Local
Dan Choi convicted in White House protest case
Former Army Lt. breaks down in courtroom, vows to appeal verdict
Choi supporters Diane Olson and Robin Tyler of Los Angeles (left) and Mariam Ben-Shalom of Milwaukee (front right) join Choi (center) in a rally outside the courthouse. Supporters, who packed the courtroom, gave Choi a standing ovation when the trial ended. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)
A federal judge on Thursday found gay former Army Lt. Dan Choi guilty of a misdemeanor offense of disobeying a lawful order by police to disperse from the White House fence during a November 2010 protest against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John Facciola issued his verdict and sentenced Choi to a $100 fine on the last day of a non-jury trial in a case that has dragged on for two-and-a-half years.
Choi and 12 others had handcuffed themselves to the White House fence at a time when the activists said President Obama and Congress weren’t doing enough to advance legislation to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that barred gays from serving openly in the military.
The verdict and sentence came after an emotionally distraught Choi broke down and cried repeatedly during the five-hour court session on Thursday as more than 50 friends and supporters, many of whom came from throughout the country, looked on in a packed courtroom.
Choi began the day’s activities by leading a contingent of supporters to the White House, where they stood at the site of the White House fence before walking about a mile to the courthouse.
He and several of his supporters who are military veterans arrived at the courthouse wearing their military uniforms.
“I apologize for my emotions but I don’t apologize for my humanity,” Choi told Facciola as he represented himself without an attorney.
When Facciola pronounced Choi guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Choi replied that he would appeal the verdict. When the judge announced the sentence would be limited to a $100 fine, which many of Choi’s supporters considered a rebuke to prosecutors, Choi shouted, “I refuse to pay it…Send me to jail.”
“You have a right to appeal,” Facciola said before adjourning the trial without responding to Choi’s assertion that he would not pay the fine.
“This trial began in August 2011 and was suspended, and what do you think Dan was doing for the next two years,” asked Choi’s friend, former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo, an attorney who provided Choi with legal help. “This case was basically crushing him to death. And you saw the result of his mental state in there today.”
Pietrangelo told supporters before the trial resumed on Thursday that Choi was struggling with a recurring bout of post-traumatic stress disorder. Choi has said in media interviews that the stress disorder stemmed from his combat duty in the Iraq war, where he served as an Arabic linguist and field engineer.
Choi emerged as a nationally recognized advocate for the repeal of DADT in 2009, when he came out as gay in an interview on the Rachel Maddow show while a member of the Army Reserves. Army authorities discharged him under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” a short time later.
Pietrangelo and other supporters of Choi have rallied behind Choi’s decision to fight what he has said was an effort by prosecutors, at the behest of the White House, to single him out for a harsher prosecution because of his criticism of the Obama administration on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issue.
Choi and his lawyers argued during the first week of the trial in August 2011 that prosecutors charged him and the other 12 protesters who handcuffed themselves to the White House fence under a federal rather than local D.C. regulation that carried a maximum sentence of six months in jail and $5,000 fine.
In nearly all previous civil disobedience arrests at the White House, protesters have been charged under a D.C. municipal regulation that carries no jail time and a small fine similar to a parking ticket, Choi’s attorneys argued.
Choi was the only one of the 13 people arrested in the November 2010 White House protest that did not agree to plead guilty to the charge in exchange for having the case dismissed if they weren’t arrested again at the White House within a four-month period.
Assistant United States Attorney Angela George, the lead prosecutor in the case, said during her closing arguments on Thursday that Choi’s political beliefs were irrelevant to the prosecution.
At an earlier stage of the trial she said prosecutors chose to charge Choi under the stricter federal regulation because he had two prior arrests at the White House related to protests against DADT, and the government has the discretion to adjust its charges for repeat offenders.
Observers of the early stage of Choi’s trial considered Facciola to be sympathetic to Choi’s contention that he was targeted for “selective” and “vindictive” prosecution because of his criticism of the Obama administration over DADT. In an important procedural ruling during the first week of the trial in August 2011, Facciola found that Choi and his lawyers presented sufficient evidence to move ahead with a vindictive prosecution defense.
