Employees in Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office who registered for a May 2025 “Transgender 101” webinar were told to “be alert to colleagues who are intolerant” and “deal with” them “immediately,” according to documents obtained by Alpha News.
Presented by transgender lawyer Ellen Krug, the “Transgender 101 for Legal Professionals” training materials seem to go beyond basic workplace nondiscrimination guidance, addressing how attorneys and workplace leaders should respond to employees and family members who disagree with gender transitions.
Krug, also a member of the Eastern Carver County School Board, writes that the training is designed to help legal professionals understand how to make “a transgender person feel welcomed and accepted” and address the challenges that “exist with trans people and their families who interact with the legal system.” Krug’s website states that the “Transgender 101” talk has been “given hundreds of times” to various entities.
Among the instructions, the materials state that lawyers may need to seek supervised parenting time for a parent who does not affirm a child’s gender identity.
“In some instances, you may need a court order requiring supervised parenting time for the non-accepting parent,” state the documents, which were emailed out to participating staff members.
In cases where a spouse is transitioning, the training materials note that “religion/spiritual affiliation” may “complicate things.”
“Religion/spiritual affiliation (‘that transitioning genders goes against God’s plan’) may complicate things — again, the cisgender spouse needs to see a therapist,” the documents say, recommending therapy for the transitioning spouse as well.
The documents also address what to do “if you get a ‘religious objection'” while repeatedly directing readers to be on the lookout for “intolerant” colleagues.
“Be alert to colleagues who are intolerant; deal with that person immediately before you have a major HR problem on your hands. Stress that your workplace is respectful of all humans, particularly those from marginalized communities. If you get a ‘religious objection,’ recite how state or local law (hopefully) requires accommodating transitioning team members,” says a section on “the Transitioning Colleague.”
“Do not let an intolerant team member mentor or supervise a trans or nonbinary person,” that section adds. Similarly, the documents say that “intolerant team members” should not be allowed to “represent or meaningfully interact” with a transgender client or client representative.
The materials also warn participants about experts with “anti-trans agendas” and advise attorneys that they “need to push back against this stuff.”
Among other things, the documents state that child transitions are “not a phase or a fad (in most cases),” encourage the placement of LGBTQ symbols in reception areas, and recommended publishing an “easy-to-access” webpage on “the firm’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Mark Trammell, CEO of the Center for American Liberty, said the materials raise concerns about the First Amendment, religious liberty, and parental rights.
“My first reaction to these materials is really just how radicalized the Minnesota AG’s office has become under Keith Ellison,” said Trammell, whose organization obtained the documents through a data request. “There are pieces of this training that are really contrary to our most basic constitutional freedoms.”
Trammell said the materials contradict protections for religious beliefs and parental decision-making under the First and 14th Amendments.
He also said the presumption that conservative Christian parents could be considered unfit because of their religious beliefs is “a very un-American proposition for the Attorney General’s Office to be endorsing to its staff.”
The suggestions surrounding employees with religious objections to transgender issues were equally concerning for Trammell.
“Whether someone can actually have a diverse space in the AG’s office, and feel welcome in that office, and feel like they can perform their job in that office without being discriminated against by their senior members of the team [is] a really big concern,” he said.
According to Trammell, the records do not establish that the materials distributed to the AG’s office employees constitute official policy for the entire office. However, he believes distributing the materials could still cause employees to perceive the guidance as a form of policy.
“When this is being sent by someone who is higher ranking in the office, perhaps your superior, even if it’s not an official policy, often it carries the weight of an official policy because of the channels in which it’s being distributed to the staff,” he said.
Now, the Center for American Liberty plans to continue its investigation on what Trammell called an “extraordinarily abhorrent” training. His plan is to file additional public records requests to the AG’s office in hopes of getting more questions answered.
“I have more questions now than I did when we first filed the request,” he said.
In a statement to Alpha News, the Attorney General’s Office said the materials “were part of one of the many voluntary, internal training opportunities” the office regularly offers.
“They reflect the perspectives of the community member that led the informational seminar,” the statement said, before providing a list of what it described as steps Ellison has “taken in just the last couple weeks to protect Minnesotans.”
The Attorney General’s Office said it was providing that list because it believes “Minnesotans will be interested in news with greater direct impact on their lives than an entirely voluntary internal training opportunity …”
Rachael Van Rossum
Rachael Van Rossum is a journalist and author who studies political science in the Twin Cities. She previously interned with the Illinois House of Representatives and recently published her debut fantasy novel "The Hellburner of Sovi." Rachael is passionate about telling compelling stories and bringing to life the voices of political figures, athletes, and members of her community through engaging writing. She is the Alpha News journalism fellow for the summer of 2026.
