{"id":239323,"date":"2026-03-27T15:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/239323\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T15:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T15:02:11","slug":"doj-probes-california-maine-over-transgender-inmate-housing-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/239323\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ probes California, Maine over transgender inmate housing policies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

The Department of Justice<\/a> on Thursday launched civil rights investigations into prison systems in California and Maine over policies allowing transgender inmates to be housed in women’s facilities, citing concerns about female inmates’ safety.<\/p>\n

The probes will examine whether the states are engaged in a “pattern or practice” of violating inmates\u2019 rights, part of a broader federal push targeting what officials call a growing national issue.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said keeping “men out of women\u2019s prisons [was] not only common sense \u2013 it\u2019s a matter of safety and constitutional rights.”<\/p>\n

The investigations<\/a> focus on two California facilities and the Maine Correctional Center. Officials cited allegations of sexual assault, rape and a “pervasive climate of sexual intimidation.”<\/p>\n

TRUMP ADMIN FINDS CALIFORNIA BAN ON NOTIFYING PARENTS OF GENDER TRANSITIONS VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Attorney <\/p>\n

Attorney General Pam Bondi said “treating Americans equally is not a suggestion” in a DOJ statement on the matter. (Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The DOJ said the probes are being conducted under federal civil rights law and will examine potential violations of inmates\u2019 constitutional protections.<\/p>\n

In California<\/a>, the policy stems from a 2020 law allowing inmates to be housed based on gender identity. The issue gained attention after a transgender inmate housed in a women\u2019s prison was later charged with multiple counts of rape.<\/p>\n

\"DOJ <\/p>\n

The Justice Department is investigating “unconstitutional risks of harm” to women. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In Maine<\/a>, officials are investigating allegations that a male inmate remained housed with women despite complaints of assault or harassment.<\/p>\n

FBI LAUNCHES PROBES INTO 3 CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS FOR ALLEGED GENITAL MUTILATION OF MINORS<\/a><\/p>\n

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the DOJ will not allow women in custody to face “unconstitutional risks of harm.”<\/p>\n

“These investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women\u2019s prisons has resulted in violations of women\u2019s constitutional rights<\/a>,” Dhillon said.<\/p>\n

\"california <\/p>\n

Prisoners meet at the Central California Women’s Facility on June 18, 2024, in Chowchilla, California.\u00a0 (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

California officials say they are committed to inmate safety, while a spokesperson for Maine\u2019s governor has called the probe politically motivated.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ and state officials for comment.<\/p>\n

The investigations are ongoing and could lead to legal action if violations are found.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, <\/a>and much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The Department of Justice on Thursday launched civil rights investigations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,4515,15108,13],"class_list":{"0":"post-239323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-justice-department","12":"tag-maine","13":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}