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Will arrests at White House usher new era of activism?

Gay soldier becomes face of civil disobedience

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Lt. Dan Choi, a gay West Point graduate and Arabic linguist who served as an infantry officer in Iraq, was arrested last week after handcuffing himself to the White House fence in protest of ā€˜Donā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell.ā€™ (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)

A gay solider who handcuffed himself to the White House fence last week in protest of ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tellā€ has emerged as a national figure who is challenging LGBT rights groups to take a more militant posture in the fight for anti-discrimination bills stalled in Congress.

Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Arabic linguist who served as an infantry officer in Iraq, was one of three protesters arrested outside the White House on March 18. Many people see the action as a challenge to gay groups aligned with the Obama administration and Democratic Party leaders in Congress.

ā€œI want to explain why these actions are exactly what we need to be doing as American citizens,ā€ Choi told DC Agenda upon his release from jail March 19. ā€œWhen thereā€™s a time when our leaders are unable, unwilling to do the right thing, somebody has to step up to the responsibility.ā€

His arrest ā€” and comments in a Newsweek interview this week criticizing gay rights leaders for being too closely aligned with the Washington political establishment ā€” comes at a time when some activists and donors are complaining that President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have not pushed hard enough to advance several LGBT rights bills, including the repeal of ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell.ā€

Choi, who is in the process of being discharged from the Army under ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell,ā€ was joined in the White House protest by Jim Pietrangelo, a former Army captain discharged in 2004 for being gay, and Robin McGehee, co-founder of the new LGBT direct action group GetEqual.org.

Pietrangelo also handcuffed himself to the fence while McGehee assisted the two. Police charged all three with refusing to obey a lawful order to disperse, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine.

McGehee agreed to pay a $35 fine to end the case against her in a process known as post and forfeit. But Choi and Pietrangelo pleaded not guilty at an arraignment the following day in D.C. Superior Court after being held overnight in jail. A judge set an April 26 trial date for the two.

Shortly after U.S. Park Police officers arrested Choi and Pietrangelo and uniformed Secret Service officers arrested McGehee, four other protesters affiliated with GetEqual.org were arrested by U.S. Capitol police for staging a sit-in at the Capitol Hill office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Other people were arrested around the same time in Pelosiā€™s district office in San Francisco. The Washington and San Francisco protesters said they were targeting Pelosi for not moving fast enough to schedule a House vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. The long-stalled legislation calls for banning employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

ā€œWe had three simultaneous actions happening at the same time on the same day ā€” with the simple demand that we wanted ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tellā€ repealed immediately and ENDA to be brought to the floor immediately,ā€ McGehee said.

ā€œAnd weā€™ll be back in April,ā€ said McGehee, who lives in Fresno, Calif. ā€œI canā€™t tell you what weā€™re going to do, but weā€™ll be back.ā€

Asked if future actions would involve LGBT protesters getting arrested, McGehee said, ā€œYes, absolutely.ā€

ā€œSome of these will include non-violent civil disobedience that will lead to arrests and some of them will be moments that youā€™re going to highlight injustice through a creative action idea that doesnā€™t include an arrest,ā€ she said.

ā€œBut what weā€™re trying to do is create the lunch-counter moment that highlights the injustice and gives the visual imagery that shows we really are in a civil rights battle,ā€ she said.

McGehee said the ā€œlunch-counter momentā€ was a reference to the famous sit-ins staged by blacks at segregated restaurants and lunch counters in the South during the late the 1950s and early 1960s, when civil rights activists were arrested and jailed.

The non-violent civil disobedience actions organized then by Martin Luther King Jr. and his supporters have been credited with laying the groundwork for Congress to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The act ended segregation by banning discrimination based on race and color in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Gay activists have engaged in civil disobedience actions since the Stonewall riots in New York City ushered in the modern gay rights movement in 1969. Gay and AIDS activists involved with the AIDS protest groups ACT UP engaged in widely publicized civil disobedience actions in the 1980s to challenge inaction on the part of the government to fighting AIDS.

But since the early 1990s, when President Bill Clinton emerged as the first U.S. president to openly support gay rights and gay-supportive Democrats won control of Congress, most of the nationā€™s LGBT groups chose a path of more traditional lobbying and electioneering to build support for gay rights causes.

McGeheeā€™s reference to the arrest actions by black civil rights activists in the South, where police often treated arrested demonstrators harshly, paralleled Choiā€™s arrest outside the White House.

According to D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Yandura, who has served as a spokesperson for Choi and Pietrangelo, Choi recounted a harrowing encounter with a police officer at the cityā€™s Central Cellblock, where the two were taken after their arrest.

