West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey weighed in on his state’s upcoming Supreme Court case against trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson after 130 congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief backing Pepper-Jackson. 

Pepper-Jackson filed the West Virginia v, B.P.J. case in July 2024, to challenge the state’s law, The Save Women’s Sports Act, to compete on a girls high school cross-country and track and field team. But the case will now be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in January. 

“The Save Women’s Sport Act is about making sports fair and safe for all involved. It is not about banning anyone from competition. Biological males can compete against biological males but not against biological females,” McCuskey said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital through the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom. 

“Women and girls have lost places on sports teams, surrendered spots on championship podiums and suffered injuries competing against bigger, faster and stronger males. This case is about preserving the hard-earned victories afforded in Title IX and, more than anything, protecting our female athletes.”

The lawsuit was brought against the state of West Virginia by trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson, who was initially granted a preliminary injunction allowing the athlete to participate on the school’s sports teams. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law violated Title IX and the equal protection clause. Now, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state’s appeal.

In a response brief, the athlete’s mother, Heather Jackson, argued West Virginia’s law that prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports violates Title IX.

However, Title IX does not explicitly protect the right of biologically male transgender people to identify as women. The Trump administration and West Virginia state government do not interpret Title IX as protective of that right.

LEGAL DEFENSE TO PROTECT WOMEN’S SPORTS IN SCOTUS BATTLE OVER TRANS ATHLETES RESPONDS TO ATTEMPT TO DROP CASE

The 130 Democrats who have thrown their support behind Pepper-Jackson include nine Senators and 121 House members. 

The list of signees features prominent figures on the party’s left wing, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The list also includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The list does not include noted moderate Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“Categorical bans — such as the bans in West Virginia and Idaho — undermine those protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school community,” the brief says.

The amicus brief also expressed support for another trans athlete, Lindsay Hecox, whose case will also be heard by the Supreme Court in January. 

The Little v. Hecox lawsuit was initially filed by trans athlete Lindsay Hecox in 2020, when the athlete wanted to join the women’s cross-country team at Boise State and had the state’s law to prevent trans athletes from competing in women’s sports blocked.

Hecox was joined by an anonymous biological female student, Jane Doe, who was concerned about the potential of being subjected to the sex dispute verification process. The challenge was successful when a federal judge blocked Idaho’s state law.

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A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023, before the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case. Hecox then asked the court last month to drop the challenge, claiming the athlete “has therefore decided to permanently withdraw and refrain from playing any women’s sports at BSU or in Idaho.”

Hecox tried to have the case dismissed in September after the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case, but U.S. District Judge David Nye, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, rejected Hecox’s motion to dismiss the case. 

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Florida executed a man Thursday who was convicted of raping and killing his former manager at a convenience store in 1988, marking the state’s record 17th execution this year.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office told The Associated Press that 63-year-old Richard Barry Randolph was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.

A year later, in 1989, Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and sentenced to death.

A spokesperson for the governor said there were no complications during the procedure and that Randolph had no last words.

FLORIDA CONTINUES TO EXTEND RECORD EXECUTION YEAR WITH MAN PUT TO DEATH FOR KILLING WIFE’S FAMILY

Randolph woke at 6:30 a.m. and later ate a cheeseburger, fries and ice cream, according to a state Department of Corrections official. He had one visitor during the day but did not meet with a spiritual advisor.

Three members of the victim’s family were expected to attend the execution, which began around 6 p.m.

Randolph’s death extended Florida’s record for executions in a single year to 17.

The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, and, until now, the highest annual total in Florida was eight in 2014.

Court records show Randolph tried to break into a safe at a Palatka convenience store in August 1988, according to the AP. Randolph, a former employee, was spotted by manager Minnie Ruth McCollum, and the two struggled.

FLORIDA SETS RECORD WITH 15TH EXECUTION AS MAN DIES FOR 1998 RAPE, MURDER OF NEIGHBOR

Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed and raped McCollum before fleeing the store in her car.

Three women saw Randolph leaving and called the sheriff’s office after noticing the store was in disarray.

A responding deputy found McCollum still alive and took her to a hospital, where she remained in a coma. She died six days later of severe brain injuries, doctors said.

Randolph was arrested soon after at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and cash in stolen lottery tickets. Investigators said he admitted to the attack and led them to bloody clothing he had discarded.

The Florida Supreme Court last week denied Randolph’s appeal to overturn his conviction. He argued the lower court abused its discretion by denying him access to public records and that his lawyers acted without his consent.

FLORIDA EXTENDS RECORD EXECUTIONS WITH DATE SET FOR MAN WHO FATALLY STABBED COUPLE DURING ROBBERY

Florida has carried out more executions than any other state this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each. Two more executions are planned next month under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. DeSantis.

Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled for Florida’s 18th execution Dec. 9. He was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion robbery.

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Frank Athen Walls, 58, will become Florida’s 19th executed prisoner on Dec. 18. He was convicted of fatally shooting a man and a woman during a home invasion robbery and later confessed to three other killings.

Florida’s lethal injections use a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Mississippi’s top law enforcement officer said the Magnolia State will welcome ICE agents with open arms compared to their clashes with public officials in California, Illinois and North Carolina – as reports surfaced of an upcoming “Swamp Sweep.”

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to send 250 border agents to areas in Mississippi and Louisiana for a two-month crackdown, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told Fox News Digital on Thursday that her office is proud to have been the first in the state to sign on as a formal ICE law enforcement partner.

“We look forward to working with Secretary Noem and the president to protect our communities and strengthen our efforts to combat human trafficking, drug cartels, and violent crime,” Fitch said.

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“Together, we will make Mississippi – and our entire nation – safer than ever before.”

Another top Mississippi official, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee for Border Security and Enforcement.

Guest’s district runs close to New Orleans, spanning diagonally from Starkville – home of Mississippi State University – down to McComb, just north of the New Orleans metro, where the operation will reportedly have a key focus.

DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

“The men and women of ICE and CBP have been tasked with enforcing the law and working to remove the 15 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States,” Guest told Fox News Digital.

Guest praised ICE for successfully removing unlawfully present people charged and convicted of serious crimes, including offenses against children and suspects who pose a danger to local communities.

“I am confident that Operation ‘Swamp Sweep’ will have the same success as other operations across our nation,” Guest said.

250 BORDER AGENTS TO DEPLOY TO LOUISIANA FOR ‘SWAMP SWEEP,’ REPORT SAYS

“This will result in locating, arresting, and deporting criminal illegal aliens who are residing in Mississippi.”

Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss. – who represents Memphis’ southern suburbs as well as Elvis Presley’s hometown of Tupelo – told Fox News Digital he also supports ICE’s mission.

“I am in favor of getting any criminal illegal immigrant off the streets,” Kelly said.

DHS ARRESTS CHICAGO’S ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ AMID SURGE IN DOMESTIC TERROR ATTACKS

“And I support law enforcement in their efforts to keep our communities safe.”

When asked about the “Swamp Sweep” mission, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said her agency does not discuss future or potential operations.

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“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country,” she said.

In prior ICE operations, DHS was buffeted by official and legal roadblocks tossed in their way by local leaders.

California officials condemned President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reportedly conceived “No ICE” zones and compared Trump’s government to the Confederacy.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves did not respond to requests for comment on “Swamp Sweep.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to Mississippi’s most prominent Democrat and Trump critic, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Hinds County, but he did not respond to a request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.