U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a live interview on Tuesday that all nonessential federal funding has been pulled from the Maine Department of Corrections because a transgender inmate is being held in a women’s prison.Bondi made the announcement while making an appearance on the Fox News program “Fox & Friends.” A graphic run during the interview showed that the Maine DOC was losing more than $1.5 million in federal grants.”No longer. We will pull your funding. We will protect women in sports. We will protect women throughout this country. No more of that,” Bondi said during the live interview.Bondi did not mention the inmate by name, but did say the inmate had killed their parents and a dog in a stabbing.Maine’s Total Coverage previously covered a double-murder case in which the convict was transgender. Andrea Balcer, who went by Andrew at the time of the crime in October 2016, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in December 2018, nearly three months after pleading guilty to stabbing their parents and the family’s dog to death.A search of the Maine DOC online database shows Andrew Balcer, who has another name listed of Andrea Balcer, is serving a sentence at the Maine Correctional Center’s Women’s Center.In a press release shared Tuesday afternoon, the Maine Department of Corrections said it received a formal notice Monday night from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs regarding the termination of certain federal grants to the DOC, effective immediately.According to the Maine DOC, the grants being withheld go toward improving substance use disorder treatment and recovery outcomes for adults in reentry; addressing the needs of incarcerated parents and their minor children; and innovations in supervision under the smart Probation Program.”The department is evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations,” the Maine DOC said in a statement. “While the department is aware of related public statements by the United States Attorney General, the notice is the only communication that has been received by the department.”The notice from the Office of Justice Programs states the Maine DOC may appeal the termination of funding in writing within 30 business days.The reaction to this announcement has been mixed. Some applaud the move while others worry the government is overreaching. The Independent Women’s Forum says housing a transgender inmate in a female prison is a direct violation of the safety of women. They say the Trump Administration was right to pull Maine’s funding.But Amy Whelan, a senior executive attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says the DOJ’s actions are part of a pattern of targeting transgender people across the country. She says there’s a reason why transgender inmates are placed in a women’s facility.”Prison officials have known for years that transgender women, in particular, are at extreme risk of violence in men’s facilities,” Whelan said.According to Maine law, jails must respect an inmates gender identity, and their housing must reflect what gender they identify as. However, that isn’t the case when their placement would pose security threats. Before she revealed funding had been pulled from the Maine DOC, Bondi was asked about Maine’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the withholding of federal funding. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins had announced that her department froze funding for certain Maine educational programs over the Trump administration’s finding that the state has violated Title IX. “We were right to do (deny federal funding). President Trump has the right to determine where the money goes, where federal money goes,” Bondi said Tuesday.In February, just days after Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump had a contentious exchange at the White House, Bondi sent a letter to Mills stating that the U.S. Department of Justice is ready to “take all appropriate action” to enforce President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders regarding gender, which includes legal action and the cutting off of federal funding.Related content:
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a live interview on Tuesday that all nonessential federal funding has been pulled from the Maine Department of Corrections because a transgender inmate is being held in a women’s prison.
Bondi made the announcement while making an appearance on the Fox News program “Fox & Friends.” A graphic run during the interview showed that the Maine DOC was losing more than $1.5 million in federal grants.
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“No longer. We will pull your funding. We will protect women in sports. We will protect women throughout this country. No more of that,” Bondi said during the live interview.
Bondi did not mention the inmate by name, but did say the inmate had killed their parents and a dog in a stabbing.
Maine’s Total Coverage previously covered a double-murder case in which the convict was transgender. Andrea Balcer, who went by Andrew at the time of the crime in October 2016, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in December 2018, nearly three months after pleading guilty to stabbing their parents and the family’s dog to death.
A search of the Maine DOC online database shows Andrew Balcer, who has another name listed of Andrea Balcer, is serving a sentence at the Maine Correctional Center’s Women’s Center.
In a press release shared Tuesday afternoon, the Maine Department of Corrections said it received a formal notice Monday night from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs regarding the termination of certain federal grants to the DOC, effective immediately.
According to the Maine DOC, the grants being withheld go toward improving substance use disorder treatment and recovery outcomes for adults in reentry; addressing the needs of incarcerated parents and their minor children; and innovations in supervision under the smart Probation Program.
“The department is evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations,” the Maine DOC said in a statement. “While the department is aware of related public statements by the United States Attorney General, the notice is the only communication that has been received by the department.”
The notice from the Office of Justice Programs states the Maine DOC may appeal the termination of funding in writing within 30 business days.
The reaction to this announcement has been mixed. Some applaud the move while others worry the government is overreaching.
The Independent Women’s Forum says housing a transgender inmate in a female prison is a direct violation of the safety of women. They say the Trump Administration was right to pull Maine’s funding.
But Amy Whelan, a senior executive attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says the DOJ’s actions are part of a pattern of targeting transgender people across the country.
She says there’s a reason why transgender inmates are placed in a women’s facility.
“Prison officials have known for years that transgender women, in particular, are at extreme risk of violence in men’s facilities,” Whelan said.
According to Maine law, jails must respect an inmates gender identity, and their housing must reflect what gender they identify as. However, that isn’t the case when their placement would pose security threats.
Before she revealed funding had been pulled from the Maine DOC, Bondi was asked about Maine’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the withholding of federal funding. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins had announced that her department froze funding for certain Maine educational programs over the Trump administration’s finding that the state has violated Title IX.
“We were right to do (deny federal funding). President Trump has the right to determine where the money goes, where federal money goes,” Bondi said Tuesday.
In February, just days after Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump had a contentious exchange at the White House, Bondi sent a letter to Mills stating that the U.S. Department of Justice is ready to “take all appropriate action” to enforce President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders regarding gender, which includes legal action and the cutting off of federal funding.
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