The Justice Department notified Washington state Tuesday that it has launched a federal probe into whether one of its female corrections centers violated inmates' civil rights by housing biological males at the prison.

The Justice Department's office of civil rights said it is probing whether the state engages in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of female prisoners held at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington.

The investigation centers on allegations that female prisoners’ constitutional protections from cruel and unusual punishment were violated by housing biological male inmates who identify as female.

“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said. “The constitutional rights of women cannot be sacrificed at the altar of appeasing unsupported and dangerous ideologies.”

The investigation is also looking into the state's response to allegations of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism and sexual intimidation allegedly occurring at the facility by biological male inmates.

The department is conducting the investigation pursuant to its authority to enforce the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.