Judge Blocks Idaho Law That Would Imprison Trans People For Five Years For Using “Wrong” Restroom

The ACLU of Idaho writes via press release:

A federal judge today granted a request for a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of H.B. 752, a new state law threatening transgender people with up to five years in prison for using public restrooms consistent with their gender identity. H.B. 752 was set to go into effect on July 1; today’s order limits enforcement of the law to protect access to some restrooms while the case challenging it proceeds.

“This ruling means trans folks in Idaho can continue participating in public life without the threat of being arrested for using the bathroom,” said Paul Carlos Southwick, ACLU of Idaho Legal Director. “Trans Idahoans have been understandably anxious about the disruption this unconstitutional law would cause in their daily lives. This ruling will relieve that anxiety for our trans friends and neighbors.”

“This decision provides significant protections for transgender people in Idaho from the efforts of state politicians to force them out of public life altogether,” said Barbara Schwabauer, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “No one should be forced to choose between the threat of arrest for being themselves in public or the threat of harassment and violence for acting the way the state wants them to be. The preliminary injunction is a vital first step as we continue to challenge this gross violation of privacy and fundamental equality until the law is blocked for good.”

H.B. 752, signed into law by Idaho Gov. Brad Little [photo] earlier this year, prohibits transgender people in Idaho from using sex-designated public restrooms consistent with their gender identity in government-owned buildings and private businesses that are open to the public.

The law makes the first offense a misdemeanor with up to one year in prison, and a second offense a felony with up to five years in prison. It applies to all government-owned buildings and private businesses that are open to the public, such as libraries, rest stops, malls, gas stations, restaurants, entertainment venues, hospitals, and other businesses.

Read the full press release.

BREAKING: A federal judge temporarily blocked a bathroom ban in Idaho that threatened transgender people with up to 5 years in prison for using a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

This is a win for trans rights.

— ACLU (@aclu.org) June 16, 2026 at 11:15 AM

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