A Rare Opportunity for Real Family-Court Reform: My DOJ Investigation Request
- Ryan Alvar
- Oct 22
- 5 min read
Intro / Preview:
After more than a year of fighting for my children and documenting constitutional violations inside the family-court system, I’ve submitted formal requests to the U.S. Department of Justice and five additional federal offices to investigate criminal conduct and civil-rights abuses in family courts. This post shares those filings, explains what they mean, and—at the end—invites you to sign a petition that could truly make a difference in demanding federal action and long-overdue family-court reform.
How It Started — and Why It Matters Now
For more than a year, I’ve been fighting to protect my children from a system that ignored clear evidence, rewarded false allegations, and violated the very constitutional rights it was designed to uphold.
I haven’t had my children in over fifteen months—and despite a state court order from October 23, 2024 declaring that the State of Minnesota had no issue with me as a parent and that I love and care for my children, the system has continued to obstruct my ability to see them.
I’m not new to parenting—I’ve successfully raised two older children, one currently completing a Master of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, and another a high-school senior preparing for college.
I know what a healthy home looks like, and I know what it feels like when government systems take that away.
The Civil Case That Started It
My federal civil-rights lawsuit, Alvar v. State of Minnesota et al., No. 25-cv-2792 (KMM/LIB), is already underway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
It names 27 defendants—including the State of Minnesota itself; multiple judges; the court-appointed guardian ad litem; several counties and cities; numerous attorneys and their law firms; and several government-funded organizations.
This case details how constitutional protections such as due process, equal protection, freedom of speech, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure were violated repeatedly inside the family-court process.
But one parent, even in federal court, can only go so far against a network of powerful institutions and law firms, many backed by the State.
Why I’ve Asked the Department of Justice to Step In
That’s why I’ve now submitted formal Briefing Memoranda and supporting evidence to six federal agencies requesting a coordinated criminal investigation that mirrors the constitutional violations described in my civil case.
These agencies include:
U.S. Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section
U.S. Department of Justice – Office of the Inspector General (Investigations Division)
U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Minnesota
U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Inspector General
Legal Services Corporation – Office of Inspector General
Each packet requests oversight under the DOJ’s investigative and enforcement authority granted by:
18 U.S.C. §§ 241–242, 1503, 1512, 1519, 1030 and 34 U.S.C. § 12601 — federal laws empowering the Department of Justice to investigate civil-rights violations, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and systemic misconduct by public officials.
Why This Moment Matters
This is an extraordinarily rare situation—a state custody case that has advanced into federal civil-rights court and now carries the potential for a Department of Justice investigation.
Few family-court cases ever reach this stage.
If the DOJ acts, it could open the door to exposing how broken our family-court system is, spurring long-overdue national reform and accountability within the family-court system.
I don’t have the resources that these agencies and law firms have, but I have something they don’t — the truth, backed by evidence.
The record includes emails, text messages, phone and video recordings, law-enforcement investigations, sworn courtroom testimony, photographs, and witness statements—a body of evidence that should have ended this nightmare long ago. Instead, that same evidence was ignored. For publishing a court-appointed official’s report that exposed these issues, I was fined, held in contempt, and even jailed. Agencies that knew the truth refused to act; courts that saw the proof looked away. Every level of the system that should have provided protection became part of the obstruction.
By helping bring the DOJ into this process, you help give this evidence the scrutiny it deserves and help shine a light on how family courts operate behind closed doors.
Read the Full DOJ Requests
Below you can read each cover letter and memorandum that was sent to the relevant federal offices:
U.S. Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division DOJ Briefing Memorandum (PDF)
U.S. Department of Justice – Office of the Inspector General DOJ Briefing Memorandum (PDF)
U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Minnesota DOJ Briefing Memorandum (PDF)
U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of Wisconsin DOJ Briefing Memorandum (PDF)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services DOJ Briefing Memorandum (PDF)
Legal Services Corporation – Office of Inspector General DOJ Briefing Memorandum (PDF)
You can also read the full federal civil-rights complaint here which was included with each DOJ Briefing Memorandum above:
How You Can Help
This is an opportunity that doesn’t come often.
A case like this can finally bring national visibility to the corruption, bias, and lack of accountability that have been allowed to thrive inside America’s family courts.
By signing and sharing this petition, you’re doing more than supporting one parent — you’re sending a message directly to the U.S. Department of Justice that there is a problem, and it can no longer be ignored.
You’re telling federal investigators that this case proves what parents across the country have been saying for decades: our family-court system routinely violates constitutional rights, and it must be investigated.
This federal case is evidence of that truth.
If the DOJ investigates and confirms these violations here, it will set a precedent for oversight and reform nationwide.
It will prove that when state courts deny parents due process, equal protection, and free speech, they are not just mishandling family matters — they are violating the same constitutional protections that every citizen is guaranteed in criminal court.
We would never accept these violations—denial of due process, suppression of evidence, retaliation for protected speech, unequal treatment under the law, unlawful searches and seizures, and the denial of a fair and impartial tribunal—in a criminal courtroom.
So why do we accept them in family court?
The answer is: we shouldn’t, and we don’t have to anymore.
Your signature is your voice demanding accountability, transparency, and reform.
It tells the Department of Justice that the time for excuses has ended and that families across this country are demanding real oversight and change.
🔗 Sign and Share the Petition: Urge DOJ to investigate family-court violations
🔁 Join the Fight for Reform
I have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging systemic misconduct by judges, attorneys, and state agencies that has stripped parents of their rights and traumatized countless children.
With 27 defendants, including the State of Minnesota, this case seeks accountability — and reform.
Join me in taking this mission national.
✅ How You Can Help
✅ Subscribe: Stay updated — Contact
✅ Visit: www.ryanalvar.com
✅ Support the Fight: GoFundMe – Help Cover Legal Costs & Reform Efforts
✅ Follow & Share: Real Dad Initiative
✅ Contact Your Legislators: Demand oversight for Judges, GALs and transparency in family court.
📬 Not sure who represents you? Find out here → 🔗 https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/iMaps/districts/
Across the country, I’ve heard from parents who’ve lost everything—some haven’t seen their children in years. When the system designed to protect families becomes the weapon that destroys them, it’s time for change. We must fix this broken family court system. Until that day, I’ll keep fighting—for our children, for truth, and for justice.
"477 days since my children were kidnapped. This isn't over."
Ryan William Alvar
Parent and Plaintiff
