The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has urged the Washington State Department of Corrections to end its Transgender Inmate Policy after a reported assault at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). According to AFPI, on August 7, a female inmate was allegedly attacked by Christopher Williams, a 6’4″ convicted child molester who identifies as transgender. The organization states that Williams punched and kicked the woman until other inmates intervened. Williams had previously been removed from WCCW following an earlier sexual assault allegation but was reportedly returned without notice to inmates or their families.
“This policy is actively harming real women,” said Leigh Ann O’Neill, senior attorney at AFPI. “The Department of Corrections is failing in its most basic duty: to protect the people in its custody. Housing biological males in these spaces—regardless of intent—undermines every safeguard those institutions were designed to provide. The physical harm and psychological trauma these women are reporting is real, and it’s preventable.”
In March 2025, AFPI sent a letter documenting 51 internal complaints from female inmates about the policy. The follow-up letter dated August 13 reiterates concerns that housing biological males with female inmates increases risks of physical danger and undermines sex-based protections within correctional facilities.
AFPI’s legal team has also filed a public records request seeking information on how officials decided to return Williams to WCCW. The group has called for all biological males to be removed from women’s prisons in Washington.
AFPI stated it remains committed to protecting women in all areas of public life.
