Local
D.C. police target gay men in online sting
Effort called unfair as cop uses drugs, ‘perv boy’ to entice users; at least 20 arrested
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said she is aware of the sting and supports it through the department’s participation in an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia has alleged that D.C. police and the U.S. Attorney’s office have unfairly targeted gay men in an Internet sting operation seeking to arrest men who “entice” or “persuade” juveniles for sex.
In a little noticed brief filed in federal court last May, Assistant Public Defender for D.C. Jonathan Jeffress said that with full approval from the U.S. Attorney’s office, a D.C. police detective posing undercover as an adult gay man has targeted gay men for sex-with-minor arrests on adult gay websites that have “no history or reputation as locations where minors go online.”
The brief was filed under Jeffress’ name along with the name of A.J. Kramer, the Federal Public Defender for D.C., who is responsible for managing a staff of public defender attorneys that represent indigent clients before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Jeffress told the Blade that among the sites targeted in the sting are Gay.com, BarebackRT.com, and SexPigs.com, which are widely known as dating and sex hookup sites for adult gay men. He said he knows of at least 20 arrests of gay men in the sting operation in which the undercover detective met the men through these websites.
These figures are far lower than the actual numbers of arrests through this sting, Jeffress said, because many of the arrested men likely retain private attorneys and their cases don’t pass through the Federal Public Defender’s office.
William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said that since 2005, his office has prosecuted 68 cases “in which defendants were arrested in investigations in which an undercover officer poses as an adult pedophile who has access to a child (girl or boy).” He said that of the 68 cases, “about half involved defendants attempting to exploit boys and about half involved defendants attempting to exploit girls.”
Miller cited a court brief filed by the government in opposition to the Federal Public Defender’s brief, which disputes the allegations made by the public defender, calling them “baseless.” The government brief says the allegations and legal arguments made by the Federal Public Defender are not supported by past court decisions that upheld the legality of similar sting operations in other jurisdictions.
Jeffress, however, noted that a federal judge in D.C. supported the Federal Public Defender’s arguments last month when he acquitted a gay male defendant ensnared in one the sting arrests.
Jeffress said D.C. police Det. Timothy Palchak has made nearly all of the arrests in the sting operation.
According to court records and police charging documents, the undercover detective posts a profile on one of the websites indicating his interest in meeting someone for sex, describing himself as 40 years old, “athletic,” 6-feet-2 inches tall, 200-209 pounds, and “versatile.” In at least one case, he described himself as a “no limit perv” into taboos, including “yng,” meaning young people.
Court records show the detective informs those who respond to his posting through emails or instant messages using known code words or abbreviations that he’s into drugs, including crystal meth, and invites the men to his place for sex with him.
A police charging document for one of the cases says the detective mentioned to one of the men responding to his profile that he has available to him a 12-year-old “perv boy” who “loves” to be penetrated in anal sex.
Police and prosecutors have said in court papers the “boy” is fictitious and that the men targeted in the sting have never been in contact with an actual juvenile or with the fictitious boy — only with the detective posing as an adult who claims to have access to the boy.
In his court brief, Jeffress said many of the men arrested in the sting are heavy drug users, including crystal meth addicts, and have consented to engaging in sex with the detective and the juvenile for the purpose of “going along” with the detective, who they think is a willing adult sex partner, as a means of obtaining drugs.
“Instead of apprehending the Internet predator who is actively seeking children online — such as the kind of defendant one sees time after time in the cases from other districts — the U.S. Attorney’s Office is instead arresting gay men interacting in adults-only chat rooms that have no history or reputation as locations where minors go online,” Jeffress said in his brief.
“Moreover, instead of arresting individuals who have attempted to persuade minors, the arrests are of defendants who have been persuaded by the UC [undercover detective] to meet him and the fictitious minor for drugs and sex,” the brief says.
The brief adds, “[A]s the government is fully aware, the defendants in these cases are often struggling with meth use, and are therefore agreeing to the UC’s propositions not because they are pedophiles but because they are compulsive and exceedingly susceptible to the power of the UC’s suggestions, particularly on sexual matters. These defendants are also powerfully motivated by the UC’s dangling of meth as a ‘carrot’ to reward their travel to the meeting place.”
By meeting place, Jeffress was referring to a place that Det. Palchak arranges for the men targeted in the sting to meet him and the fictitious juvenile for sex and drugs. The targeted men are arrested immediately or shortly after they arrive at the designated meeting place, court records show.
