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Trans woman sues officials over abusive treatment in Baltimore jails

Lawsuit says sexual assault occurred after she was placed in all-male dorm

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Attorney Eve Hill (standing at podium), representing Chelsea Gilliam (seated on left), speaks at a news conference last week announcing a lawsuit.

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Baltimore on April 18 charges the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and seven of its high-level officials with subjecting a transgender woman to “cruel and unusual punishment” during the six months she was held in two Baltimore jails.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Chelsea Gilliam, 33, says Gilliam was arrested in December 2021 on an assault charge and was being held while awaiting trial at the Baltimore City Correctional Center and the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center.

“Both facilities refused to accept Ms. Gilliam’s legally changed name and her gender identity,” according to a statement by the Baltimore law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy, which is representing Gilliam. “While at the Baltimore jail, Ms. Gilliam was placed in a dormitory of all men for three months, from December 2021 to early February 2022,” the statement says.

“Despite her femininity and gender identity as a woman, Ms. Gilliam was forced to live and shower with male inmates,” the statement continues. “During this time, she was harassed by both officers and inmates and ultimately sexually assaulted by another inmate,” it says.

“The jail took no action when Ms. Gilliam reported the assault. She was also denied her hormone treatment,” the statement says.

The statement, which provides a summary of the 35-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, says that in February 2022, Gilliam was moved to the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center in Baltimore, which serves as an intake prison for male inmates, according to its website.

It says that during her entire time there Gilliam was placed in segregation, which is a form of solitary confinement, solely because she is transgender.

“Officers shackled Ms. Gilliam by the hands, waist and ankles each time she left her cell, even though she never violated the facility’s rules,” the statement says. “Ms. Gilliam suffered a great deal of anxiety and distress from these experiences,” it says.

The lawsuit alleges that Gilliam was subjected to “cruel and unusual” treatment in violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act based on her status as a transgender person with the condition of gender dysphoria.

“Ms. Gilliam received hormone treatments for her gender dysphoria for 18 years prior to her incarceration and has continued to receive hormone treatments since her release,” the lawsuit says. Among other things, it cites reports from experts in the field of medicine and mental health stating that hormone treatment is needed for most people with gender dysphoria and the denial of such treatment is harmful to individuals receiving it.

The lawsuit also states that in their action or lack of action that placed Gilliam in danger while she was incarcerated, corrections officials failed to comply with existing regulations that specifically call for taking steps to protect transgender inmates from potential harm.

Court records show that Gilliam pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree assault on May 12, 2022, and was sentenced to supervised probation and released.

Eve Hill, the attorney representing Gilliam, told the Washington Blade that Carolyn Scruggs, the current Secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (MDPSCS), who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was appointed to her position in January by the state’s newly elected governor, Wes Moore. Moore has been a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community.

“We would hope that such a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights would want to resolve this matter and make the state’s correctional facilities safe for transgender people, but we have received no response from our overture,” Hill told the Blade.

Hill said that under the federal court system, it is up to the judge to determine the extent of mediation or negotiation that may be required to potentially resolve a lawsuit through a settlement before it goes to trial.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the MDPSCS released a statement saying it could not comment specifically on a pending lawsuit but said it “takes very seriously – and treats with urgency – the protection of every single incarcerated person’s dignity and safety.”

The statement adds, “The Department has met with advocacy groups and has tirelessly worked on the complex issues related to the transgender incarcerated population and is committed to updating its policies as necessary based on correctional and medical professionals’ recommendations to ensure safety of everyone in our facilities.”

The statement concludes by saying MDPSCS is audited by Department of Justice certified auditors that audit one-third of the state’s correctional facilities each year. It says the department “is not aware of any facility that has ever received a corrective action for a transgender related issue.”

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Maryland

Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill

Md. law named after Carlton Smith

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. A bill that he signed on May 20, 2025, will decriminalize HIV in Maryland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed a bill that decriminalizes HIV in the state.

State Dels. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) and Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) are among the lawmakers who sponsored House Bill 39 or the Carlton R. Smith Act, which is named after the long-time activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in May 2024.

Smith was a member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland that advocated for the bill. FreeState Justice, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, was also part of the coalition.

“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry in a statement. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society.”

Maryland is the fifth state to decriminalize HIV.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, in March signed a bill that decriminalized HIV in his state.

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

“F—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,” a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands

Superintendents opt for cooperation over confrontation

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(Bigstock photo)

By LIZ BOWIE | Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.

The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.

Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New YorkColoradoOregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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