Anthony Brown

Anthony Brown
Nationality	American
Occupation	Attorney, politician
Title	Attorney General of Maryland
Known for	Serving as Attorney General of Maryland; former U.S. Representative; former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

Anthony Gregory Brown is an American attorney and politician serving as the Attorney General of Maryland. A Democrat, he has held several major posts in state politics: Lieutenant Governor under Martin O'Malley from 2007 to 2015, and U.S. Representative for Maryland's 4th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. Brown is a U.S. Army veteran whose career spans military service, legislative work, and executive leadership. As Attorney General, he has pursued numerous legal actions on behalf of the state, including high-profile suits against the federal government. He was the first African American elected as Attorney General of Maryland and the first person of color to serve as Lieutenant Governor of the state.

Early life

Anthony Gregory Brown was born to a father of Jamaican heritage and a mother of Swiss descent. Growing up with both Caribbean and European backgrounds shaped his worldview and later political identity, themes he would return to throughout his public career.

Brown joined the United States Army early in his adult life. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and later a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, credentials that anchored his later legal and political work. Over several decades of military service, he rose to the rank of colonel in the Army Reserve. In 2004, he deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as a senior civil affairs officer focused on reconstruction and governance. The experience earned him commendations and informed how he approached leadership and public service in his later political roles.

Career

Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (2007–2015)

Brown served as Maryland's 48th Lieutenant Governor from January 2007 to January 2015 under Governor Martin O'Malley. His portfolio covered military and veterans affairs, workforce development, and the state's rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Leading the launch of Maryland's health insurance exchange became a defining and contested chapter of his tenure. The exchange website experienced significant technical failures upon its launch in October 2013, forcing the state to scrap the system and rebuild it at considerable cost, generating substantial political fallout.

Brown ran for Governor in 2014 as the Democratic nominee. He was widely considered the frontrunner for most of the race, but lost the general election to Republican Larry Hogan by a margin of roughly 67,000 votes, a result that shocked many in the Democratic establishment. Analysts attributed the loss partly to voter frustration over the failed health exchange and to the broader national political environment working against Democrats in the 2014 midterms.

U.S. House of Representatives (2017–2023)

After his 2014 gubernatorial defeat, Brown ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 and won the seat for Maryland's 4th congressional district, which covers parts of Prince George's County and Anne Arundel County. He took office in January 2017 and served three terms, choosing not to seek reelection in 2022. During his time in the House, Brown served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, among others. He was a member of both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and focused legislative attention on veterans affairs, military policy, and civil rights issues.

In 2022, Brown opted to run for Attorney General of Maryland rather than seek a fourth House term.

Attorney General of Maryland (2023–present)

Brown was elected Attorney General of Maryland in November 2022, defeating Republican Michael Peroutka, and took office in January 2023. As the state's chief legal officer, he has overseen the Office of the Attorney General's work on consumer protection, public safety, environmental law, and civil rights. Not all of his decisions have been without controversy.

Police accountability

Brown's office is responsible for investigating police-involved deaths in Maryland under a 2021 state law. The Baltimore Beat reported in 2025 that Brown's office had cleared officers of wrongdoing in approximately 95 percent of the police-involved death cases it investigated, a figure critics argued showed a systemic reluctance to hold law enforcement accountable. One prominent case involved Dontae Melton, who died in June 2025. Brown's office declined to bring charges against any of the ten officers who were present during Melton's death, a decision that drew criticism from civil rights advocates.

Gender-affirming care

Brown has also opposed federal efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care. His office formally opposed Trump administration proposals aimed at limiting such care, arguing the measures violated established medical standards and civil rights protections.

Federal tariff challenge

Brown cited a federal court ruling in 2025 that invalidated key components of President Trump's tariff orders, arguing the decision showed the administration had exceeded its authority on trade policy. Maryland was among the states that supported legal challenges to those tariffs, and Brown's office pointed to the ruling as a win for states contesting executive overreach on economic matters.

Lawsuit over ICE detention center in Washington County

In February 2026, Brown filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to block construction of a $102.4 million ICE detention center in Washington County, Maryland, near Williamsport. The suit sought to stop the federal government from converting a warehouse into a large immigration detention facility, arguing it had skipped required environmental review and violated other legal standards.

Brown argued that the federal plans violated both state and federal law and that the proposed detention center endangered the surrounding community and environment. WBAL News Radio noted the lawsuit specifically challenged the Department of Homeland Security's warehouse conversion decision, framing it as part of Maryland's broader effort to contest federal immigration enforcement actions within the state. Fox Baltimore also reported on the suit, detailing the environmental and procedural grounds Brown's office raised against the project.

Political reaction split sharply along party lines. Maryland's Republican leaders opposed the legal action, contending the ICE detention center served a legitimate federal law enforcement function. According to 930 WFMD, Maryland Republicans called the lawsuit politically motivated and accused Brown of obstructing federal immigration enforcement. MarylandReporter.com described it as Brown suing the Trump administration to block what it called a "massive ICE detention center" in Washington County.

Such suits aren't unusual. State attorneys general across the country have challenged federal immigration policy in court. For Brown, the lawsuit reflected his stated priorities as Attorney General: protecting Maryland communities and holding federal agencies to environmental and procedural legal standards.

Personal life

Brown served in both active duty and reserve capacities throughout his Army career. His 2004 Iraq deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom shaped his perspective on governance and law. He achieved the rank of colonel in the Army Reserve and has spoken publicly about how military service informed his approach to leadership and public accountability.

He lives in Maryland and has been involved in state politics and civic life for over two decades.

Recognition

Brown was the first person of color to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and later became the first African American elected as Attorney General of Maryland. Military commendations for his Iraq deployment recognized his service in that role as well.

As Attorney General, he has drawn significant attention for taking on the federal government through litigation across multiple policy areas, from immigration enforcement to trade policy to civil rights. His February 2026 lawsuit against the Trump administration over the proposed Washington County ICE detention center received wide coverage from Maryland and national news outlets, showing his standing as a state attorney general willing to challenge the federal executive branch on legal and procedural grounds.