Bomb threats reported at Planet Fitness locations in Northern Va. amid transgender controversy – WTOP News

Virginia officials spent a portion of Saturday evening evacuating Planet Fitness locations in the City of Alexandria and Prince William County as the business continues to navigate responses to transgender-inclusive restroom policies.

Alexandria police said they were investigating a bomb threat and had evacuated a Planet Fitness location in the 4000 block of Kenmore Avenue before 7:30 p.m.

“Officers have cleared the area as necessary during the search of the area,” the department said. So far, no injuries, damage or devices have been reported.

Officials in Prince William County responded to bomb threats at two locations — one located at Richmond Highway and another along Galveston Court — after 6 p.m. Saturday, according to a statement to WTOP.

A spokesperson said that the locations were searched and that no suspicious items were found. So far, police investigating both incidents have not shared details of the reported bomb threat with the public.

An investigation into the incidents is ongoing.

Controversy for ‘Judgement Free’ gym

These threats come amid criticism of the gym brand for its enforcement of a gender identity non-discrimination policy after a woman complained about the business in March.

Challenges for the brand sparked when a woman identified as Patricia Silva shared photos of a person who she believed to be transgender using the women’s locker room.

“I’m not comfortable with him shaving in my bathroom,” Silva said in a video posted to Facebook after the incident.

Despite this claim, the person has not been publicly identified as a transgender woman or spoken out on the matter.

Nevertheless, this video was shared across social media, gaining traction on popular conservative accounts, including “Libs of TikTok” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Planet Fitness responded to the photograph and complaint by revoking the woman’s membership in accordance with its policy, which says: “[A]ll members and team members may use Planet Fitness locker room facilities and programs based on their self-reported gender identity; these facilities include bathrooms, showers, and all other facilities separated by sex.”

This isn’t the first time Planet Fitness has responded to gender-based complaints by removing a member’s access to their gyms. In a 2015 incident, the “Judgment Free” brand officially revoked a woman’s membership after a reported complaint of transgender women utilizing the rest areas that aligned with their gender identity.

Some analysts have highlighted the incident and Silva’s efforts to spread awareness of the policy, encouraging people to cancel their memberships and boycott the brand. Occasionally, these calls have harkened back to protests against Bud Light after the brand sent promotional materials to transgender content creator Dylan Mulvaney.

In the days after this controversy began, Planet Fitness stocks reportedly tumbled by some $400 million.

Others, including the nonprofit Media Matters, have highlighted the protest as a cause of increasing bomb threats for the gym chain amid a rise in violence against trans-identifying people across the United States.

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