January Littlejohn

January Littlejohn
Born	1976 (age 48–49)
Occupation	mental health counselor
Employer
Organization
Agent
Known for	opposing the efforts of her child's school to provide LGBTQ+ rights.
Notable credit
Label
Opponent
Criminal charge
Spouse
Partner
Parent

January Littlejohn holds a sign, saying, 'its time to talk about detransition'.

January Littlejohn is an American mother and gender counselor. She first rose to prominence when Ron DeSantos, the Governor of Florida, cited her in a speech on the dangers to conservative parents, that liberal school official will covertly aid their children to live a transgendered life, at school.

President Donald Trump invited her as a guest during the first State of the Union address to Congress, and referred to her, by name, when he said the children were at risk of unauthorized gender re-assignment, from liberal school officials.

Littlejohn's family

The daughter of Littlejohn, and her husband, was thirteen years old, in 2020. According to Littlejohn, she made the unpleasant discovery that her daughter's school had been treating her according to its internal rules for transgender children, without discussing it with her.

In a profile in The Telegraph Littlejohn described decisions about how the school should treat her daughter's gender expression were made without her input, because the school was concerned discussing this with parents could trigger them to abuse their children.

Her story, as told by Govenor Ron Desantos

Ron Desantos's described Littlejohn finding out her daughter's school had decided, on its own initiative, that she should be treated "as a boy". Desantos used the Littlejohn family's experience as a justification for the Parental Rights in Education bill, known as the "Don't Say Gay Bill".

After Govenor Desantos cited her as an example of a system gone wrong, CNN delved into the public record, and found documents that eroded Littlejohn's description. In particular, they found an email exchange that undermined Littlejohn's assertion that the school was acting without her consent.

“This has been an incredibly difficult situation for our family and her father and I are trying to be as supportive as we can. She is currently identifying as non-binary. She would like to go by the new name [redacted] and prefers the pronouns they/them. We have not changed her name at home yet, but I told her if she wants to go by the name [redacted] with her teachers, I won’t stop her.”

Littlejohn's story, as told by President Donald Trump

During his 2025 State of the Union address to Congress Trump mentioned Littlejohn, calling her a "courageous advocate". He nodded to her as he outlined plans to “protect our children from toxic ideologies in our schools.”

Littlejohn's lawsuit against the School district

The Littlejohns sued the School District, claiming their parental rights to direct the upbringing of their children had been violated. The case appeared before District Court Judge Mark E. Walker, in December 2022.

The Littlejohns appeal was dismissed, by a three judge Appeals Court, on March 13, 2025. Appeals Judge Kevin C. Newsom, who had voted for dismissal, wrote an opinion that showed sympathy for the Littlejohns, and contained advice to politicians. Newsom wrote that the case before them was whether the School District's actions were consistent with the U.S. Constitution. They agreed they were consistent with the Constitution, but went on to call the School District's actions "Shameful", adding...

“If I were a legislator, I’d vote to change the policy that enabled the defendants’ efforts to keep the Littlejohns in the dark. But — and it’s a big but — judges aren’t just politicians in robes, and they don’t (or certainly shouldn’t) just vote their personal preferences. The question for me, therefore, isn’t whether the defendants’ conduct was shameful, but rather whether it was unconstitutional.”