Jeffress’ brief, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, called on a federal judge to dismiss a charge against a Canadian gay man ensnared in the sting in March 2011 during his visit to D.C. on the way home from Fort Lauderdale. Police and prosecutors charged Ivan Nitschke, 47, under a federal anti-pedophile statute that calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in jail and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The statute, referred to in court documents as 18 U.S. Code, Sec. 2422(b), is aimed at apprehending online predators who seek out sex with minors.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg agreed to a pre-trial defense motion to dismiss that charge against Nitschke last May. Following a non-jury trial last month, Boasberg found Nitschke not-guilty on a separate charge of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Boasberg ordered Nitschke released from jail, where he had been held without bail since his arrest on March 24, 2011.
The brief says Nitschke, an admitted methamphetamine addict, was arrested after he responded to a posting by Det. Palchak on BarebackRT.com.
In delivering his verdict in the Nitschke case, Judge Boasberg said he found the defendant, who testified at the trial, to be credible and honest in admitting to his addiction to crystal meth and being into promiscuous sex with multiple adult partners during his visit to D.C.
Boasberg said the defense proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Nitschke was not a pedophile and his stated agreement to join the undercover detective in a sexual encounter with the fictitious 12-year-old boy was motivated by his desire to obtain drugs from the detective posing as an adult sex partner.
“So at the end of the day, for all these reasons, in this case I strongly question the government, whether the government has even met the preponderance standard here,” Boasberg said from the bench. “And I thus have no hesitation in pronouncing a verdict of not guilty for the defendant.”
Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney in D.C., said his office has no comment on the verdict in the Nitschke case.
He said the arrests in the sting have been part of a joint effort between the U.S. Attorney’s office, D.C. police, and the FBI through the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which he said places a high priority on combating the sexual exploitation of minors.
“When the task force learns that pedophiles are using otherwise legitimate websites to seek out children to exploit, it does not hesitate to use those sites to identify these criminals,” Miller said in a statement to the Blade. “Our office has no interest in targeting those seeking out consensual adult relationships, but remains committed to identifying and stopping those individuals who are intent on sexually exploiting children.”
He said that of the 68 “sting” cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in D.C. since 2005, 66 of the defendants were convicted, one case was dismissed, and just one defendant, Nitschke, was acquitted by a judge. Miller did not break down these numbers between the defendants that pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain offer and those, if any, who were convicted in a trial.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, when asked about the sting, told the Blade she is aware of it and supports it through the department’s participation in an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force created by the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI is also a participant in the Task Force.
“The goal of the unit is to protect children against predators,” Lanier said, in referring to a D.C. police Internet Crimes Against Children unit to which Det. Palchak is assigned. “The group that is targeted is pedophiles,” she said. “Anyone that agrees to have sex with a child should be arrested and prosecuted.”
Lanier said Palchak and the ICAC unit “looks at several websites and does not target any one in particular…No one website is targeted,” she told the Blade in an email.
In a police charging document against Nitschke, Det. Palchak said that Nitschke initiated a private email chat with the detective in response to the detective’s profile on the website, which has since been identified as BareBackRT.com. In one of his messages, Palchak said he was getting off work at 3 p.m. “and meeting my lil perv boy that I met over the summer for a few hours. He is young so if that is not your thing we can hook up after he leaves.”
In his charging document, Palchak quotes Nitschke as responding, “Hey bud…said I was into that in my first message…fuck yeah…how old is he?” Palchak responded that the boy had not yet turned 13 and added that the boy was very “cool, vers and freaky” and “loves to be fucked and bred,” the charging document says.
It says Nitschke responded, “…yeah…into all that…and ready to join in.”
In explaining his not-guilty verdict for Nitschke, Judge Boasberg said this type of dialogue, standing alone, suggested Nitschke may have been interested in sex with the fictitious boy. But the judge said the preponderance of evidence established a “context” showing that Nitschke was not into sex with minors and that his overarching aim was to seek out drugs from the detective.
Boasberg noted that evidence submitted by the defense showed that he had been in online chats with half-a-dozen or more other men during the days prior to his online meeting with Det. Palchak. In all of those exchanges the defendants’ interest was sex with people around his age and drugs, not sex with a juvenile, Boasberg said in his lengthy verdict, which has been transcribed.
