Two liberal states probed by Trump's DOJ over reports of transgender assaults in women's prisons

The Department of Justice is investigating whether some states are violating women's constitutional rights by sending transgender-identifying males to women's prisons.

The DOJ said in a press release that prisons in California and Maine are under investigation for possible constitutional violations.

'The Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates.'

"Keeping men out of women’s prisons is not only common sense — it’s a matter of safety and constitutional rights," said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement in the release. "The Trump administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion."

The release said that there had been reports of "sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism, and a pervasive climate of sexual intimidation" in the women's prison in San Bernardino County in California.

The DOJ said California law allowed male prisoners with intact genitals to request being sent to women's prison based on their self-identification as transgender.

Female prisoners in Maine also complained of assaults and harassment from a male who was being housed with them after identifying as transgender.

"Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.

"These investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women’s prisons has resulted in violations of women’s constitutional rights," she added.

A spokesperson for the state legislator who authored the law allowing transgender-identifying males into women's prisons downplayed the possibility of assaults and said the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations had denied 47 times as many requests as it had approved as of last May.

"The main driver of sexual abuse in prison" is "assault by prison staff," said spokesperson Erik Mebust to the San Francisco Chronicle in comments from May.

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Los Angeles mayoral candidate Tish Hyman, a black lesbian and Kamala Harris voter, became a national figure last November after her membership at Gold's Gym was canceled. Hyman went viral after filming her objection to a biological male using the women’s locker room, citing negative and threatening encounters with the individual. This highly publicized experience led her to campaign for mayor, and she said in an email statement to Blaze News that she takes the issue very seriously.

"Women in custody are among the most vulnerable populations in our society, and they deserve dignity, safety, and protection without compromise. Policies that place biological men in women’s prisons raise legitimate concerns around privacy, safety, and the rights of female inmates, and those concerns should not be dismissed or minimized," she wrote.

"I will absolutely use my platform both politically and publicly to advocate for policies that prioritize the safety and well being of women in custody," Hyman added. "That includes pushing for clear, enforceable standards that protect women’s spaces, ensure proper oversight, and hold institutions accountable when those standards are not met."

California Coalition for Women Prisoners spokeswoman Courtney Hanson accused the Trump administration of a "national attack" in order to "erase and harm transgender people, especially transgender women in prison."

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