Judge rules transgender people won’t face criminal charges for using Idaho public restrooms

U.S. newsJudge rules transgender people won’t face criminal charges for using Idaho public restroomsThe law goes further than laws in other states to restrict which bathrooms transgender people can use in public places.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Downtown Boise, just over a block away from the Idaho State Capitol Building.Idaho Statesman / TNS via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 16, 2026, 5:20 PM EDTBy The Associated PressA judge ruled Tuesday that transgender people won’t face criminal charges for using Idaho public restrooms that match their gender identities.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The ruling from U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford puts on hold enforcement of key components of a law adopted in March — and set to take effect July 1 — that went further than laws in other states to restrict which bathrooms transgender people can use in public places, including privately owned places where restrooms are open to the public.“This ruling will allow transgender people throughout Idaho to find and use a public restroom,” Lambda Legal lawyer Kell Olson said in a statement Tuesday, “without the fear of arrest looming over them, while we continue the longer fight to permanently defeat this discriminatory law in court.”The law is stricter than othersAt least 19 states, including Idaho, have laws that limit which bathrooms transgender people can use in schools, or sometimes other public buildings.The Idaho law, signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little in March, went further.It applies to restrooms — even in private buildings, if they’re open to the public. And it introduced criminal penalties, including up to a year in jail for a first offense and up to five years in prison for a second offense.The law included exceptions allowing a person to use a single-use restroom designated for the “opposite sex” if it’s the only “reasonably available” one — and when the pe...