Yandura noted that Choi and Pietrangelo wore their military uniforms to the protest and remained dressed in their uniforms during their overnight stay at the cellblock. He said Choi told him an officer at the cellblock ordered him to stand before him at attention and ā€œviolentlyā€ ripped several cloth insignias, including an American flag insignia, from Choiā€™s uniform.

One by one, the officer ripped off the flag insignia, cloth stripes indicating Choiā€™s rank and a cloth U.S. Army insignia, so as ā€œto humiliate him,ā€ Yandura said.

Shortly after being asked about the incident by DC Agenda, Assistant D.C. Police Chief Diane Groomes said she looked into the matter and confirmed that a Park Police officer removed the insignias from both Choi and Pietrangelo’s uniforms at a Park Police holding facility.

She said the incident occurred before the two men were taken to the Central Cellblock, which is operated by D.C. police.

“[D.C. police] were not involved in said matter,” Groomes told DC Agenda in an e-mail. She said Park Police Lt. Phil Beck confirmed to her that an officer with the Park Police removed the two gay men’s uniform insignias, but she did not know why.

A Park Police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Choi challenges HRC

Choi appeared to take a swipe at established LGBT rights groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, in an interview this week with Newsweek, which raised eyebrows among some activists.

ā€œWithin the gay community, so many leaders want acceptance from polite society,ā€ he said in the interview. ā€œI think thereā€™s been a betrayal of what is down inside of us in order to achieve what looks popular, what look enviable.

ā€œThe movement seems to be centered around how to become an elite,ā€ he said. ā€œI would say to them: You do not represent us if all you are looking for is a ladder in to elite society.ā€

He also told Newsweek he believes a ā€œdeep schismā€ exists within the LGBT rights movement, with many gay and transgender youth becoming alienated from the more establishment-oriented groups.

Choiā€™s own plans for the White House protest last week were announced about a half hour before it began during a noon rally in Freedom Plaza that HRC organized jointly with comedienne Kathy Griffin in support of efforts to repeal ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell.ā€

Choi was not a scheduled speaker at the rally. In a statement, HRC spokesperson Trevor Thomas said Choi first asked HRC President Joe Solmonese if the soldier could have a speaking role at the event.

ā€œJoe explained that it wasnā€™t his sole decision to make on the spot given that there was already an established program that included Kathy Griffin, other organizations and veterans,ā€ Thomas said.

But Thomas and others familiar with the rally said Griffin later invited Choi to speak during her allotted time period on the rally stage.

Once on stage, Choi urged rally attendees to march with him to the White House to send a message to ā€œrepeal ā€˜Donā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tellā€™ ā€” not next year, not tomorrow, but now. Now is the time.ā€

He made no mention of his plans to handcuff himself to the White House fence, saying only, ā€œIā€™m going to the White House right now. I want you all to take out your cell phones and any recording devices and document this moment right now as we together make history.ā€

He then turned to Griffin and Solmonese and asked if they would join him in a march to the White House. Griffin said, ā€œOf course,ā€ and Solmonese gave him a thumbs-up signal. But the two later said that they chose to remain at the rally to continue to push for lobbying efforts to repeal ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell.ā€

About 200 people followed Choi and Pietrangelo for the four-block walk from Freedom Plaza to the White House. HRC said more than 1,000 people attended the Freedom Plaza rally.

Phil Attey, a gay D.C. activist and volunteer coordinator for the Obama for president campaign was among those who attended the Freedom Plaza rally. He expressed distaste over Choiā€™s march to the White House, calling it ā€œpolitically unsophisticated beyond belief.ā€

ā€œItā€™s a shame that our community needs to be educated about the political process and they donā€™t get it,ā€ he said. ā€œThey donā€™t understand that Congress needs to be moved on this issue and that people across the country have the power to do that. And if theyā€™re going to get them to yell and scream at the president, weā€™re going to fail, weā€™re going to lose.ā€

But Choi and McGehee said later that Obama isnā€™t pushing hard enough to prod Congress to repeal ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell.ā€ The two said their arrest action was aimed, in part, at pushing the president into including language to repeal ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tellā€ in his 2010 Department of Defense authorization bill, which could enable the repeal to take place this year.

While saying he has great respect for Griffin, a popular comedienne with a large gay following, Choi said he questioned HRCā€™s decision to team up with a comedienne for a rally addressing discrimination against gays in the military.

ā€œ’Donā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell’ is not a laughing matter,ā€ he said in the Newsweek interview.