“[H]is actions show that meeting Detective Palchak is something he is barely interested in,” Boasberg said in explaining his verdict. “If you look at his actions, not what he said in the chat, but what he did,” said the judge, “it just doesn’t show someone who is interested in sex with children.”
It could not be immediately determined whether the U.S. Attorney’s office has asked Det. Palchak to change his tactics in communicating with men on the gay adult websites as a means of carrying out the sting operation following Boasberg’s not-guilty verdict in the Nitschke case.
The concerns raised by the Federal Public Defender about the possible targeting of gay men in a child-sex sting come at a time when LGBT activists have complained that the U.S. Attorney’s office has lowered charges in plea bargain arrangements for people arrested for committing violent crimes against LGBT people, especially transgender women, during the past several years.
Jeffress said the Federal Public Defender’s office has represented about a dozen gay men arrested in the sting operation whom the undercover detective met through various adult gay websites. He said he knows of at least 10 more arrests made through online contact between the detective and the defendants, with at least some through Gay.com.
In his court brief, Jeffress said prosecutors in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office typically charge the men arrested in the sting under 18 U.S. Code 2422(b), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison, as a way to intimidate them into pleading guilty to a lower charge.
The lower charge often consists of a federal statute outlawing traveling in interstate or foreign commerce “for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with another person.” That statute carries no minimum sentence and includes a maximum sentence of 30 years. Jeffress’ brief says in most cases, judges follow federal sentencing guidelines, which call for sentences for first offenders of between 46 and 57 months in jail.
The brief says the action by the men ensnared in the sting does not appear to meet the threshold for an arrest under the more severe charge, 18 U.S. Code 2422(b), which states, “Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce … knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 10 years and or for life.”
The year 2025 brought unprecedented challenges to D.C. as President Trump initiated a takeover of local police operations and implemented ICE raids in the city. Below are our picks for the top 10 LGBTQ news stories of the year.
10. Man gets 15 years for drug sale that led to deaths of two gay men
A D.C. man was sentenced by a federal judge on June 26, 2025, to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty three months earlier to conspiracy related charges that he distributed large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in the D.C. area, including the sale of fentanyl that resulted in the December 2023 deaths of two D.C. gay men.
A statement released by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. said Jevaughn Mark, 33, was charged, among other things, with selling fentanyl rather than the requested ketamine, known as “Special K,” to one of the two gay victims who shared the drug with his gay friend. Police identified the men as Brandon Roman, 38, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate, and Robbie Barletta, 28, a home renovation business owner and historic preservationist.
An official with the D.C.-based group HIPS, which provides services to drug users, called the deaths of the two men a poisoning rather than an overdose because they unknowingly consumed the highly toxic fentanyl rather than the ketamine they thought they had.
9. Drag queens, protesters denounce Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover
D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot was among other drag queens and about 100 supporters who marched in February from Washington Circle to the Kennedy Center to protest President Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center “takeover” by his appointment of Trump supporters to the performing arts facility’s board of directors.
Hoot and three other local drag performers followed up with their own Kennedy Center protest in June by attending the Kennedy Center’s opening night performance of “Les Misérables” while Trump himself was in attendance. Among the concerns raised by the protesters was the Kennedy Center’s decision in February to cancel a performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington scheduled for May to celebrate the upcoming WorldPride 2025 DC events. A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the performance was canceled because of “financial” and “scheduling” factors and not by the Trump initiated management changes.
8. D.C. LGBTQ Center celebrates opening of new, larger offices
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center officially opened its new expanded offices on April 26 at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., located one block from the Shaw Metro station.
Spanning 6,671 square feet of intentionally designed space, Center Director Kimberley Bush said the new space would offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events and community support groups, all under one roof.
7. Deaths of five key local LGBTQ advocates in 2025
The LGBTQ community took note of the passing of at least five highly regarded local LGBTQ advocates in 2025. Among them were Jeri Hughes, 73, a longtime local transgender rights activist; Dale Sanders, 75, a highly acclaimed D.C. attorney for more than 40 years who played a leading role in providing legal services to people with HIV/AIDS; Patrick Shaw, 60, a highly regarded D.C. public schools teacher; Thomas Mangrum, 61, an acclaimed advocate for people with disabilities and LGBTQ rights activist involved in the city’s Capital Pride events; and Loraine Hutchins, a nationally known and acclaimed advocate for bisexual and LGBTQ rights, and co-author and editor of a groundbreaking book on bisexuality.
6. Pro-LGBTQ Spanberger elected Va. governor
Former congresswoman and longtime LGBTQ rights supporter Abigail Spanberger (D) won her race for governor of Virginia on Nov. 6, defeating the state’s Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, who expressed strong opposition to LGBTQ equality. Spanberger, who will succeed incumbent GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin in January, becomes Virginia’s first female governor.
Meanwhile, John Reid, a gay conservative radio talk show host in Richmond for many years, lost his race as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia, falling short of becoming the state’s first openly gay person to win a statewide office. Reid lost to Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, a member of the Virginia State Senate, who became the first Muslim woman to win election to a statewide office in any state.
5. Trans erasure hits D.C.
The National Park Service, which owns and maintains Dupont Circle as a federal park, in February removed all references to transgender people from its website devoted to Dupont Circle history. In a development believed to be linked to one of President Trump’s early executive orders banning federal support for trans related issues, the Park Service removed all mention of trans people from its website but left on the site multiple references to the “GLB community.”
In yet another act of what LGBTQ activists are calling “trans erasure,” D.C.’s Children’s National Hospital in July announced it would discontinue beginning Aug. 30 gender transition medical care it has provided for juvenile patients for at least the past 20 years. In a statement posted on its website, the highly acclaimed pediatric hospital said the change was made “in light of escalating legal and regulatory risks to Children’s National.” Most observers interpreted that to mean the risk of federal funding cuts linked to the Trump administration’s animus toward trans supportive programs or policies.
4. D.C. Mayor Bowser announces she will not run for re-election
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a longtime vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community, announced on Nov. 25 that she will not run for a fourth term. Since first taking office as mayor in January 2015, Bowser has been an outspoken supporter on a wide range of LGBTQ-related issues, including marriage equality and services for LGBTQ youth and seniors.
LGBTQ activists have pointed out that Bowser’s record of support on LGBTQ issues dates back to her tenure as the Ward 4 D.C. Council member from 2007 through January 2015, when she took office as mayor. They also credit her with expanding and significantly increasing funding for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and appointing the largest number of openly LGBTQ officials to D.C. government jobs than any prior D.C. mayor.
“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor,” Bowser said in a statement.
3. D.C. LGBTQ bars ‘hanging in there’ amid tough economy
The owners of several of D.C.’s at least 25 LGBTQ bars told the Blade in November they had been negatively impacted by a series of developments and issues impacting most other D.C. bars, restaurants, and nightlife venues. Among the lead issues impacting them, they said, were the deployment by President Trump of National Guard troops on city streets, the nearly two-month-long federal government shutdown that ended in late November, and skyrocketing prices of food and other supplies brought about by the Trump administration’s tariff program.
Other factors cited were a decline in tourist visits to D.C. due to alienation from the Trump administration and a large increase in the number of LGBTQ bars in recent years that some observers said has resulted in fewer people going to each of the LGBTQ bars, the latest one, Rush at 14th and U Street, N.W., having opened in December.
2. At least 1.2 million turn out for WorldPride D.C.
At least 1.2 million people turned out from throughout the U.S. and internationally for WorldPride D.C. 2025, which took place from mid-May through June. It included hundreds of events held across the city. Among them were an international human rights conference, a March on Washington for LGBTQ Equality, sporting events with LGBTQ athletes, concerts by LGBTQ choral groups and nationally acclaimed pop musicians.
The events culminated with a six-hour-long WorldPride Parade on June 7 that drew hundreds of thousands of participants and bystanders and included a 1,000-foot long rainbow flag that led the parade. The WorldPride street festival and concert took place that same day and the following day, on June 8, along Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. that included hundreds of booths.
The 1.2 million attendance and the a $310 million economic impact it had on the city were significantly less that what had been initially predicted by city officials, who, along with LGBTQ activists, said the lower attendance and economic impact was due in part to the anti-LGBTQ policies and alienation of many potential foreign visitors by the Trump administration.
1. Trump takes control of D.C. police, deploys National Guard
LGBTQ rights advocates joined community leaders across the city in condemning President Donald Trump’s decision in August to take control of the D.C Metropolitan Police Department and deploy 800 National Guard troops to address what he called a crime wave caused by “bloodthirsty criminals” and “roving mobs of wild youth.”
A coalition of local LGBTQ advocacy organizations joined other community leaders, including gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), in calling Trump’s action a “power grab” aimed at eliminating D.C.’s locally elected government that would adversely impact people of color, the LGBTQ and immigrant communities.
In a development that captured national attention, a gay man was arrested on Aug. 10 on a misdemeanor assault charge for tossing a hero sandwich into the chest of a uniformed U.S. Customs and Border Control agent on a street near several gay bars in what he called an act of protest and defiance of the Trump deployment of federal troops and agents in D.C. In what some observers called a gesture of support for gay sandwich thrower Sean Charles Dunn, a federal court jury handed down a verdict of not guilty for the assault charge.
District of Columbia
Reasons to be optimistic about 2026
Local thought leaders offer hope for the New Year
It was a year like no other. It began with Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 and included a takeover of D.C. police, ICE raids, challenges for the local economy, and other events that have many queer Washingtonians ready for 2026.
As we prepare to welcome the New Year, the Blade asked a range of local thought leaders about what makes them optimistic for 2026. Here are their responses.
June Crenshaw
Deputy Director, Capital Pride Alliance
What gives me optimism for 2026 is the way our LGBTQIA2S+ community supports one another – across identities, neighborhoods, and movements – and because we continue to build our collective powers; we demand and create safer, more inclusive spaces.
Zachary Parker
Ward 5 DC. Council member
I’m optimistic about the upcoming elections and the District’s continued fight for local autonomy. One thing I know for sure is that Washingtonians are tough and persistent, and we’re ready to face any challenge as we keep fighting for D.C. statehood.
Sister Jeannine Gramick
Co-founder of LGBTQ supportive New Ways Ministry
As a nun who thinks politically about the Catholic Church, I’m extremely optimistic that Pope Leo XIV will continue to welcome LGBTQ people. At the conclave, most cardinals knew Pope Francis had (then) Cardinal Proost in mind!
Adam Ebbin
Virginia State Senator representing parts of Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax Counties
I am excited about 2026 bringing the return of the pro-equality governor to Virginia. I believe that Abigail Spanberger will be a champion for LGBT people and it will also be the year that we can finally pass the necessary legislation to send a constitutional amendment to the voters that would guarantee marriage equality in the Virginia Constitution.
Howard Garrett
President, Capital Stonewall Democrats
In 2026, our community can be optimistic because we’ve proven, again and again, that when we organize, we win: at the ballot box, in the courts, and in our neighborhoods. Even amid challenge, LGBTQ+ Washingtonians and our allies are building stronger coalitions, electing champions, and advancing real protections that make daily life safer and more affirming for everyone.
Paul Kuntzler
D.C. LGBTQ activist since the early 1960s, co-founder of Capital Stonewall Democrats
Last Nov. 4, 11 states held elections and Democrats won almost all of the elections. Next Nov. 3, 2026, Democrats will win control of both the House and Senate …An Economist poll reported that 15 percent to 20 percent of those who voted for Trump no longer support him. The results of the elections of Nov. 3, 2026, will be the beginning of the end of Trump and his racist and criminal regime.
Kelley Robinson
President, Human Rights Campaign
This past year has brought relentless attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, but it has also shown the resiliency of queer folks. While this administration has worked tirelessly to oppress us, we’ve met that oppression with courage. As we step into 2026, my hope is that we carry that energy forward and continue protecting one another, fighting back against injustice, and celebrating queer joy. If 2026 is anything like 2025, we know the challenges will be intense, but our community is more determined than ever to meet hate with resilience, and to turn struggle into strength.
Freddie Lutz
Owner, Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington and Rehoboth Beach
I am optimistic that the current president will fulfill his promise to boost the economy. We are all suffering – businesses in D.C. I just read it is 17 to 18 percent down. And I’m hoping the president will boost the economy. I always try to remain optimistic.
Nicholas F. Benton
Owner & Editor, Falls Church News-Press
My optimism stems from my belief in the human capacity and generosity of spirit. Those who are committed to those qualities will find a way.
Richard Rosendall
Former president, D.C. Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance
MAGA efforts to demonize LGBTQ people are dangerous but will fail overall because understanding and acceptance have grown and endured. The blue wave in November 2026 will show this.
TJ Flavell
Organizer, Go Gay DC
Hope springs eternal. Nurturing your own wellness is vital to the New Year, including enjoying social and cultural activities through such groups as Go Gay DC – Metro DC’s LGBTQ Community. Also, 2026 ushers in a new tax deduction for charitable giving. Check the IRS website for details. You can make a positive impact in the New Year by supporting good charitable causes like the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, a safe, inclusive, and affirming space where all members of our community can thrive.
