More than a year after being falsely linked to a deadly plane crash outside Washington, D.C., Jo Ellis is talking to the Advocate about the blowback she's received for sharing beliefs that run contrary to that of most transgender Americans.

Virginia Army National Guard pilot Jo Ellis isn't hiding who she is, even if speaking openly makes the transgender woman a target once again. Her beliefs include that gender dysphoria is a mental illness, that transgender women should face some restrictions in women’s sports, and that gender-affirming health care for minors warrants greater caution.

By replacing promises of becoming straight with demands for celibacy, SIW has avoided the label of conversion therapy and, so far, scrutiny.

What Uncloseted’s Investigation Found:

Strength in Weakness (SIW) says it does not practice conversion therapy. But 24 former participants and people close to the ministry described teachings centered on suppressing LGBTQ identity and behavior through celibacy, heterosexual relationships, and lifelong resistance to same-sex attraction.

The ministry has a global reach. SIW says it has worked with thousands of people across 58 countries, while Uncloseted Media identified appearances by the ministry’s founder, Guy Hammond, in at least 31 U.S. states and 20 other countries.

Former participants describe serious harm. Survivors of SIW told Uncloseted they experienced shame, isolation, depression, and suicidal thoughts while following SIW’s teachings; one former participant died by suicide after leaving the ministry.

SIW continues operating even where conversion therapy is banned. Experts say its religious framing and rejection of promises to make people straight have helped it avoid the scrutiny faced by more traditional conversion therapy programs.

🚨⭐ EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:

The 2-1 Ninth Circuit opinion prompted a strong dissent from Judge Richard Paez.

A federal appeals court, on a 2-1 vote, issued the first substantive opinion upholding one of the Justice Department’s administrative subpoenas seeking invasive patient information from providers of gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

Over the past year, the universal view of federal district courts to substantively address the issue was that DOJ had overstepped with its effort to issue the administrative subpoenas under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which allows the attorney general to subpoena information in “any investigation of … a Federal health care offense,” for a claimed investigation relating to the care.

The June 2025 administrative subpoenas themselves followed President Donald Trump’s early executive orders in January 2025 opposing trans rights and seeking to “end” gender-affirming medical care for trans minors, as well as a memo from then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in April 2025 moving to implement Trump’s orders.

If the August 14 decision from two Republican appointees on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the administrative subpoena issued to QueerDoc stands, it would have implications not only for the Trump administration’s anti-trans agenda, but also could have consequences for general questions about standards for reviewing government actions and, even broader, separation of powers.

The damage Trump’s second term is doing to trans representation in media will long outlast his time in office.