The Department of Justice said Thursday it has notified the governors of California and Maine that it will investigate their policies on housing transgender inmates in women's prisons.
In a news release, the department said it will examine whether California, under Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, "engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of female prisoners."
The review will focus on inmates at the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County and the Central California Women's Facility in Madera County.
DOJ said it will also investigate whether Maine, under Gov. Janet Mills, also a Democrat, engages in a similar pattern or practice at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.
"Keeping men out of women's prisons is not only common sense – it's a matter of safety and constitutional rights," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the release. "The Trump administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion."
California law allows inmates to request placement based on gender identity.
Maine law permits housing assignments consistent with gender identity, except when placement presents a significant management or security concern.
In California, DOJ said there have been allegations of sexual assault, rape, voyeurism, and a broader climate of intimidation tied to housing policies.
In Maine, DOJ said it will review allegations that a transgender inmate remained housed with women despite complaints of assault or harassment.
The Portland Press Herald reported that several inmates at the Maine lockup alleged misconduct by Andrea Balcer, a transgender woman serving a sentence for a double murder conviction.
According to prison records cited by the newspaper, Balcer is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 310 pounds.
The report said Balcer was 17 when charged in 2016 with killing her parents and the family dog in Winthrop and began using the name Andrea before trial.
The newspaper also reported that some inmates alleged being groped, harassed, or assaulted and that Balcer has been held in restrictive housing for at least a year.
Terri Hardy, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said state prisons enforce a zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault in line with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.
"CDCR is committed to providing a safe, humane, respectful and rehabilitative environment for all incarcerated people," Hardy said. "Any suggestion that all transgender women be assigned to men's institutions as a matter of policy is a suggestion to violate federal law."
Mills' office told WCSH-TV that the investigation is politically motivated.
"Despite the Department of Justice's claims, this is yet another politically motivated, predetermined investigation designed to target states that stand up to the Trump administration and its abuses," Mills' office said in a statement.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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