Tipsheet

AAG Harmeet Dhillon Announces DOJ Investigation Into Washington's Trans Inmate Policy

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  May 20, 2026 11:30 AM

There has been a rash of blue states allowing men into women's prisons, simply if those men say they 'identify' as women. This includes Minnesota, where female inmates wrote letters detailing the problems of men in their lockup; Illinois, where a man was moved to a mother and baby unit in the women's prison after saying he felt 'unsafe' at the men's prison; and Massachusetts, where female inmates live in fear of the men housed with them. In many cases, these women are abused and sexually assaulted by those men, and they're often punished for speaking out against these men. 

In California, Tremaine Carroll has terrorized women behind bars. He's a 6'2", 250 pound man. He doesn't take estrogen or use a female name and he has a beard. Despite this, he's housed in a women's prison after a third strike conviction for armed robbery. His past crimes include kidnapping young women and forcing them to perform sex acts on him. He impregnated one cellmate and was given another one who he raped. That woman reported Carroll and she was punished with solitary confinement. Carroll, on the other hand, got a third female cellmate and raped her, too. Only then was Carroll returned to the men's prison where he belonged.

Thankfully, the Justice Department is looking into these policies and will work to protect female inmates from this state-sanctioned abuse. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon announced they're investigating Washington state over its policy of incarcerating men with women.

The Justice Department sent a letter to Washington Governor Bob Ferguson:

I write to inform you that the United States Department of Justice is commencing an investigation into the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) operated by the Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC). The Department will conduct this investigation pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C.§ 1997, to determine whether WCCW is engaged in a pattern or practice of depriving female prisoners of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States. This is official notice as required by CRIPA.

Our investigation is based on information that WCCW has failed to protect female prisoners from sexual and physical violence, harassment, voyeurism, and intimidation from male prisoners who identify as female and who WDOC has housed at WCCW. Our investigation will include a comprehensive review of all relevant WCCW and WDOC policies and practices, and any related evidence that may be relevant to the allegations of harm that have been reported.

We have not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation. During the investigation, we will consider all relevant information, including the efforts Washington has taken to ensure compliance with the Constitution. We encourage the State to cooperate with our investigation and assure you that we will seek to minimize any potential disruption our investigation may have on WCCW and WDOC operations.

If we ultimately determine that there are no constitutional violations present at this facility,we will notify you that we are closing the investigation. If we determine that there are systemic violations, we will inform you of our findings and attempt to work with the State to remedy those violations. In our many years of civil rights enforcement, the good faith efforts of jurisdictions to work with us have routinely enabled us to resolve our claims without resorting to contested litigation.

Attorneys from the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington will be handling this investigation. They will contact your office to discuss the next steps.

This is the way.

Notice how this only happens in areas run by Democrats. That's not a coincidence.

Firing them is the least we can do.

That, by the way, is Tremaine Carroll.

Democrats believe they are.

For all the Left's talk about women's rights and criminal justice reform, they have absolutely thrown women under the bus in favor of trans activism. Women prisoners deserve safety and privacy behind bars, and that means keeping men out of their prisons.