Washington state sued for letting men in women's prison

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]I don't know if there's a more anti-women state in America than Washington State. Of course, they're so obsessed with radical gender ideology that they let men take over women's spaces, take over women's sports, and they will even allow fully intact males to be placed behind lock and key with women at the Washington State Correctional Center for Women. It is an atrocity. It's genuinely disgusting. You have these women who are at the mercy.

[00:00:24]And look, they wound up in prison for a reason, but that doesn't mean that they should be housed with men, who are pretending to be women and be subjected to abuse and sexual assault. It is genuinely disgusting. But today there is a lawsuit to try to make things right.

[00:00:41]Um the lawsuit is being filed by the America First Policy Institute. They announced it late last night. I got a message from one of their attorneys and I was just overjoyed because of course we've been talking about for several years now these stories involving these women behind bars who are mortified who are being subjected to violence and intimidation and sexual abuse and daily fear about being housed with men who in Washington don't have to go through any sort of surgical interventions or anything at all. They just have to say, "I've decided I'm a woman and I want to spend my years behind bars, not placed with the men, but placed with the women." So, this lawsuit is filed in the district court for the Western District of Washington. It's a federal lawsuit that's going to be very important and I think very beneficial to the plaintiffs here. The uh plaintiffs in the case are the foundation against Intolerance and Racism, Fair for All, and Faith Boore Smith, who is an inmate incarcerated at the Washington Correctional Center for Women. It is filed against the Washington Department of Corrections and Tim Lang who is the Secretary of the Department of Corrections. So in it, it talks a lot about a biological male who's placed who today is in the women's prison in Washington State. Their name is Christopher Williams. He is 6'4, biologically intact, and a convicted child sex offender who was transferred from a men's prison to WCCW after selfidentifying as a woman. And I mentioned one of the plaintiffs here uh who is uh currently incarcerated with him, Face Faith Boore Smith. According to this complaint, it says she was violently attacked by a male inmate, Christopher Williams at the Washington Correction Center for Women for apparently no reason known to Miss Boresmith. Williams approached her silently from behind, struck her on the side of her face with his fist, then grabbed her hair, and threw her to the ground before kicking her repeatedly with such force that she sustained visible injuries, including facial bruising, a laceration in her mouth, and swelling to her jaw and eye. not the first time that Christopher Williams has been accused of misconduct against women while in the women's facility. The complaint notes that uh the Department of Corrections has long been aware of the threat Williams and other male inmates posed to females at WCCCW.

[00:03:04]Williams violent predatory behavior toward other female inmates led to another woman, former inmate Mazy Clark, to file two lawsuits against the Department of Corrections in December of 2024. We talked about that case. Miss Clark alleged that Williams sexually assaulted her for months during the time she was forced to to share a cell with him. Williams, and forgive me for the language, but I want to read it because it's important. Williams masturbated in front of her, groped her while she slept, and repeatedly threatened her with rape. During these episodes, prison staff ignored concerns for her safety and even discouraged her from filing official complaints, cautioning her against potential retaliation.

[00:03:48]That's how we treat women in Washington state. That's how we treat for a party, a state run by Democrats that talk all the time and push policies taking it easy on on criminals and criminal justice reform and oh my gosh, we need to make sure that we're, you know, not even putting people in prison, but treating them while they're while they're there. And I I agree that if not for any other reason than for liability reasons, these are de facto words of the state. Uh and anything that happens to them behind bars becomes a liability for the state of Washington. But this is about humanity.

[00:04:20]This is about not locking women up with, in this case, a 6'4 fully intact male who's a convicted child sex offender.

[00:04:31]And you think about the state of Washington puts him and his fantasy about being a woman ahead of the safety, health, and well-being of those real of those real women.

[00:04:45]It's genuinely disgusting. So, Leanne O'Neal, who's the chief legal affairs officer at the America First Policy Institute, is nice enough to join us today to talk about the case. Leanne, welcome to Undivided.

[00:04:56]>> Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, I was just sharing with you, you know, before we started that these women are so lucky to have people advocating for their safety because I think a lot of people would just say, "Oh, they're inmates. You know, whatever happens to them is is their own fault." How long you been working on this case?

