The Department of Justice joined forces with Elon Musk on Friday by backing a lawsuit his company xAI brought against Colorado alleging a state law regulating artificial intelligence developers was a masked effort to force them to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion on their platforms.

DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said DOJ’s intervention was the department’s first constitutional challenge in an AI case. 

Colorado faces allegations from the DOJ and xAI that its state law, set to take effect in June, violates the First and Fourteenth amendments by forcing AI developers to inadvertently discriminate, an allegation familiar to Colorado, which has faced a string of legal losses in other high-profile culture-war cases in recent years. 

«We join @xai’s landmark suit, and stand against woke DEI standards being imposed by Colorado,» Dhillon said.

COLORADO’S LATEST SUPREME COURT LOSS ADDS TO GROWING STRING OF CULTURE WAR DEFEATS

The lawsuit arose from a controversial consumer protection bill the Colorado legislature passed in 2024 that required «high-risk» developers like xAI, which built the popular platform Grok, to exercise «reasonable care» to protect consumers from «algorithmic discrimination,» saying AI tools must not result in discrimination based on protected classes in the state, such as race and religion. Musk founded xAI in 2023. 

The Colorado law also targeted entities that deploy the AI platforms, like hospitals or banks, saying the law was intended to make sure consumers in those areas were treated fairly.

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis reluctantly signed the bill into law in 2024 but has raised concerns over whether it would alienate tech innovators in his state because of the slate of burdensome regulations it imposed on them. Fox News Digital reached out to Polis’ office for comment on DOJ’s intervention in the lawsuit.

The DOJ lawyers argued in their lawsuit that Colorado’s bill actually «fosters further discrimination,» citing language in the bill that allowed AI developers to favor certain classes of people in their AI tools when it was «to increase diversity or redress historical discrimination.»

LEFT-LEANING ACTRESS NATASHA LYONNE LEADING EFFORTS TO LOBBY TRUMP ADMIN ON AI REGULATION

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks to members of the media in the spin room following the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York on Oct. 1, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

The law «jeopardizes the United States’ position as the global AI leader by requiring AI systems to incorporate discriminatory ideology that prioritizes preferred demographic characteristics and outcomes over accurate and merit-based outputs,» government lawyers wrote.

The DOJ’s lawsuit focused on what it alleged were equal protection violations, while Musk’s xAI lawsuit alleged numerous violations, including unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. xAI lawyers contended in their complaint, brought earlier this month, that the law would force AI developers to output «progressive ideology.»

«By requiring ‘developers’ and ‘deployers’ to differentiate between discrimination that Colorado disfavors and discrimination that Colorado favors, SB24-205 compels Plaintiff xAI—a ‘developer’ under the law—to alter Grok, forcing Grok’s output on certain State-selected subjects to conform to a controversial, highly politicized viewpoint,» xAI lawyers wrote.

The Grok application appears on a smartphone screen in Athens, Greece, on Oct. 2, 2025. (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto)

One law firm said Colorado would become a «national test case» for AI consumer protection, saying it was the first state to pass such a law, suggesting the state would once again become a case study on how far it could push constitutional bounds.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court found 8-1 that Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, signed into law by Polis in 2019, violated the First Amendment because it only restricted certain types of speech, in this case talk therapy when the therapy aimed to prevent minors from embracing being transgender or gay.

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That ruling followed a broad free speech decision in 303 Creative related to a website designer’s right to deny creating a wedding page for a gay couple based on religious beliefs and a narrower 2018 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

The libertarian CATO Institute observed a trend in Colorado, citing the trio of recent landmark Supreme Court cases.

«This law will inevitably result in developers restricting lawful speech from their AIs in the name of compliance, especially given Colorado’s view of what constitutes harmful discrimination,» CATO fellow David Inserra wrote. «And Colorado clearly has strong views on what kinds of speech are harmful and discriminatory, as seen in its multiple losses at the Supreme Court.»

Fox News Digital reached out to an xAI attorney on Friday. 

EXCLUSIVE: A new Pentagon review of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is set to declassify previously restricted materials from earlier investigations, reopening scrutiny of key decisions made during the Biden administration’s botched 2021 exit from the country. 

The review will include interview transcripts, internal documents and prior findings that officials say were overclassified, according to Pentagon adviser Stu Scheller.

«We plan to declassify all of the documents that we source in this investigation — all the interview transcripts, all the previous investigations that the Biden administration did that have been overclassified,» Scheller told Fox News Digital. «We’re going to declassify all of it so that everyone can make assessments for themselves.»

Unlike earlier reviews that cataloged failures but stopped short of pinning down individual responsibility, this Pentagon effort is examining a broader set of records and conducting extensive interviews with both senior military leaders and rank-and-file troops — a scope officials say could reopen unanswered questions about who made the key decisions during the 2021 withdrawal.

«There will be accountability,» Scheller said. 

GOLD STAR FATHER SAYS PRIOR AFGHANISTAN REVIEW SMELLED ‘LIKE A COVER-UP’ AS NEW LOOK EXAMINES MILLIONS OF DOCS

«We’ve talked to many people, all the key generals… and we also interviewed thousands of young service members,» Scheller told Fox News Digital of the report. «One of the things they said was that they didn’t feel like their experiences were validated.»

President Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted the previous Biden administration over the Abbey Gate tragedy that killed 13 U.S. service members, calling the 2021 withdrawal «a Biden disaster» and «the lowest point in the history of our country.» The administration in May 2025 ordered a new Pentagon review as part of what officials described as his push for accountability.

Scheller’s role in the review marks a striking reversal for a Marine officer who was previously punished after publicly criticizing the military’s handling of the withdrawal.

