DOJ’s LGBTQ employee group shuts down after three decades

DOJ Pride, an LGBTQ employee resource group at the Department of Justice, has shut down more than a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to root out all diversity, equity and inclusion measures from the federal government.

The group “ceased to operate effective immediately,” the group’s board said in an email sent to members Tuesday evening.

“In this time of uncertainty and concern, we have taken the extraordinary measure of ceasing operations of DOJ Pride,” the message said. “We have made this decision in the interest and for the protection of all members.”

The email, which was reviewed by NBC News, thanked members for their “understanding during this time” and expressed hope that the group could “rebuild in the future.”

Requests for comment sent to the main DOJ Pride email address and directly to the group’s former board president did not receive immediate responses. 

Shortly after his inauguration, Trump signed executive orders ending “radical and wasteful” DEI programs and activities inside federal agencies and proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes. Shortly after, federal DEI workers were placed on paid leave. DOJ Pride was founded in 1994 as an employee-run group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Department of Justice staffers and their allies. At the time, gay marriage was illegal across the U.S., same-sex sexual relations were prohibited in more than a dozen states, and most Americans didn’t know what “transgender” meant. 

According to the “About” section on its website: “DOJ Pride works with agency leadership to identify and address key issues and areas affecting the DOJ’s LGBTQ+ employees. We offer regular social events and brown-bag lectures featuring leaders and experts in fields affecting the LGBTQ+ community.  We also serve as a resource for current and prospective employees.”

One DOJ staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told NBC News that the “mere presence of DOJ Pride made me feel that it was safe to be out at DOJ.”

“Its shuttering … is extraordinarily alarming and echoes back to the days not so long ago that federal employees were fired or barred from employment for merely being gay,” the staffer said. “If I could go back into the closet at work, I would.”

When asked if the administration supports the shutting down of DOJ Pride, a DOJ spokesperson said the Trump administration “believes very strongly in the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of association.”

The spokesperson added that while he can’t speak to DOJ Pride specifically, the administration does not consider employee resource groups to be among the targets of the president’s “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” executive order.

“If there are groups of employees at the department who want to organize like-minded communities, then I think that’s freedom of association,” the spokesperson said in a phone interview. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the shuttering of DOJ Pride. 

A page on the Justice Department’s website listing its various employee organizations and affinity groups (including DOJ Pride) was viewable Tuesday but was no longer available Wednesday. The website of one of the listed groups, the DOJ Gender Equality Network, says it is “no longer an active organization.” Emails to the leaders of three of the other listed groups — DOJ Association of Black Attorneys, DOJ Federal Asian Pacific American Council and DOJ Muslim Americans in Public Service — asking if they were still operating did not receive immediate responses. 

Several workers across federal departments have said their employee resource groups have been put on pause, with meetings and events abruptly canceled to comply with Trump’s executive order pertaining to DEI. It’s not yet clear how widespread the effect will be on employee resource groups across government agencies.