HRC says differing
tactics no ā€˜schismā€™

Solmonese and two local activists involved in lobbying for D.C.ā€™s same-sex marriage law took exception to some of Choiā€™s comments.

ā€œAny healthy and diverse social movement will have a diversity of voices and opinions,ā€ Solmonese told DC Agenda. ā€œIndividuals and groups will take different approaches based on their ideology, life experience and other sincerely and deeply held beliefs about the political process. This is not indicative of a schism, but rather a sign of vibrant engagement.ā€

And D.C. gay activist Bob Summersgill, who coordinated strategy for lobbying the City Council for approval of a same-sex marriage law, called Choiā€™s criticism of HRC off base.

ā€œDirect action is a very good tactic,ā€ he said. ā€œBut itā€™s most effective when you do it in conjunction with standard lobbying. This past week, Dan Choi had a dual message to pass ENDA and repeal ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell,ā€ but also to attack HRC at the same time.ā€

Summersgill disputed Choiā€™s assertion that national lobbying groups like HRC are more interested in seeking an elitist status than in passing laws.

ā€œHRC is a federal lobbying organization,ā€ he said. ā€œTo pass laws, you have to talk to and build relationships with members of Congress.ā€

Jose Zuniga, who was among the first to challenge ā€œDonā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tellā€ in 1993 as a sergeant in the Army, noted that civil disobedience has an important place in civil rights endeavors, including in the LGBT community.

ā€œI respect Dan Choiā€™s passion and, although I wish he had not engaged in civil disobedience while dressed in an Army uniform, I personally understand, as someone who was discharged from the U.S. Army ā€¦ because I am a gay man, the frustration he and our community rightly feel,ā€ Zuniga said.

Like Summersgill and Solmonese, Zuniga said civil disobedience should be carefully coordinated with legislative advocacy efforts.

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Oklahoma

Medical examine releases final autopsy on Nex Benedict’s death

Okla. high school student died by suicide in February

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Nex Benedict (Family photo)

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office released the full report Wednesday on the results of its investigation into the death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old transgender teen whose death has become a hot button topic in ongoing national discourse over transphobic and homophobic bullying in public school settings.

Earlier this month the medical examiner’s office released the first page of the report stating that Benedictā€™s death was caused by an overdose of Benadryl and Prozac, and ruled the death a suicide.

Owasso Police Department Lt. Nick Boatman said in a statement to the media at the time of the release of the initial finding: ā€œFrom the beginning of this investigation, Owasso Police observed many indications that this death was the result of suicide. However, investigators did not wish to confirm that information without the final results being presented by the Oklahoma Medical Examiners Office.ā€

The Owasso Police Department released body cam footage from the interview conducted by the Owasso High School resource officer taken at the emergency room, investigating the attack on Benedict by three other female juveniles earlier that day in a school bathroom.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler released a statement last week that said no criminal charges will be filed in the death of the 16-year-old Owasso High School trans student.

In part the district attorney said because the finding by the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner precluded the possibility that the death was caused directly from the physical altercation at the school the day prior to the teen’s dying.

According to the district attorney, Benedict had written notes talking about suicide but did not reference the fight or incidents at school. Kunzweiler stated that the notes are personal to Benedictā€™s family and will not be released.

16-year-old trans teen Nex Benedict being recorded on Owasso Police Department body cam footage at the emergency room after he was attacked in a bathroom at Owasso High School speaking with the Owasso High School resource officer.

The report also detailed injuries sustained in the fight from the day before, including several small cuts and bruises on their face and body. Benedict also had a 4×3 inch bruise on his chest from resuscitation efforts. The medical examiner also found yellowing bruises on Benedict’s arms, legs and torso that were healing before the time of the fight. The medical examiner’s office also found evidence of self-inflicted wounds on the arm.

Several Oklahoma-based LGBTQ organizations responded to the release of the full autopsy report along with national LGBTQ advocacy groups GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign and the Rainbow Youth Project.

ā€œAs our community continues to grieve and remember Nex, itā€™s clearer than ever that everyone from Oklahomaā€™s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to Owasso High School staff members to the Owasso Police Department, Tulsa District Attorney, and unaccredited-since-2009 state medical examinerā€™s office failed to deliver justice for Nex Benedict and Nexā€™s loved ones,” said Nicole McAfree, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma.