Then a lieutenant commanding an infantry training unit at Camp Lejeune, Scheller drew national attention in August 2021 after posting a viral video in uniform demanding accountability from senior leaders. He was relieved of command, placed in pretrial confinement and later pleaded guilty at a court-martial.

«I just felt like there wasn’t another voice that was going to advocate for the emperor’s not wearing clothes,» Scheller said. «I didn’t do it haphazardly.»

«God was with me on that one. I got through it. Here I am influencing the changes I originally pointed out.»

British and American security forces maintain order among Afghan evacuees inside Abbey Gate in Kabul on Aug. 25, 2021, during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Marcus Lam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

Previous investigations by Congress, the Pentagon and federal watchdogs identified a range of failures in planning and executing the withdrawal, including gaps in evacuation efforts, intelligence assessments and senior-level decision-making.

A Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee report found the State Department failed to develop a plan to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies despite mounting warnings that Kabul could fall, delaying evacuation efforts until the Taliban entered the capital.

The report also said U.S. officials were tracking credible threats of a suicide attack in the days leading up to the Abbey Gate bombing — including intelligence pointing to a potential ISIS-K attack at the airport — but operations at the gate continued.

Those conditions are now being reexamined as part of the Pentagon’s review, including how actions by Marines on the ground were recognized.

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Scheller said his team focused early on the unit stationed at Abbey Gate, where several Marines had been nominated for higher awards that were later downgraded during the approval process.

«They had actually submitted awards that were downgraded. So we didn’t create these awards out of nothing,» Scheller said. «All seven of these awards were submitted and we had the formal paperwork from the original write-up.»

Evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 23. (Sgt. Isaiah Campbell/U.S. Marine Corps)

The upgrades affected Marines from Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, including cases where commendation medals were elevated to include valor devices and, in one instance, a Bronze Star was upgraded to reflect combat heroism.

The bombing at Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 150 Afghans, marking the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in years.

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The Biden administration has defended its handling of the withdrawal, arguing the decision ended America’s longest war and prevented further U.S. casualties, while accusing critics of politicizing the issue.

A spokesperson for former President Joe Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

El crimen de la modelo Carolina Flores Gómez en su casa de Ciudad de México desató una ola de indignación en todo México. La violencia del hecho y el perfil de la principal sospechosa, su suegra Erika María Herrera, de 63 años, pusieron el caso en el centro de la escena pública.

Las autoridades de la Ciudad de México mantienen activa la búsqueda de la mujer, mientras la investigación avanza bajo el protocolo de feminicidio.

El vínculo familiar y el video clave que complica a la sospechosa

El crimen quedó grabado por una cámara de seguridad. En las imágenes, se observa a Carolina en bata, mientras intercambia unas palabras con su suegra, que tiene la mano en su pantalón.

Luego, la exreina de belleza se dirige hacia otra habitación, mientras su suegra va detrás de ella.

Leé también: Influencer y mamá de un bebé de 8 meses: quién era la modelo que fue asesinada a tiros por su suegra en México

Segundos después ingresan a un cuarto, donde ya no se alcanza a ver exactamente lo que ocurre, solo se escuchan disparos y gritos.

Enseguida llegó el esposo de Carolina, Alejandro Sánchez, con su beba de ocho meses en brazos y le pregunta: “¿qué hiciste mamá?”, a lo que la mujer contesta: “nada, me hizo enojar”.

El hombre observa lo ocurrido y agrega: “es mi familia”. Finalmente, ella responde: “tu familia es mía, tú eres mío y ella te robó”.

Este elemento es considerado clave por los investigadores, ya que apunta a un posible móvil vinculado al control o la obsesión.

Sgún declaró Sánchez ante las autoridades, la relación entre su madre y la modelo estaba marcada por tensiones constantes, lo que incluso motivó a la pareja a mudarse de Ensenada, Baja California, a la Ciudad de México tras el nacimiento de su hija.

“La madre de Alejandro acusaba a Carolina de ‘separarlos’. Solo vino a Ciudad de México a matar a Carolina”, aseguró el periodista especializado Carlos Jímenez, quién reveló el video del crimen.

La actitud serena que mostró la mujer antes del ataque refuerza la hipótesis de que el crimen fue premeditado, según indicaron expertos al diario Debate.

Paramédicos confirmaron que Carolina Flores murió por un disparo en la cabeza. También recibió disparos en el pecho. En el lugar, la policía secuestró un arma de fuego, siete vainas servidas y cuatro balas deformadas.

Otro dato impactante es que Alejandro, el esposo de Carolina, recién al día siguiente se presentó en la Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México para denunciar el crimen y señalar a su madre. Según la madre de la víctima, Reyna Gómez Molina, el joven le dijo que actuó de esa forma para tratar de proteger a su hija.

El pasado político de Erika Herrera y el impacto en Baja California

Antes de este crimen, Erika Herrera tuvo participación en la política local. En 2016, se postuló como candidata a regidora en Ensenada, Baja California, el mismo municipio del que era originaria Carolina Flores.

El pedido de la mamá de la modelo a su consuegra

En una entrevista con el cnal Univisión, Reyna Gómez Molina mandó un mensaje directo a la suegra de su hija, pidiendo que tenga el valor de entregarse.

“No tengo miedo, mi mayor miedo era pasar por esto, lo único que quiero es que se haga justicia que pague la persona que tiene que pagar», sostuvo.

.Y continuó: “No entiendo cómo una mamá me hizo pasar este dolor. Si la señora me está escuchando, por favor, entréguese, sé que va a ser muy difícil dar ese paso, sé que está fugitiva, pero la vamos a encontrar porque todo Ensenada estamos buscando justicia por mi hija”.

Actualmente, las autoridades desplegaron operativos en todo el país para localizar a Erika Herrera y emitieron alertas migratorias para evitar que salga de México.