[00:05:12]>> Um, almost two years now, actually. Um, so we've been in touch with the women.

[00:05:18]um have worked with so many passionate advocates that are there locally in Washington who really care deeply about this cause and we've just been so fortunate to um be able to bring this lawsuit in defense of these women.

[00:05:32]>> Yeah. And I guess answer to that that question that I don't I don't think any of our viewers will feel this way, but anyone who might feel like well they committed a crime, they're in prison in Washington. Why are you why do you care so much about what's happening to them behind bars?

[00:05:47]So, I mean, obviously they're humans, right? So, um, never to be discounted.

[00:05:52]Um, people obviously make mistakes.

[00:05:54]There are a lot of reasons that one might end up behind bars. Um, and, you know, in addition to just wanting to make sure that, you know, the folks that are being taken care of, they're wards of the state in this case, are given the same rights um, as everybody else, the ones that they're entitled to under the Constitution. You know, I think it's really important that we do we take every opportunity we can to defend biological reality, right? So, this isn't just about the mistreatment of these women. And it very much is about that. Um, it's a huge part of it. It is also about standing up and saying enough is enough. We're not playing games.

[00:06:32]We're not pretending that men can become women. That's not a thing. Um and so, you know, when there are opportunities in the legal sphere to drive that point home with litigation, um we want to take them up.

[00:06:44]>> Yeah, absolutely. So, over the course of putting this case together over two years, can you talk about some of what these women have endured?

[00:06:54]>> Sure. So, you know, what's really remarkable is that we one of our one of the plaintiffs we're representing is Fair for All, and they're a nonprofit that is very invested in defending biological reality. also um some of their members are inmates at WCCCW and they have received more than 50 reports from 50 individual unique women who are inmates at the facility about complaints that those women have filed administratively with the facility to say look this is not okay with us we are having post-traumatic stress episodes we can't sleep we have faced stalking not to mention the threats of sexual assault I some of the wildest stories you can possibly imagine um at the hands of these males who all they had to do was selfidentify as a woman. They filled out a nice little form for their gender affirming housing preference. Um and that's really it. That's all there is to it. And so they have the benefit of living where they're most comfortable rooted in their gender identity. The women, the females don't have a say in this. They have nowhere to go. They're locked in these spaces. They're sharing intimate spaces, bathrooms, showers with males, all against their own will. Um, and so really, I've kind of gotten tired of saying I can't sometimes I can't believe it that I still can be surprised by some of the things that I learn, but it it really is, you know, it seems on a week- toeek basis, there's another story that actually does surprise me.

[00:08:32]>> Yeah. And and my understanding is these men, some of them are fully intact, like they they for lack of a better phrase, I mean, they they haven't had anything done to get rid of their their manhood or anything like that. Correct.

[00:08:46]>> That's exactly right. And the the female inmates we talked to can verify that because they can't get away from naked, intact males. I mean, they don't have the luxury of privacy or modesty.

[00:08:59]>> Yeah. So, talk about the basis for the suit. One of the things I thought was interesting. So, we're talking about a violation of two constitutional amendments. Uh, primarily the the eth amendment is a I I wouldn't have thought about that, but cruel and unusual punishment. I mean, how cruel and unusual to be locked in a in a cell with a man.

[00:09:19]>> Exactly. If you imagine the things that you might expect um once becoming incarcerated, being forced to be housed with someone who is capable impre of impregnating you is not among them. And that is really squarely the, you know, one of the most important parts of this lawsuit, the the claim under the ETH amendment. Um you know, it's hard to imagine anything more cruel and unusual than that prospect. Yeah. So talk about the argument here for the 14th amendment violations.

[00:09:54]>> Right. So really there are several components to that. Um but you know the 14th amendment guarantees um the same rights equal protection under the law and that applies to sex, right? Um and so you know this has some of the similar components if we're looking at the way that um some of the sports cases have gone you know title nine where we are working to see the courts recognize that biological sex is a distinct category and it deserves greater constitutional protection than gender identity. Um and so that is a critical component of this case too. um the women, the females are not being given the same protection that the males are being given. For example, there are 11 state prisons in Washington state. The website that lists out and describes all of them used to mark nine of them as for men and two of them for women. Now, nine of them are listed as for men and two of them are for adults.

