{"id":3911,"date":"2025-08-15T12:04:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T17:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T12:04:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T17:04:04","slug":"trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom)\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department\u2019s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Thursday ruling marks a blow to President Donald Trump\u2019s administration as it continues to take significant strides to try to crack down on DEI efforts across the federal government.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher found both an agency\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/us-education-department-threatens-yanking-funds-schools-use-race-decisions\" target=\"_blank\">Dear Colleague letter<\/a> threatening to yank federal funds for schools from K-12 through colleges and universities that use race-conscious practices in aspects of student life and a memo ordering\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/states-ordered-us-education-department-certify-school-dei-ban-or-lose-funds\" target=\"_blank\">state education leaders<\/a> to certify compliance to be \u201cunlawful,\u201d vacating the two.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gallagher\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mdd.577437\/gov.uscourts.mdd.577437.83.0_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">ruling<\/a> follows a lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers union and its affiliate, AFT-Maryland, as well as the American Sociological Association and a public school district in Oregon.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She noted that both the letter and certification requirement are \u201cunconstitutionally vague.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gallagher is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/federal-judges-pause-us-education-department-enforcement-dei-ban\" target=\"_blank\">one of three federal judges<\/a> who blocked different parts of the agency\u2019s initiatives back in April, which brought enforcement of the letter and the memo on certifying compliance to a halt.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe administration is entitled to express its viewpoints and to promulgate policies aligned with those viewpoints,\u201d wrote Gallagher, who was appointed by Trump. \u201cBut it must do so within the procedural bounds Congress has outlined. And it may not do so at the expense of constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Feb. 14 letter to states<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The department drew swift legal action after sending a Feb. 14\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/us-department-education-sued-over-letter-race-conscious-practices-schools\" target=\"_blank\">letter to school districts<\/a> that threatened to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/media\/document\/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">rescind federal funds<\/a> for schools that use race-conscious practices in programming, admissions, scholarships and other aspects of student life.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The letter gave a sweeping interpretation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2023, which struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The four-page letter raised a myriad of questions for schools over what exactly fell within the requirements. The department in March issued a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/media\/document\/frequently-asked-questions-about-racial-preferences-and-stereotypes-under-title-vi-of-civil-rights-act-109530.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/a> document on the letter in an attempt to provide more guidance.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Adding fuel to the fire, the department in April gave\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/states-ordered-us-education-department-certify-school-dei-ban-or-lose-funds\" target=\"_blank\">state education leaders<\/a> just days to certify all K-12 schools in their states were complying with the letter in order to keep receiving federal financial assistance.<\/p>\n<h4>Reaction from department, union<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWhile the Department is disappointed in the judge\u2019s ruling, judicial action enjoining or setting aside this guidance has not stopped our ability to enforce Title VI protections for students at an unprecedented level,\u201d a spokesperson for the department said in a statement shared with States Newsroom on Friday.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe Department remains committed to its responsibility to uphold students\u2019 anti-discrimination protections under the law,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said \u201cthe court agreed that this vague and clearly unconstitutional requirement is a grave attack on students, our profession, honest history, and knowledge itself,\u201d in a Thursday statement.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Weingarten added that \u201cit would hamper efforts to extend access to education, and dash the promise of equal opportunity for all, a central tenet of the United States since its founding.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department\u2019s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools. The Thursday ruling marks a blow to President&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department\u2019s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools. The Thursday ruling marks a blow to President...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-15T17:04:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-15T17:04:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":546,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge - WestplexNews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-15T17:04:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":242,\"caption\":\"WestplexNews.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\",\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brad Hildebrand\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Westplexnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge - WestplexNews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge - WestplexNews.com","og_description":"The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., pictured on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0 A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department\u2019s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools. The Thursday ruling marks a blow to President...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2025-08-15T17:04:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge","datePublished":"2025-08-15T17:04:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/"},"wordCount":546,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/","name":"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge - WestplexNews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-15T17:04:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/educationdepartment2-1024x768-6jzRHW.jpg","width":1024,"height":768},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/trumps-dei-ban-in-k-12-schools-higher-education-ruled-unlawful-by-federal-judge-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump\u2019s DEI ban in K-12 schools, higher education ruled \u2018unlawful\u2019 by federal judge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","name":"WestplexNews.com","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization","name":"WestplexNews.com","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","width":690,"height":242,"caption":"WestplexNews.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0","name":"Brad Hildebrand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brad Hildebrand"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/Westplexnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}