A federal judge on Friday tossed out a pre-emptive lawsuit from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who sought to stave off legal action by New York Attorney General Letita James over his decision banning transgender women from playing sports at county-owned facilities, James’ office said.

Blakeman in February issued an executive order effectively barring trans women and girls from participating in women’s sports teams at facilities run by the county. He also forced sports leagues to comply or lose access to fields and facilities. In March, James threatened to sue Blakeman if he didn’t rescind his executive order.

The county executive responded by filing a suit citing the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to equal protection under the law. He also claimed his ban enforced Title IX, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs.

Blakeman’s office did not immediately respond to email messages about the judge’s decision. He has previously signaled he would appeal any adverse ruling, even as his executive order drew recrimination from Democrats statewide, including Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Blakeman has been at the forefront of culture-war controversies since taking office in January 2022, when he blocked enforcement of the state’s mask mandate. The following year, he criticized the state’s ban on Native American imagery for school mascots and team names, and frequently appeared on Fox News to defend Daniel Penny, the Marine Corps veteran accused of choking a homeless man to death on the New York City subway.

At a press conference last month, Blakeman said in response to James’ threat of litigation on the trans ban that a judge would “make a determination and whatever judge may make that determination … we follow the law here in Nassau.”

This is a developing story and may be updated.