DOJ launches investigation into Washington's trans policies in prison 4%
By Casey Martin0%
5/20/2026, 12:35:50 AM
Topics: Law And Courts
BS Summary: This article contains 8 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Anecdotal, and Appeal to Authority, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 13.8% saturation with 50 hits. Analysis detected 229 faulty-reasoning hits from 362 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 18.8% and a BS Rank of 4% (16,159 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 96.10% of the article peer group.
The U.S.
Department of Justice is investigating whether Washington state has violated the rights of female prisoners housed with transgender women.
According to a letter from the DOJ's Civil Rights Division to Washington Gov.
Bob Ferguson Tuesday, the investigation is based on information that the state “failed to protect female prisoners from sexual and physical violence, harassment, voyeurism, and intimidation” from transgender women within prison facilities.
In late April, a woman in the prison near Gig Harbor and a nonprofit sued the state Department of Corrections after she said she was attacked by a trans inmate.
The DOJ's letter does not directly mention the ongoing lawsuit.
“Washington State must protect women inmates from the inherent dangers of incarcerating them with biological men,” Interim U.S.
Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington said in a press release.
“Our Constitution protects the civil rights of every American, including woman who are in prison and forced by the State of Washington to live with male inmates.”
The Washington Corrections Center for Women, the focus of the federal investigation, is the state’s only prison for women.
The prison has capacity for 738 people, according to the state.
About 300 people incarcerated in Washington prisons identify as transgender, according to the Department of Corrections.
The state's policies for transgender inmates require “access to gender-affirming property, medical and mental health care.”
Inmates also can request a transfer to a different prison that aligns with their gender identity, and each case is reviewed individually.
A spokesperson for the state DOC wrote in an emailed statement that the department was notified of the investigation Tuesday morning.
"We are reviewing the letter from the Department of Justice and plan to cooperate with federal investigators," the statement reads, "we are currently defending litigation on both sides of the policy, by the ACLU and the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.
DOC remains committed to upholding the rights and providing a safe environment for all incarcerated individuals in our custody.”
Ferguson’s office did not respond to KUOW’s request for comment.
In March, the DOJ announced similar investigations into prisons in Maine and California.
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