But in a development considered highly unusual, prosecutor George filed a motion for a Writ of Mandamus to contest Facciola’s ruling. Following a special hearing on the issue, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Royce Lamberth overruled Facciola, ordering him not to allow Choi to pursue a vindictive or selective prosecution defense.
Choi and his attorneys responded by appealing Lamberth’s action to the U.S. Court of Appeals, putting in motion additional court hearings while the trial itself was put on hold.
After losing the appeal, Choi dismissed his lawyers, who had been providing pro bono representation, and announced he would represent himself going forward in an action known as pro se representation.
Over the past several months, Choi — with help from lawyers behind the scenes — introduced a flurry of procedural motions that Facciola denied. Choi also filed subpoenas to call 21 government and law enforcement officials, including Secret Service agents, to testify at the trial as defense witnesses. Facciola granted a series of motions by prosecutor George to quash the subpoenas for nearly all of the witnesses Choi sought to call.
At the trial on Thursday, Choi called just four witnesses, two U.S. Park Police officers who played a role in his arrest at the White House fence and two people who supported his defense – lesbian former Army Sgt. Mariam Ben-Shalom and Rev. C.T. Vivian, a nationally recognized civil rights leader and colleague of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s civil rights movement.
Choi asked Vivian on the witness stand about his philosophy on civil rights and what he thought about Choi’s arrest at the White House. Vivian acknowledged that he was not present at the protest in which Choi was arrested and could not offer an opinion.
“As far as I’m concerned, you were there in my heart,” Choi told him.
Ben-Shalom, who was among the protesters arrested with Choi at the 2010 White House protest, testified that she supports Choi’s First Amendment right to participate in such a protest.
Choi questioned U.S. Park Police Lt. Robert LaChance and Park Police Sgt. Timothy Hodge, who he called as witnesses to discuss the procedures and actions surrounding Choi’s arrest at the White House protest. Both played a role in Choi’s arrest. In response to Choi’s questions, the two said they did not single out Choi for his political beliefs and had no knowledge of whether higher ups at the Park Police sought to target Choi or any of the other protesters for their political views related to DADT.
Choi also pressed the officers on what he has claimed all along – that the order by police directed the protesters to leave the sidewalk in front of the White House when Choi and some of the others were standing on a ledge to which the White House fence is attached. In what Choi and his supporters acknowledge is a technicality, Choi has argued that he could not be legally charged with disobeying an order to leave the sidewalk if he was not on the sidewalk when the order was issued.
Facciola, however, said when handing down his verdict that prosecutor George established sufficient evidence through police witnesses that the order called on Choi and the other protesters to leave the area of the fence, not just the sidewalk.
One of the most dramatic moments of Thursday’s trial session came when Choi played a video, while LaChance was on the witness stand, of the 2009 interview of Choi by Rachel Maddow, in which Choi came out as gay. He said the video would provide evidence helpful to his case.
But with the lights dimmed in the courtroom and the video playing on several screens, Choi began to sob uncontrollably before shouting to the judge, “The defense rests!” He then called on Facciola to immediately begin the closing arguments for the trial.
Facciola responded by calling a recess for lunch, prompting Choi to lie on the courtroom floor yelling and cursing. At Facciola’s orders, two U.S. Marshals lifted Choi from the floor, carried him out of the courtroom and into an elevator. It couldn’t immediately be determined where they took Choi.
But when the trial resumed about two hours later, Choi returned to the courtroom with Ben-Shalom helping him walk. After George delivered her closing argument, Choi delivered a 40-minute closing argument in which he discussed his views on civil rights, religion, the First Amendment, the Iraq war and strife between Iraq’s Shiite and Sunni Muslim factions, among other topics that Choi said touched on his theme of justice and equality.
At various times during the trial and in his closing argument Choi spoke in Arabic.
“The lesson we learned today is we need to start taking care of our activists who are willing to stand up and fight back against injustice,” Ben-Shalom said after the trial ended. “Today we have as pure an example as I can ever come up with about the toll it takes on a human being to stand up and fight back,“ she said.
In addition to Ben-Shalom and Pietrangelo, out-of-town activists who came to the courthouse to support Choi were Ian Finkenbinder of Seattle and Michael Bedwell of San Francisco, who were among those who were arrested with Choi at the 2010 White House protest; marriage equality activists Robin Tyler and Diane Olson of Los Angeles; and California activist Robin McGehee, co-founder of the national LGBT direct action group GetEqual.
