Filed Date: April 3, 2025
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
This is a case about the denial of gender-affirming medical care to transgender women incarcerated in federal prison, following the implementation of Executive Order 14168. Issued by President Trump on March 4, 2025, Executive Order 14168 directs federal agencies to "define sex based on biological reality" and prohibits the use of federal funds for any program that "treats gender identity as a protected class." Section 4(c) of the order specifically bars the Federal Bureau of Prisons from providing gender-affirming care—including hormone therapy, gender-appropriate clothing, and support groups—to transgender inmates.
On April 3, 2025, the plaintiff filed this lawsuit pro se in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The plaintiff sued President Trump, the U.S. Attorney General, the Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Acting Warden of FCC Petersburg, in their official capacities, under the Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiff is a transgender woman currently incarcerated at FCC Petersburg and filed suit on behalf of herself and approximately fifty other similarly situated inmates. The plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief to halt enforcement of Section 4(c) of Executive Order 14168. The case was initially assigned to an unidentified judge but was reassigned to Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles on April 9, 2025.
The plaintiff claimed that Executive Order 14168 violated her Fifth Amendment right to equal protection, her Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and was unlawfully discriminatory under the Administrative Procedure Act. She alleged that, as a result of the order, she and approximately fifty other transgender women at FCC Petersburg were abruptly cut off from hormone therapy, denied gender-affirming clothing and items, and barred from attending support groups. The complaint argued that this caused irreparable harm by depriving inmates of medically necessary treatment and by targeting transgender individuals with discriminatory animus. In support of this claim, the plaintiff cited public statements by President Trump expressing hostility toward transgender people and declaring his intention to eliminate legal protections for them.
The plaintiff filed a motion for preliminary injunction on April 10, 2025, requesting immediate relief to restore hormone therapy, access to gender-affirming items, and participation in support groups.
On May 5, 2025, the plaintiff filed a motion asking for an extension of time to file the "Consent to Collection of Fees from Inmate Trust Account" and to pay the initial filing fee.
The case remains ongoing.
Summary Authors
Oliver Farnum (4/21/2025)
Victoria Tan (7/8/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69856413/parties/brown-v-trump/
Alston, Rossie David (Virginia)
Brown, James W. (Virginia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69856413/brown-v-trump/
Last updated Aug. 21, 2025, 9:18 p.m.
State / Territory: Virginia
Case Type(s):
Healthcare Access and Reproductive Issues
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government (Transgender Rights)
Key Dates
Filing Date: April 3, 2025
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A incarcerated transgender woman
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: Yes
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
United States (- United States (national) -), Federal
U.S. Attorney General (- United States (national) -), Federal
U.S. Attorney General (- United States (national) -), Federal
Federal Bureau of Prisons (- United States (national) -), Federal
FCC Petersburg (- United States (national) -), Federal
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Discrimination Area:
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions: