A transgender woman in federal prison has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over an executive order he signed on his first day back in office that rolls back protections for transgender people.
The order said the federal government would recognize only two sexes—male or female—and calls for housing transgender women in men's prisons, and halting gender-affirming medical care.
The complaint, filed on behalf of a plaintiff using the pseudonym Maria Moe, alleges the order violates Moe's constitutional and statutory rights and that if transferred to a men's facility, "she will be at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault."
It was first shared on social media platform Bluesky by Reuters' Mike Scarcella and later reported by Chris Geidner in his Law Dork newsletter.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, Federal Bureau of Prisons and attorneys for the plaintiff for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump is already facing at least half a dozen lawsuits in response to executive orders he signed shortly after taking office on January 20, including one seeking to end birthright citizenship.
But many more legal challenges are likely to be filed as federal agencies start working to carry out the president's directives.
What To Know
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Sunday, alleges that Trump's order includes a definition of "sex" that is "intentionally designed to discriminate against transgender people" and "preclude transgender people from being able to live in a sex different than their birth sex and to deny them equal treatment."
As well as Trump, the lawsuit filed by attorneys with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, also lists acting attorney general James McHenry III and William Lothrop, the acting director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as defendants.
Moe, who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, has "lived as a woman and has taken hormones continuously since she was a teenager," the lawsuit says.
"She has always been housed in a women's facility while in federal custody," it says, and "has no violent disciplinary history, poses no threat to her female peers, and her presence in the women's facility has not caused any disruption or interference with prison operations."
Before January 20, Moe was receiving "medically necessary treatment and had no reason to believe it would be terminated," the lawsuit says. Details about the medication have been redacted from the publicly available complaint.
The lawsuit says Trump's order has already caused Moe "significant distress" and "raises serious concerns for her safety and well-being going forward."
It says that on January 21, prison officials removed Moe from the general population at the low-security federal prison for women where she is held, placed her in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) and told her she would be imminently transferred to a men's facility.
Moe "remains in the SHU pending transfer" and "has not been permitted to have contact with others for at least four days," the lawsuit alleges.
"If Maria Moe is transferred to a men's facility, she will not be safe," the lawsuit adds.
"She will be at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault. She may be subject to strip searches by male correctional officers. She may be forced to shower in full view of men who are incarcerated. And she will predictably experience worsening gender dysphoria, which can lead to serious harm, including dramatically increased rates of suicidality and depression."
The lawsuit also alleges that Moe has "no ability to contest her placement in the SHU, and BOP officials told her she could not challenge the transfer because it was required by the Executive Order."
It alleges that the actions that have been taken or are soon to be taken violate the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause, the Eighth Amendment, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Administrative Procedure Act.
What People Are Saying
Trump said during his inaugural speech: "This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."
Ricardo Martinez, Executive Director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said in a statement on Monday that Trump's order "is a direct attack on transgender Americans, deliberately making it harder for people to live their everyday lives. It is cruel, and it is wrong."
Martinez added: "A president's powers are not unlimited—the Constitution, federal courts, and our democratic system serve as bulwarks against government overreach. Implementing today's order and others that may follow cannot happen overnight. GLAD Law will use every tool we have to fight for LGBTQ+ people's rights and for fairness and dignity. We will defend the fundamental principle that equal protection under the law is guaranteed—without exception."
What's Next
The lawsuit asks the court to issue a judgment declaring the order violates Moe's rights under the Fifth and Eighth Amendments, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Administrative Procedure Act. It seeks an injunction barring enforcement of Trump's executive order and requiring the Trump administration to "maintain Plaintiff's housing and medical treatment consistent with the status quo" before January 20, as well as "nominal" damages.
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