Dan Choi and other ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal activists handcuffed themselves to the White House fence in 2010. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
Whitman-Walker joins nationwide recognition of efforts to develop vaccine
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, will join health care advocates from across the country to support efforts to develop an HIV vaccine on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18.
“HIV Awareness Day, observed annually on May 18, was established to recognize and thank the volunteers, scientists, health professionals, and community members working toward a safe and effective prevention HIV vaccine,” Whitman-Walker said in a statement.
“Led by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the critical importance of preventive HIV vaccine research,” the statement says.
It adds, “The reality is that any new vaccine discovery must be built community by community, institution by institution, and then it must reach everyone – especially the communities who have carried the heaviest burden of this epidemic.”
On its own website, the National Institutes of Health says HIV Vaccine Awareness Day also highlights its longstanding efforts, coordinated by its Office of AIDS Research, to support researchers’ efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
“Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine,” it says in a statement on its website.
A Whitman-Walker spokesperson said Whitman-Walker was not holding a specific event to observe HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, but it will recognize the day as a way of encouragement for its ongoing work to address the AIDS epidemic and support for vaccine research.
“Today, no one has to die from HIV,” said Whitman-Walker’s Health System division’s CEO, Dr. Heather Aaron in the Whitman-Walker statement. “We have the treatments, the technology, and the research to change outcomes, and yet people in our community are still dying from HIV//AIDS,” she said in the statement.
“That is unacceptable, and it is exactly why our work continues,” she added. “Here in D.C. with more focus on Southeast D.C., the Whitman-Walker Health System remains committed to making a difference through cutting-edge research, policy advocacy, and philanthropy, because fair access to life-saving treatment is not a privilege. It is a right.”
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats endorses Janeese Lewis George for D.C. mayor
Group also backed D.C. Council, Congressional delegate, AG candidates
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, announced on May 14 that it has endorsed D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) for mayor in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George along with former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) are considered by political observers to be the two leading candidates among the seven candidates competing in the Democratic primary election for mayor.
Both have strong, long-standing records of support on LGBTQ issues, indicating Capital Stonewall Democrats members, like LGBTQ voters across the city, are likely choosing a candidate based on non-LGBTQ related issues.
In a May 14 statement, the group announced its endorsements in seven other Democratic primary races, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who is running unopposed in the primary. Also endorsed is D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large), who is one of five Democratic candidates competing for the position of D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) is among the four candidates competing with White for that post, and who like White has a strong record of support on LGBTQ issues.
In the At-Large D.C. Council race for which incumbent Anita Bonds is not running for re-election, Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed community activist and LGBTQ ally Oye Owolewa in a nine candidate race.
For the Ward 1 D.C. Council election, in which five LGBTQ supportive candidates are competing, the group did not make an endorsement because none of the candidate received a required 60 percent of the endorsement vote cast by Capital Stonewall Democrats members, according to the group’s former president, Howard Garrett.
The statement announcing its endorsements shows that it decided to list its “Preferred Ranking” of each of the Ward 1 Democratic candidates as part of the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system. It lists gay candidate Miguel Trindade Deramo as first, bisexual candidate Aparna Raj second, Jackie Reyes Yanes third, Rashida Brown fourth, and Terry Lynch fifth.
In the remaining ward Council races, Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Councilmember Matt Fruman (D-Ward 3), who is running unopposed for re-election; Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member who is being challenged by two opponents; and Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who is running unopposed for re-election.
The group also chose not to make an endorsement in the special election for another At-Large D.C. Council seat that became vacant when then-Independent Councilmember McDuffie resigned to enable him to run for mayor as a Democrat. Under the city’s Home Rule Charter adopted by Congress, that at large sweat is restricted to a “non-majority party” candidate, meaning a non-Democrat.
The three candidates running for the seat, all Independents, include incumbent Doni Crawford, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year; former D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman; and Jacque Patterson. All three have expressed support on LGBTQ related issues.
“The organization’s endorsement process included candidate questionnaires, public forums, and direct voting by active CSD members,” the statement announcing its endorsements says. “Each endorsement reflects the collective voice of 173 LGBTQ+ Democrats who voted in the process and are committed to building lasting political power in the District,” according to the statement. “Candidates that reached 60 percent support received the endorsement.”
