Class-Action Complaint on Behalf of Organizations in Boston, Detroit, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle Seeks to Stop Devastating Termination of Community Safety Grants 

Washington, D.C. – An emergency appeal filed in the D.C. Circuit Court today is seeking to stop the Trump-Vance administration’s terminations of federal support for programs proven to keep communities across the United States safer. The case, Vera Institute of Justice, et al. v. United States Department of Justice, et al., is a class-action challenge brought by a coalition of five nonprofit and community organizations from major cities across the country that was dismissed earlier this week by a lower court. 

In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs suddenly and unlawfully canceled hundreds of community violence intervention, victim services, youth and criminal justice grants to nonprofit community organizations and local governments, sending a form letter that offered a generic and inadequate justification for the disruptive decision to cancel existing grants. The terminated grant awards provided federal support for evidence-based programs that save lives, reduce violence, and protect crime victims.

Community violence intervention efforts across the country have been crippled as a result of the grant award terminations, and organizations have been forced to lay-off critical staff members, triage outreach, and abandon programming. At the same time, many of these organizations have seen increases in violence this summer, from harassment and assaults to gun violence and even the fatal shootings of children and teenagers, in the communities they serve. This violence is preventable, but without the restoration of their grant awards, organizations do not have the resources or ability to intervene.

The original case – brought by the Children and Youth Justice Center d/b/a Center for Children & Youth Justice CCYJ), Chinese for Affirmative Action d/b/a Stop AAPI Hate, FORCE Detroit, Health Resources in Action (HRIA), and the Vera Institute of Justice – sought relief for hundreds of community organizations across the country. The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward and Perry Law in the matter. 

“The Trump-Vance administration’s disruptive and harmful cuts to programs that communities rely on to stay safe are clearly unlawful and should not be allowed to proceed,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “None of this is making anyone safer in America. This new Trump-Vance administration funding freeze will force groups to fire additional staff and shutter programs that serve people in vulnerable circumstances. We are very proud to represent this coalition and remain committed to defending funding for these important public safety programs.” 

“We are deeply disappointed by the court’s failure to protect Congressionally authorized investments in public safety,” said Rachel Sottile, President & CEO of CCYJ. “The judge’s decision will prolong the uncertainty caused by the Department of Justice’s wanton grant terminations and leave people and communities—in Washington state and across the nation—less safe. Today’s filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit signifies CCYJ’s unwavering commitment to our CVI partners and the pursuit of justice. We will exhaust every action necessary to reverse these unlawful, unjust, and unsafe terminations.”

“While we are profoundly troubled by the court’s decision, what remains most shameful is the Trump-Vance administration’s abrupt and baseless cuts to critical public safety programs — an outright betrayal of the communities they are sworn to protect,” said Cynthia Choi, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action. “Our communities deserve investment, not abandonment. These life-saving programs were designed to prevent violence and support victims across the country — and we will not stop fighting for the countless families who rely on them to stay safe, heal, and thrive.”

“Proper funding saves taxpayer dollars while building safer cities. Community Violence Intervention funding saves both money and lives,” said Executive Director Dujuan Zoe Kennedy of FORCE Detroit. “We experienced up to 72 percent reduction in violent crime last year in our zone of Detroit because we had the proper funding for CVI. The President vows to support law enforcement, it’s important to know that law enforcement supports this work. Eliminating federal grants strains our police departments, costs lives, and dismantles communities. For every shooting injury in Detroit, Michigan, the cost is $1.1 million. For every homicide shooting, it costs taxpayers $1.7 million. To put that in perspective, shooting reductions from 2023 to 2024 in Detroit saved lives, prevented trauma, and saved $31.3 million.”

“This decision will not keep our communities safe. We will continue our efforts to support these crucial, community-led programs, including today’s request to the court to urgently restore DOJ funding while the legal process continues,” said Steven Ridini, President and CEO of Health Resources in Action. “Our resolve and commitment remain strong. We stand in solidarity with communities most impacted by violence. With you, we are determined to advance public health approaches to prevent and reduce violence.”

“The Department of Justice’s arbitrary termination of $820 million in grants for programs that save lives and make communities safer is not only shameful, but is causing immediate and palpable harm,” said Nick Turner, President and Director of the Vera Institute of Justice. “Across over 200 organizations in more than 35 states, we have seen staff layoffs, budget shortfalls, and services abruptly ended or scaled back. However, it’s the communities served by these organizations that ultimately bear the brunt of these cuts. Today, we call on the court to issue an emergency injunction to restore DOJ funding while the legal process unfolds.”  

The Trump-Vance administration’s form letter that canceled these grants was immediately disruptive to local organizations and the communities they serve. Included in the declarations filed with emergency request for an injunction are revealing stories from groups that spent years building the infrastructure necessary to earn the trust of the communities in which they operated and spent millions of dollars supporting local organizations – hiring staff and building programs designed to achieve lasting change, only for these efforts to be rapidly dismantled as a result of the letter. Examples of this disruption amongst plaintiffs include: 

• CCYJ’s partner organizations have had to reduce staff as the community has seen “astronomical” increases in homicide victims; 
• FORCE Detroit has been unable to intervene in the tragic increases in violence in Detroit (20 shootings of juveniles in June, a four-year-old shot and killed in July, and  a two-year-old shot in July at a fireworks show);
• HRiA’s community partners have laid off employees, facing reputational harm after halting programs;
• Stop AAPI Hate accelerated their timeline for staff layoffs up to this fall, in the face of record-high reports of threats of violence to Asian communities and anti-Asian slurs; and
• Vera has lost partners in work that enhances public safety and is experiencing shortfalls in multiple programs, leaving vacancies unfilled and cutting its budget.

Attorneys Brian Netter, Lisa Newman, Skye Perryman, Jennifer Fountain Connolly, Cortney Robinson, and Somil Trivedi are leading the case for Democracy Forward. The team at Perry Law working on this case includes E. Danya Perry, Joshua Perry, and Joshua Stanton. 

Read the appeal here.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.