Rayceen Pendarvis
Leader of Team Rayceen D.C. LGBTQ support organization
I have experienced many trials and tribulations in my lifetime, throughout which my spirit has enabled me to find peace despite the turbulence around me. Being optimistic allows me to be a beacon of light for those who may be lost in the darkness.
Zar
Team Rayceen organizer
My reason for optimism is this: death. Life is a cycle of time, change, and destruction. Everything is impermanent; the time any person rules is finite and eventually all empires end.
DJ Honey
Team Rayceen supporter
Despite the noise, I see 2026 as a year where queer people continue choosing community over isolation. Even when challenged, our culture keeps evolving. We are more visible, more creative and intentional about building spaces that protect each other and center joy without asking permission.
Nick Tsusaki
Owner, Spark Social House, D.C. LGBTQ café and bar
I’m optimistic for 2026 because it feels like the tide is turning and we’re coming together as a community.
District of Columbia
Rush reopens after renewing suspended liquor license
Principal owner says he’s working to resolve payroll issue for unpaid staff
The D.C. LGBTQ bar and nightclub Rush reopened and was serving drinks to customers on Saturday night, Dec. 20, under a renewed liquor license three days after the city’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board suspended the license on grounds that Rush failed to pay a required annual licensing fee.
In its Dec. 17 order suspending the Rush liquor license the ABC Board stated the “payment check was returned unpaid and alternative payment was not submitted.”
Jackson Mosley, Rush’s principal owner, says in a statement posted on the Rush website that the check did not “bounce,” as rumors circulating in the community have claimed. He said a decision was made to put a “hold” on the check so that Rush could change its initial decision to submit a payment for the license for three years and instead to pay a lower price for a one-year payment.
“Various fees and fines were added to the amount, making it necessary to replace the stop-payment check in person – a deadline that was Wednesday despite my attempts to delay it due to these circumstances,” Mosley states in his message.
He told the Washington Blade in an interview inside Rush on Saturday night, Dec. 20, that the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) quickly processed Rush’s liquor license renewal following his visit to submit a new check.
He also reiterated in the interview some of the details he explained in his Rush website statement regarding a payroll problem that resulted in his employees not being paid for their first month’s work at Rush, which was scheduled to take place Dec. 15 through a direct deposit into the employees’ bank accounts.
Several employees set up a GoFundMe appeal in which they stated they “showed up, worked hard, and were left unpaid after contributing their time, labor, and professional skills to Rush, D.C.’s newest LGBTQ bar.”
In his website statement Mosley says employees were not paid because of a “tax related mismatch between federal and District records,” which, among other things, involves the IRS. He said the IRS was using his former company legal name Green Zebra LLC while D.C. officials are using his current company legal name Rainbow Zebra LLC.
“This discrepancy triggered a compliance hold within our payroll system,” he says in his statement. “The moment I became aware of the issue, I immediately engaged our payroll provider and began working to resolve it,” he wrote.
He added that while he is the founder and CEO of Rush’s parent and management company called Momentux, company investors play a role in making various decisions, and that the investors rather than he control a “syndicated treasury account” that funds and operates the payroll system.
He told the Blade that he and others involved with the company were working hard to resolve the payroll problem as soon as possible.
“Every employee – past or present – will receive the pay they are owed in accordance with D.C. and federal law,” he says in his statement. “That remains my priority.”
In a follow-up text message to the Blade on Sunday night, Dec. 21, Mosley said, “All performers, DJs, etc. have been fully paid.”
He said Rush had 21 employees but “2 were let go for gross misconduct, 2 were let go for misconduct, 1 for moral turpitude, 2 for performance concerns.” He added that all of the remaining 14 employees have returned to work at the time of the reopening on Dec. 20.
Rush held its grand opening on Dec. 5 on the second and third floors of a building at 2001 14th Street, N.W., with its entrance around the corner on U Street next to the existing LGBTQ dance club Bunker.
With at least a half dozen or more LGBTQ bars located within walking distance of Rush in the U Street entertainment corridor, Mosley told the Blade he believes some of the competing LGBTQ bars, which he says believe Rush will take away their customers, may be responsible along with former employees of “rumors” disparaging him and Rush.
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