[00:10:59]>> Wow. So now there are no longer any prisons in Washington state designated specifically for females. Um, and there's also so many instances and complaints of the women not being able to get necessary medical treatment.

[00:11:18]Meanwhile, the males are given bras, laser hair removal, fancy razors, you know, every luxury one could imagine associated with being a a female. But except the actual females can't get basic health care needs taken care of, which includes our named plaintiff who was beaten by a man, a 6'4 intact male, and she's still struggling with the harms that were that were caused in that in that assault.

[00:11:50]>> It's and again, I hate to use the phrase unbelievable, but it's crazy that this is the reality that we're living in that that some that this scenario even exists. And I've always saw this in addition to being just deeply deeply wrong and inhumane uh and unscientific, I've always seen it as being a liability to the state of Washington. So what are the what's the relief that you're seeking on behalf of of your clients?

[00:12:15]So for our named um plaintiff client Faith um she has actual you know monetary damages that are you know you can write them out on a piece based on the physical harm that she suffered and so those are going to be claimed in the part of the lawsuit. Um but you know kind of the the overarching main point of this lawsuit in addition to seeking the recovery of her um damages is having this policy overturned. Um we are asking the court to say that this policy the housing policy in Washington state is unconstitutional that it cannot stand.

[00:12:54]It does not comport with the eth and the 14th amendments.

[00:12:58]>> So is this um going to go through the federal system? Is this a case that could end up in the US Supreme Court?

[00:13:04]>> Absolutely. So, we filed it in the Western District, US District Court for the Western District of Washington. And um you know, we've seen how things have been going in the Ninth Circuit. So, we um we'll be watching carefully. Um but we are definitely committed to taking this all the way to the top if that's necessary.

[00:13:23]>> Yeah. Well, bless you guys for doing this work um at the America First Policy Institute. I I know that it's not cheap to to go against the state of Washington. Is there any way that our viewers can help if they're interested in financially helping with this case?

[00:13:37]>> Yes, thank you so much for asking. Yes, we would love for people to visit our website, americairstspolicy.com, learn more about the work we're doing.

[00:13:45]Um this is not the only issue that we take up. We um deal with several other issues and so we would love for folks to visit our website, learn more about us if they feel so compelled to contribute.

[00:13:54]That's wonderful.

[00:13:55]>> All right. All right. Well, thank you for standing up for the women that the male leaders in our state will not stand up for. We appreciate it.

[00:14:02]>> Thank you.

[00:14:03]>> Yep. Anti-women, anti-women leaders.

[00:14:05]Nick Brown, anti-woman. Bob Ferguson, anti-woman. Can you believe what they're subjecting these women to? It's genuinely disgusting. Um, and and also, you know, having been, and I say this all the time, I mean, I have a sketchy family history for sure, and having had loved ones incarcerated, it it never a woman, but I can't imagine. Let's say my sister did something. I'm just thinking of who what woman in my life would be most likely to wind up behind bars. I don't know for what, Miranda. I do apologize. I'm using you as an example.

[00:14:34]Can you imagine though, in all seriousness, a woman you love who did something, made a mistake in their life, being incarcerated with a biological man, and a child sex offender, no less.

[00:14:43]There's also a a double murderer who said, "Oh, I'm a woman." And was able to get transferred to the women's prison.

[00:14:49]And I think maybe they got sent back over some repeated violations, but still killed two people. So, we're talking about vile, violent men being housed with women who have no way out. There's only one women's prison.

[00:15:03]It's insane that it's allowed to continue. And I hope that these inmates do get a big fat check from the state of Washington because somewhere along the line, this has to change. And if they're not going to change their minds because it's the right thing to do, then maybe they'll change their mind because they continue to lose lawsuits. I don't know.

[00:15:19]But, uh, we will be following that one for sure.