Trans inmate who killed baby blames Trump admin for alleged assaults in prison: Lawsuit

A transgender inmate in Indiana, Jonathan C. Richardson, who goes by the name Autumn Cordellioné, has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over alleged sexual assaults he endured while in prison. Cordellioné, who was convicted of reckless homicide in the death of a baby, claims that Trump’s “extremist rhetoric and transphobic hate speech” emboldened his assailants to brutally assault and rape him multiple times.

In the handwritten complaint filed on April 1, Cordellioné alleges that Trump’s words encouraged the defendants and other inmates to act on their hate and prejudices, leading to the assaults. Cordellioné claims that the attacks occurred after being transferred from a facility where he was housed in protective custody to an all-male prison, where he was targeted by gang-affiliated inmates.

The inmate is seeking $3.5 million in compensatory damages from Trump and other defendants, including prison employees and the inmates who assaulted him. Cordellioné claims that during the assaults, the offenders made derogatory remarks about his transgender identity and expressed belief that they would not face consequences due to Trump’s presidency.

In response to the lawsuit, a White House spokesperson stated that President Trump is committed to defending biological women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth in the federal government. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated Cordellioné’s Eighth Amendment rights and committed gross negligence under Indiana tort law.

Cordellioné’s legal battle began in 2023 when he sued the Indiana Department of Correction over a state law that prohibits taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for inmates. With support from the ACLU, Cordellioné has filed multiple complaints, including a civil lawsuit against a prison chaplain for restricting his religious expression as a Muslim woman.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has been defending the state’s law and argued that the Eighth Amendment does not require the state to provide experimental treatments, including sex reassignment surgeries. However, in March, Judge Richard Young ordered the IDOC to arrange sex reassignment surgery for Cordellioné at the “earliest opportunity.”

States that fail to comply with federal orders to house inmates based on their biological sex may face funding cuts, as Trump’s orders also prohibit the use of federal funds for sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. Cordellioné’s lawsuit highlights the challenges faced by transgender inmates in the criminal justice system and the need for protections against discrimination and violence.