A transgender inmate serving a 55-year sentence for the 2001 killing of an 11-month-old stepdaughter has filed a $3.5 million lawsuit against President Trump, alleging that his policies and rhetoric led to multiple sexual assaults while incarcerated.
The inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson, who identifies as Autumn Cordellionè, claims that after being transferred from protective custody to an all-male facility, he was sexually assaulted by fellow inmates who invoked President Trump’s name during the attacks.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Indiana, asserts that the assaults were a direct result of President Trump’s “transphobic” rhetoric and policies. Cordellionè also alleges that prison staff ignored his reports of the assaults and discriminated against him due to his transgender identity.
The transfer occurred following President Trump’s executive order mandating that federal prisoners be housed according to their biological sex. This policy change has faced legal challenges, with federal judges temporarily blocking the transfer of transgender inmates to facilities that do not align with their gender identity.
In response to the lawsuit, a White House spokesperson reiterated President Trump’s commitment to policies recognizing only biological sex, stating that the administration aims to “defend biological women from gender ideology extremism and restore biological truth to the Federal government.”
Cordellionè’s legal actions are part of a broader series of lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s policies affecting transgender individuals in federal custody. These policies include the cessation of gender-affirming medical care and the reclassification of inmates based on biological sex, which advocates argue violate constitutional protections.
