Civil Rights · Sep 2, 2026Judge Tosses Trump’s California Trans Sports Lawsuit

KEMETIC MINDS
Civil Rights Watch — Daily Update — September 02, 2026

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Welcome to this evening’s Civil Rights Watch. The day’s dominant story is a federal judge’s dismissal of the Trump administration’s Title IX lawsuit against California over transgender girls in school sports — a rebuke that lands two months after the Supreme Court upheld similar state bans elsewhere. The same 24-hour window produced a hate-crime indictment in upstate New York, a planned civil suit by two Muslim men attacked at a Utah mall, and new rulings in a Maine police-accountability case and a discrimination suit against Lizzo.

• A federal judge dismissed the Department of Justice’s lawsuit trying to force California to bar transgender girls from girls’ school sports, terminating the case (The Guardian, 2026).
• A Wayne County, N.Y., grand jury indicted Brandon Watt on second-degree assault as a hate crime over the June 23 attack on his Black neighbor Johnny White; Watt faces up to 15 years in prison (13WHAM, 2026; Yahoo News, 2026).
• Two Muslim men injured in the July 13 Valley Fair Mall attack plan to sue the alleged assailant, who faces attempted aggravated murder charges with possible hate-crime enhancements (KSL, 2026).
• A federal judge allowed civil-rights claims to proceed against three Maine State Police officers accused of an “abhorrent, violent and unlawful” arrest (MSN, 2026).
• A judge dismissed a tour staffer’s harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Lizzo (Billboard, 2026).

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1. States’ Rights and Federalism: California Trans Sports Win, Maine Case Advances

A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging California’s policy of allowing transgender youth to play on sports teams that match their gender, a major loss for President Trump and the Department of Justice (The Guardian, 2026). The final order dismissed the DoJ’s suit and terminated the case after the Justice Department had fought for a year to force California to ban trans girls from women’s sports (The Guardian, 2026).

The administration sued California in July 2025, alleging the state’s trans-inclusive sports policy violated Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools (The Guardian, 2026). The lawsuit focused on five trans girls who played sports, accusing them of taking opportunities away from other girls (The Guardian, 2026). California has allowed trans girls to play on girls’ teams since 2013, and more than 20 states now have similar laws (The Guardian, 2026).

Judge Cynthia Valenzuela concluded that the federal government failed to give California notice that federal funding was contingent on schools banning trans girls from sports, and the ruling noted the government has repeatedly shifted its guidelines on the issue over the last decade (The Guardian, 2026). The judge also held that Trump’s executive order last year calling for trans girls to be blocked from girls’ sports did not constitute clear notice to the state (The Guardian, 2026).

Trump had directly singled out one trans track and field athlete in online attacks and regularly mocked trans athletes in speeches (The Guardian, 2026). The dismissal comes two months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority upheld Republican-backed laws in West Virginia and Idaho that barred trans girls from girls’ sports (The Guardian, 2026).

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2. Hate Crimes: New York, Utah, and Missouri Developments

A Wayne County grand jury indicted Brandon Watt, 39, of Newark, N.Y., on second-degree assault as a hate crime and harassment, elevating the lead charge from a Class E felony to a Class C violent felony (13WHAM, 2026; Yahoo News, 2026). Watt pleaded not guilty Tuesday and is being held on $25,000 cash bail or a $100,000 secured bond (Yahoo News, 2026).

Prosecutors said Watt targeted his neighbor Johnny White — who is Black and now 71 — with racial slurs and threats in the weeks before the June 23 attack, in which White was struck with a 2-by-4 (13WHAM, 2026; Yahoo News, 2026). White suffered fractures to his nose, jaw, and orbital bone, as well as alleged damage to his eyes and a potentially long-term prognosis related to his injuries (13WHAM, 2026; Yahoo News, 2026).

“An assault second as a hate crime, it’s a Class C felony… The defendant is facing up to 15 years in prison, so it’s a very serious crime,” Wayne County Second Assistant District Attorney Justin Hill said (13WHAM, 2026). White told reporters after court, “It’s been a heck of a burn, stressful mentally, physically, in every way possible… But thanks to God, my mother, my family, my wife — I’m standing strong” (13WHAM, 2026).