“A harm doubled by the continued lack of respect for the tribal law enforcement who should be involved in a case that involves the death of an Indigenous person on reservation land. As we approach the end of the Oklahoma legislative session, lawmakers should take the opportunity to send a message of adamant opposition to anti-2SLGBTQ+ legislation and policies; and support for measures that enable more empathy, kindness and compassion, not less. Nex should be alive, and the very least we can do in Nexā€™s memory is demonstrate our commitment to building a better world that makes it impossible for this heartbreaking tragedy to happen again,ā€ McAfree added.

Oklahoma Pride Alliance President Kylan L. Durant said; ā€œTodayā€™s news is the latest disappointing development in Nex Benedictā€™s tragic story. The best way to honor Nexā€™s memory now is by taking tangible steps to secure meaningful policies and platforms that make life better for all LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ youth. All Oklahomans deserve to live in a world that treats us with full dignity and respect, and where we can access spaces that allow us to live as our honest, authentic selves. We will never stop advocating for equality and justice in honor of Nex and too many others who left us too soon.ā€

The Rainbow Youth Project reported an uptick in crisis calls from Oklahoma since Benedictā€™s death:

  • 1,097 calls from Oklahoma in February.
  • 824 calls from Oklahoma in March so far.
  • Note that the average for the state is 357 per month.
  • Oklahoma youth reaching out to Rainbow Youth Project reported experiencing anti-LGBTQ bullying and specifically called out Walters:
    • 82 percent reported bullying.
    • 62 percent cited anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from Walters.

More than 350 organizations signed a letter one month agoĀ calling for the Walters’ removal following his long history of leadership failures and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

ā€œSince Nexā€™s death, the crisis lines at the Rainbow Youth Project continue to increase in calls and outreach from young people who feel discouraged and hopeless. Itā€™s incumbent upon all of us to secure safety and well-being for young people, especially those who are most at risk of being bullied and singled out,” said Christopher Sederburg, leader of the Rainbow Youth Project’s Transgender Action Committee. “Itā€™s hard enough to be a young person in the world today without worrying about doing something as simple as attending school safely. Nexā€™s death is a tremendous loss and we must do everything in our power to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in the future. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma Department of Education must enact change and do right by all students.ā€

GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement released after the report was made public said:

“This report cannot be seen as a conclusion of the investigation into the death of a teenager who should still be here today. Oklahoma’s supposed leaders must still provide answers to the public about the state-sponsored bullying by legislation, the inadequate response to violence in a school bathroom, and all the failures to keep Nex safe that continue to endanger LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ people in Oklahoma. GLAAD continues to call for an independent investigation to resolve the systemic failures that led to Nexā€™s death. Our hearts remain with Nexā€™s family, with Oklahomaā€™s incredible 2STGNC+ and equality advocates and all LGBTQ youth who deserve to grow up in peace and safety.ā€

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, released the following statement: 

ā€œThe full report does little to fill in the gaps in information about that day or the more than a year of bullying and harassment that led up to it. It does not answer the questions of so many in Oklahoma and across the country. We continue to support the calls from Nexā€™s family for an independent investigation.

Young people in Oklahoma and across the country deserve to be safe and respected in school. This includes young people who may dress differently, speak differently, or identify differently from you. Whatā€™s clear from Nexā€™s death, and from what weā€™ve heard from so many students and parents in Owasso and across the state, is that this is not the case. Instead, we have seen the very adults who should be working to protect Oklahomaā€™s kids actively foster the hostile environment that makes students unsafe.

The release of todayā€™s report does not change the fact that LGTBQ+ students in Oklahoma are not safe at school. And it does not change our continued calls for justice and accountability.  We reiterate our call for a full and complete investigation into the district, state Supt. Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and into their response after Nex was attacked.ā€

On March 1, the U.S. Department of Education informed Robinson that the department will open an investigation in response to HRCā€™s letter regarding Owasso Public Schools and its failure to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment that may have contributed to the tragic death of Benedict.

This investigation was triggered by a formal complaint made last week by Robinson, who wrote to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and asked his department to use the enforcement mechanisms at its disposal to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in the future and to help hold accountable those responsible for Benedictā€™s tragic death.

Rainbow Youth Project USA Executive Director Lance Preston echoed his fellow non-profit CEOs at GLAAD and HRC, telling the Washington Blade:

“In a unified effort with Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD, Rainbow Youth Project USA is calling for an independent autopsy to ensure a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the youth’s death. 

Rainbow Youth Project USA, demands that educational institutions in Oklahoma and across the country take immediate action to address the pervasive issue of bullying and harassment faced by LGBTQ+ students. 

