incident.
Christiane Torello said Jay Walker struck her in the chest with his elbow as he left the protest. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The footage shows Torello and Walker shouting and swearing at each other as they walked away from the protest.
Walker can be heard calling her “psychotic,” “scumbag,” “garbage person” and “stalker.” Torello called him a “woman abuser.” At one point, Walker allegedly lunged toward her, prompting her to say, “Do it again,” and warn that she would post the footage on social media.
“I’m so glad I got it on camera,” she shouted.
Torello said she reported the encounter to the New York City Police Department but doubts prosecutors will file charges.
“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.”
Mount Sinai Hospital decided in September to end transgender treatments for minors as part of an agreement resolving a Department of Justice investigation. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
“This is actually the second time a man has put his hands on me at a protest,” she said. “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 remains unclear whether police intend to make an arrest in connection with the alleged assault.
The NYPD and Gays Against Guns NY did not respond to News Outlet’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.
