OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown is urging a district court to enforce an order protecting SNAP recipients across the country.

AG Brown says that he made the request in light of new threats from the USDA.

Brown and several other Attorneys General filed a lawsuit against the USDA last year after the agency requested personal data from millions of SNAP recipients.

“The rule of law is on our side,” Brown said. “I have confidence the court will enforce its order to safeguard the private information of SNAP recipients in Washington and around the country.”

A judge with the US District Court for Northern California granted a preliminary injunction that was meant to prevent that data from being shared with the federal government.

But Brown alleges that the USDA is again threatening to cut off SNAP assistance to states that don’t comply with its directive.

Washington receives nearly $130 million a year for the state’s SNAP recipients, which covers some grocery costs for over 24,000 Whatcom County residents.