Washington, D.C. – A federal judge in Rhode Island has ruled in favor of state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions and providers, ending a lawsuit that blocked the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful conditions on federal grants for programs administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women and Office of Justice Programs.

The summary judgment order resolves Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, et al. v. Blanche, a lawsuit filed in June 2025 by a coalition of 25 state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions and providers. The case challenged DOJ restrictions targeting grantees that implement diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; serve immigrants; treat people with dignity regardless of their gender identity; and acknowledge systemic causes of abuse, among other things.

In August 2025, the court temporarily blocked the restrictions, which threatened to make it impossible for many grantees to operate legally or effectively. DOJ then imposed additional conditions on grants administered by the Office of Justice Programs and Office for Victims of Crime, including restrictions that would have prevented providers from serving some noncitizen survivors and anyone unable to immediately prove their citizenship. The coalition amended its complaint, and the court blocked those restrictions as well.

The order, issued Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, invalidates the unlawful conditions the DOJ attempted to impose on these critical grants.

The coalition released the following statement in response to the order: 

“We are relieved to see this summary judgment order from the court and that our case has successfully stopped an unlawful and unconscionable attack on vital federal funding for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. These grants help sustain shelters, crisis response services, legal assistance, and coordinated community efforts that survivors rely on in moments of profound danger. We are grateful that this ruling means that this critical funding will not be unlawfully restricted.” 

The plaintiffs are represented by the National Women’s Law Center; Democracy Forward, Jacobson Lawyers Group; the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island; and the ACLU of Rhode Island.

The coalition behind the lawsuit includes the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence; Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault; District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence; End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Hawaiʻi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence; Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Jane Doe Inc. (The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence); Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence; Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence; Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence; Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence; North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence; ValorUS; Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Violence Free Minnesota; Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance; Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. 

Read the summary judgment order here.