White’s family filled the courtroom Tuesday, and his sister Donna said, “My brother don’t even know you. My brother don’t speak evil. He’s about peace” (13WHAM, 2026). The case drew earlier criticism after Newark police initially did not categorize the assault as a hate crime, and White’s daughter, Lexie White, told News 8 she believed the attack was racially motivated (Yahoo News, 2026). Watt is scheduled to return to court Sept. 22 for a pretrial conference (Yahoo News, 2026).

In Utah, Syed Sohail and Wajid Mohammed — two Muslim men originally from India — plan to sue Peter Michael Larsen, 48, of Taylorsville, and possibly others over the July 13 attack at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City (KSL, 2026). Larsen faces two counts of attempted aggravated murder in state court with potential hate-crime penalty enhancements, and a federal grand jury separately charged him with violating federal hate crime statutes for the attack on Sohail (KSL, 2026).

According to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, Larsen said he targeted Sohail because he is Muslim, and he is accused of stabbing Sohail 28 times while Sohail worked at a kiosk (KSL, 2026). Mohammed came to Sohail’s aid and was also injured; Sohail survived with a wound close to his heart, a punctured lung, and serious wounds to one hand (KSL, 2026). Attorney Jim McConkie called it “a horrible hate crime” and said the civil suit aims to secure financial compensation for the two men and to press for safe public spaces (KSL, 2026).

In Missouri, a Mehlville man has been charged in a hate crime shooting, according to Fox 2 in St. Louis (FOX 2, 2026). Beyond the charge itself, the item we monitored provides no details about the suspect, the alleged target, or the circumstances (FOX 2, 2026).

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3. Civil Rights Watch: Lizzo Suit Dismissed

A judge dismissed the harassment and discrimination lawsuit a former tour staffer brought against Lizzo, a legal win for the singer (Billboard, 2026). The Billboard item we monitored reports the outcome but does not state the court’s reasoning or the procedural basis for the dismissal (Billboard, 2026).

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What’s Disputed or Unconfirmed

• Newark: Watt pleaded not guilty, and his attorney argued White was the aggressor, alleging White approached and struck Watt first while two witnesses were present; White and his family reject that account and had pressed authorities for hate crime charges (Yahoo News, 2026; 13WHAM, 2026).
• Utah: Larsen’s guilt is unresolved — the state and federal charges are accusations, not convictions — and the civil suit by Sohail and Mohammed has been announced but not yet filed, according to coverage (KSL, 2026).
• Maine: the “abhorrent, violent and unlawful” characterization is the plaintiffs’ language in the lawsuit; the judge allowed only “several claims” to proceed, and the report we monitored does not name the officers or say which claims were dismissed (MSN, 2026).
• Lizzo: the dismissal is confirmed by Billboard, but the available report does not indicate whether the claims were resolved with or without prejudice (Billboard, 2026).

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How to Verify This Yourself

• Read the California ruling: start with The Guardian’s report on the dismissal, then check the federal docket via PACER or CourtListener for Judge Valenzuela’s final order.
• For the criminal cases, consult the Wayne County, N.Y., district attorney’s office and court calendar for Watt’s Sept. 22 pretrial conference, and the Utah 3rd District Court docket plus the federal District of Utah docket for the charges against Larsen.
• For the Maine and Lizzo matters, review the underlying court filings — the U.S. District Court for Maine docket for the state police lawsuit and the docket in the Lizzo case — alongside MSN’s report on the Maine claims and Billboard’s coverage of the dismissal.

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References

1. Billboard. (2026, September 1). Lizzo Wins Ruling Dismissing Tour Staffer’s Harassment and Discrimination Lawsuit. billboard.com
2. MSN. (2026, September 2). Federal judge allows claims to proceed in lawsuit against Maine State Police officers. msn.com
3. The Guardian. (2026, September 1). Federal judge tosses Trump lawsuit over young trans athletes in California school sports. theguardian.com
4. 13wham.com. (2026, September 1). Newark man charged with hate crime in alleged attack on Black neighbor. 13wham.com
5. FOX 2. (2026, September 1). Mehlville man charged in hate crime shooting. fox2now.com
6. KSL News. (2026, September 1). 'Horrible hate crime': Muslim men attacked at mall plan to sue alleged assailant, lawyer says. ksl.com
7. Yahoo. (2026, September 1). Newark assault suspect now charged with hate crime. yahoo.com

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