{"id":2584308,"date":"2026-03-27T02:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T06:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-to-investigate-maine-and-california-over-constitutionality-of-housing-men-in-womens-prisons\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T02:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T06:27:14","slug":"doj-to-investigate-maine-and-california-over-constitutionality-of-housing-men-in-womens-prisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-to-investigate-maine-and-california-over-constitutionality-of-housing-men-in-womens-prisons\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ to investigate Maine and California over constitutionality of &#8216;housing men in women&#8217;s prisons&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-to-investigate-maine-and-california-over-constitutionality-of-housing-men-in-womens-prisons%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2584308&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Department of Justice has announced federal investigations into California and Maine regarding the constitutionality of housing men in women\u2019s prisons. The investigations,notified to California Governor Gavin Newsom and Maine Governor Janet Mills,will assess whether practices at specific facilities-California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County and California Women\u2019s Facility in Madera County,as well as the Maine Correctional Center in Windham-violated the rights of female prisoners.<\/p>\n<p>The inquiries will examine whether California\u2019s policy allowing inmates who identify as transgender to request transfers to women\u2019s prisons, including some violent felons, and the corresponding treatment of inmates in those facilities raised constitutional issues. In Maine, authorities cite an incident were a male inmate remained at a women\u2019s correctional facility despite complaints of harassment and assault as a trigger for the review. The Department of Justice will consider alleged violations of the First Amendment (free speech and religion), the Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment), and the Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection). Officials including Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stressed that separating inmates by gender is essential for safety and constitutional rights, and that the investigations aim to determine whether the trend of housing men in women\u2019s prisons has led to violations of women\u2019s rights.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DOJ to investigate Maine and California over constitutionality of &lsquo;housing men in women&rsquo;s prisons&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2543890\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The Department of Justice notified Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) that it was beginning federal <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-notifies-california-and-maine-investigations-whether-housing-biological\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investigations<\/a> in Maine and California, respectively, due to those states over admitting men into women&rsquo;s prisons. The investigations will assess whether each state engaged in violating the &ldquo;constitutional rights of female prisoners&rdquo; incarcerated at specific prisons in California and Maine.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today, the United States Department of Justice notified California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Maine Gov. Janet Mills of the initiation of federal investigations into California&rsquo;s and Maine&rsquo;s practice of housing men in women&rsquo;s prisons,&rdquo; read a Justice Department press release.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4505473\/transgender-sex-offender-massive-win-virginia-locker-room-trial-paused\/\">Transgender sex offender gets massive win as Virginia locker room trial is paused<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4505067\/under-assault-anna-giaritelli\/\">&#8216;You can do everything right&#8217;: Crime reporter on sexual assault survival and lack of justice<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4502811\/savannah-guthrie-first-interview-nancy-guthrie-disappearance\/\">Savannah Guthrie gives first interview since mother&#8217;s disappearance: &#8216;I wake up every night&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In California, the DOJ investigation involves female prisoners at the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County and the California Women&rsquo;s Facility in Madera County. In Maine, the federal government is assessing whether the same potential infractions occurred at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Pamela Bondi <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-notifies-california-and-maine-investigations-whether-housing-biological\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">emphasized<\/a> that separating inmates based on gender was non-negotiable and that a failure to do so lacked &ldquo;common sense.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Keeping men out of women&rsquo;s prisons is not only common sense &ndash; it&rsquo;s a matter of safety and constitutional rights,&rdquo; said Bondi. &ldquo;The Trump Administration will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon echoed Bondi&rsquo;s sentiments, categorizing the incarceration of men in women&rsquo;s prisons as a constitutional risks that put women in harm&rsquo;s way.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; said Dhillon. &ldquo;These investigations will uncover whether the dangerous national trend of housing men in women&rsquo;s prisons has resulted in violations of women&rsquo;s constitutional rights.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In Maine, an incident where a male inmate was permitted to remain at a women&rsquo;s correctional facility despite complaints that he harassed and assaulted multiple female inmates sparked the investigation, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-notifies-california-and-maine-investigations-whether-housing-biological\">according to the DOJ.<\/a> In California, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >state law permits male inmates<\/a> at state prisons to request transfers to women&rsquo;s prisons if they identify as transgender. This privilege would still be granted in cases in which the men identifying as women were &ldquo;violent felons charged with sex crimes and who have intact genitals.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In California, the Justice Department will investigate widely reported allegations of deprivation of female prisoners&rsquo; rights, including the First Amendment&rsquo;s guarantees of freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, the Eighth Amendment&rsquo;s protection from cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment&rsquo;s Equal Protection Clause,&rdquo; read a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steve-scalise-blasts-biden-order-allowing-covid-vaccine-to-illegal-immigrants\/\" title=\"Steve Scalise Blasts Biden Order Allowing Covid Vaccine To Illegal Immigrants\">press release issued<\/a> by the DOJ. &ldquo;There have been allegations of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism, and a pervasive climate of sexual intimidation due to the presence of males in the women&rsquo;s prison.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;California&rsquo;s Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act has provided none of these qualities to the female inmates of state prisons who have been forced to share space with biological men who are violent felons,&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-notifies-california-and-maine-investigations-whether-housing-biological\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California.&nbsp; &ldquo;Our Constitution protects women from having their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/delphi-defense-attorneys-claim-murder-suspect-was-never-read-miranda-rights\/\" title=\"Delphi defense lawyers argue that murder suspect was not informed of Miranda ...\">civil rights violated<\/a> by harmful state legislation wrapped in the language of &lsquo;equity&rsquo; and &lsquo;progress.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ probes CA\/ME over housing men in women&#8217;s prisons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2677,"featured_media":2584309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-fyyvn3jq4-1774590688942.jpg?1774576819&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7076,9646,4019],"class_list":["post-2584308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-doj","tag-prisons","tag-transgender"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-fyyvn3jq4-1774590688942.jpg?1774576819&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2584308"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2584312,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584308\/revisions\/2584312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2584309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2584308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2584308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2584308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}