Statistics reveal that 58 percent of LGBTQ+ youth in Oklahoma feel unsafe at school, painting a grim picture of the challenges these individuals face on a daily basis. “Schools must be safe and inclusive environments for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is unacceptable that a significant number of LGBTQ+ students are experiencing bullying and harassment.”

Rainbow Youth Project USA, based on recent data, received 1,097 crisis calls from Oklahoma in February alone. Nearly 86 percent of these callers reported instances of being bullied within the state’s schools, highlighting the urgent need for improved support and protection for LGBTQ youth. 

In a conversation with the Blade on Wednesday, investigative journalist T.J. Payne reflected on the report:

“I canā€™t help but feel a sickness around all of it. As a trans person, reading a trans childā€™s autopsy is really fucked. Referring to their various insides as normal, intact, not usual. If only we described trans people the same way externally. Just like everybody else in the world trying to survive.”

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Federal Government

National Security Council meets with Ugandan LGBTQ activist

Frank Mugisha met with the NSC on Monday

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Frank Mugisha, Gay News, Washington Blade
Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The U.S. National Security Council met with Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist Frank Mugisha on Monday, according to a spokesperson who reaffirmed America’s opposition to civil rights abuses against LGBTQ people in the East African country.

Last year, Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, a law that criminalizes, with prison sentences, identifying as gay or lesbian and imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”

The Biden-Harris administration has repeatedly denounced the legislation and called for its repeal.

“There have been increased reports of evictions, vigilante attacks, and police harassment, abuse, and detainment of individuals who are or are perceived to be LGBTQI+, including reports of the Ugandan police subjecting individuals to forced anal examinations ā€“ an abusive, degrading practice that serves no investigative or public health purpose,” the White House wrote in a December 2023 fact sheet.

In a post on X about the meeting with Mugisha, Adrienne Watson, special assistant to the president and National Security Council senior director for press and spokesperson, wrote that the “United States continues to have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harmful activities.”

Mugisha, who is gay, is one of the most prominent LGBTQ advocates in Uganda, winning the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for his work in 2011. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

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District of Columbia

D.C. events to commemorate International Transgender Day of Visibility

Monica Beverly-Hillz to attend Blossom Gala at Hook Hall

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(Washington Blade file photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality will hold a series of events in D.C. on Sunday in commemoration of the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

The TRANSform the Vote rally will take place on the National Mall.

Organized by the Queer Equity Institute and NCTE, the event aims to celebrate trans liberation, combat violence and promote civic engagement. Elected officials, activists and artists are expected to participate. 

Queer Equity Institute Executive Director Leigh Finke and NCTE Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen discussed the rally and how it will empower the trans community and promote advocacy.

ā€œFrom restricting access to medically necessary healthcare to denying trans students the opportunity to participate in sports, we have seen nationwide efforts to exclude trans people from society,ā€ said Heng-Lehtinen. ā€œTRANSform the Vote presents a historical moment for us to empower our community ā€” casting our votes and participating in democracy is just one of many ways our community can advocate for the issues that matter to us.ā€

Finke, Minnesotaā€™s first openly trans lawmaker who wrote the stateā€™s groundbreaking trans refuge bill, echoed Heng-Lehtinen.

“Over the past few years, weā€™ve watched again and again as ‘jokes’ became hate speech, hate speech became bills, bills became laws; and all the jokes, hate speech and laws created an environment where transgender people are assaulted, beaten and murdered,” said Finke. “Some of the most important tools we have to fight back against these attacks is to change the culture through voting, running for office and creating art and music that shift society. This rally is meant to highlight and encourage folks to use those tools in their communities.”

Confirmed speakers and participants aside from Finke and Heng-Lehtinen include:

  • Minnesota state Rep. Alicia ā€œLiishā€ Kozlowski, who is one of the countryā€™s foremost activists for Indigenous trans and two-spirit people.
  • Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins.
  • Angelica Ross, a Buddhist artist and human rights activist.
  • Visual artist Cassils

The first annual Blossom Gala will take place at Hook Hall (3400 Georgia Ave., N.W.) and will feature keynote speakers, a Q&A panel discussion featuring national leaders in the trans rights movement and drag performances. Cherry Bomb, which will cap off the event, is an all-trans drag showcase.

Mr. Trans USA 2020 Eddie Broadway; Miss Trans USA 2020 Bianca Nicole and Candi Stratton, a world-renowned Cher illusionist, are among those who are expected to perform. Other participants will include Miss Trans USA 2023 Anya Marino, Mr. Trans USA 2023 Trey C. Michaels and NCTE National Organizer Sybastian Smith.  

Monica Beverly-Hillz from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will also participate.

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