Devin O’Malley, a spokesman for the DOJ, lauded Sessions for appointing Perras, saying: “This is just one example of the attorney general’s commitment to enforcing the laws enacted by Congress and to protecting the civil rights of all individuals.”
Those following the DOJ’s recent moves limiting transgender rights might well take issue with Mr. O’Malley’s characterization of Sessons’ ongoing “commitment,” though. Sessions has specifically limited the protection of transgender people from workplace discrimination, and has reversed the Obama-era policy encouraging schools to let transgender students use bathrooms that fit their gender identities.
Vanita Gupta, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division in the Obama administration, was quick to call Sessions out for his inconsistency in treatment of transgender people:
“While it is of course good that D.O.J. is aggressively pursuing this case, it would behoove Sessions to connect the dots between his policies that promote discrimination and hate that can result in death.”
Amy K. Beavers, the Des Moines County attorney, explained that the DOJ’s involvement was the result of a potential federal prosecution of Kedarie Johnson’s killer and a desire to effectuate seamless law enforcement. Defense attorney Curtis Dial told media on Friday that the appointment of Perras to the prosecution team won’t “have any effect on the way we handle the defense.”