A trans-identified TSA officer has filed a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of discrimination over its policy prohibiting men from patting down women at security checkpoints.
A man who goes by the name Danielle Mittereder, and works as a TSA officer at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, filed a lawsuit on Nov. 7 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is named as a defendant in the suit that alleges TSA’s policy discriminates against Mittereder “on the basis of sex,” in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The plaintiff, who began his job as a TSA transportation security officer in June 2024, has self-identified as a woman throughout his employment with TSA, according to the lawsuit. Between October 2024 and Feb. 7, 2025, Mittereder performed security pat-downs on female passengers, an action he argues is “a core job duty and responsibility of TSOs.”
“Solely because [he] is transgender, TSA now prohibits Plaintiff from conducting core functions of [his] job, impedes [his] advancement to higher-level positions and specialized certifications, excludes [him] from TSA-controlled facilities, and subjects [his] identity to unwanted and undue scrutiny each workday,” the legal complaint states.
The DHS and TSA did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
In February, the TSA updated its employee guidelines to comply with President Donald Trump’s January executive order, titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The order defines “sex” as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female,” declaring that the word is “not a synonym for and does not include the concept of 'gender identity.’”
Trump’s executive order also states that government agencies and all federal employees “shall enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically distinct sexes.”
On the FAQ page on its website, the TSA states that pat-down screenings are conducted by an officer of the same sex as the passenger subjected to the security check. The agency also explains that passengers can request a private screening at any time during the process and have a witness of their choice present.
According to the suit, Mittereder became upset and had to leave work early on May 6 after a co-worker said only officers of the same sex should perform private screenings because it was “the law.” Mittereder also alleges that the same female colleague told him she felt uncomfortable working with him because he identifies as trans.
The Associated Press reported this week that it had received internal documents from two current and two former TSA workers regarding the policy change. In the documents, the TSA explained that trans-identifying officers “will no longer engage in pat-down duties, which are conducted based on both the traveler’s and officer’s biological sex.”
“In addition, transgender officers will no longer serve as a TSA-required witness when a traveler elects to have a pat-down conducted in a private screening area,” the internal documents reportedly state.
Mittereder’s lawsuit also complains that TSA’s policy change prevents him from using the women’s restroom, as employees must use the TSA-controlled bathroom that aligns with their actual sex.
Prior to the executive order and TSA’s policy change in February, the agency’s passenger screenings were governed by Management Directive No. 900.3, Transitioning and Transgender Officers, the lawsuit states.
Under the directive, officers were assigned work, including pat-downs, “in a manner consistent with their gender identity.” The directive also permitted trans-identifying officers to use the TSA-controlled restrooms that aligned with their chosen gender identity.
The lawsuit alleges that TSA banned Mittereder from using the women’s restroom because he “failed to conform to the sex stereotypes propagated” by Trump’s executive order.
In addition to requesting that the court enter a judgment against the DHS, the plaintiff’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the defendant from enforcing the Feb. 7 directive, the TSA FAQ and “any associated policy changes.”
The TSA officer’s lawsuit reflects ongoing discussions about sex-protected spaces and the impact of allowing men who identify as female to enter private spaces designated for women.
Earlier this month, a confrontation between Los Angeles-based singer Tish Hyman and a trans-identified man in the women’s locker room at a gym went viral.
In a video shared on social media on Nov. 2, Hyman and other gym members confront the man, Grant Freeman, who now goes by the name Alexis Black. Hyman accused Black of exposing his genitals and harassing women in the locker room, a claim he would later deny.
Before he started identifying as female, Black pleaded guilty in 2022 to beating his now ex-wife, Alexis Freeman. The assault took place when Black lived in Ohio and was still identified as a man. He was sentenced to a year in prison, minus the time he had already served.