Garrett, the group’s former president, acknowledged that with nearly all candidates running in D.C. elections expressing strong support for the LGBTQ community, many if not most of the group’s members most likely chose a candidate based on issues other than LGBTQ related issues.
He said he believes Lewis George, who he is supporting and is viewed as a progressive candidate who self-identifies as a Democratic Socialist, compared to McDuffie, who is viewed as a moderate Democrat, captured the group’s endorsement based on the view that she is the best person to lead the city going forward.
“I believe that Capital Stonewall members voted for Janeese Lewis George because we’re tired of the status quo and we need a new, bold leader to not only move our city forward but also to stand up to Donald Trump and his administration,” Garrett told the Washington Blade.
McDuffie’s LGBTQ supporters, including former Capital Stonewall Democrats presidents David Meadows and Kurt Vorndran, have argued that McDuffie’s positions on a wide range of issues, including LGBTQ issues, show him to be the best candidates to lead the city at this time and In future years.
The group’s endorsement of Lewis George comes one week after GLAA DC, a nonpartisan LGBTQ advocacy group, awarded her its highest candidate rating of +10.
Rehoboth Beach
What’s new in Rehoboth Beach for summer 2026
Moon changes ownership, Market 59 debuts, and much more
Another year and Rehoboth Beach, Del., is ready for the new summer season. The crowds will come for sun, sand, surf, and the boardwalk. It will cost a little more to get to the beach this year, as gas prices are way up. But once you are in Rehoboth, you know it’s worth it.
One aesthetic change you’ll notice at the boardwalk is the installation of a security gate and bollards near the bandstand, intended to enhance security during large events. The town plans an expanded fireworks show for July 4 to honor the nation’s 250th birthday.
Most of the commercial establishments in Rehoboth are along and between three blocks: Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Avenue, and Wilmington Avenue. This column will seem like I am walking back and forth because I am, and you will too. One thing to remember: Parking in Rehoboth is difficult and expensive and free parking is over as of May 15. There are parking permits available for either a day or longer at the non-metered spots.
During more than 40 years that I have been going to Rehoboth, including more than 30 owning a place in Sussex County, I have witnessed the town transform from a summer vacation spot to a vibrant, year-round community. This was hastened by the COVID pandemic, when lots of people moved to the beach when they could work virtually. Others, reaching retirement age, decided the beach was the place to be. This influx of residents has given many businesses a reason to stay open year round.
Over the years, Rehoboth has become a real foodie town, with many more restaurants, many of them high-end, opening. There are local gay-led restaurant groups like the award-winning Second Block Hospitality Group, which operates The Pines, Bodhi Kitchen, and Drift. Another group, JAM Holdings, owns Eden, which relocated to Route 1 in January after 20 years on Baltimore Avenue; and Jam, which is expected to reopen on Rehoboth Avenue later this year after leaving its Wilmington Avenue location that was demolished over the winter. That building was home to several beloved restaurants over the decades, including Chez la Mer and Azzurro.
Among the new businesses this year, be sure to stop at the gay-owned Bay Laurel Home and Garden, located at the old Farmer Girl site on Route 1 for your gardening needs. The Waypoint Hotel opened in December on Rehoboth Avenue, site of the former gay-owned Shore Inn.
Another of the newbies is the upscale Market 59 on Baltimore Avenue. The owners plan to add a restaurant and bar before July 4 called Fifty-Nine. The market offers grab-and-go options for the beach plus homemade breads and pastries, produce, and seafood. Then there is the renamed Frankie and Louie’s across the street, now called Pazzo Italiano. Still the same great takeout and now hooked up with The Pines leading to some new menu items. Then I hear there will also be a new Champagne Bar opening soon on Baltimore Avenue.
Then there are the established and stellar standbys, including the Back Porch, on Rehoboth Avenue; Megan Kee’s restaurants La Fable, Houston White, and Dalmata; and the restaurants on Wilmington Avenue, including Mariachi, Salt Air, and Henlopen Oyster House, where you can sample the Rehoboth Rose oysters from the gay-owned Nancy James Oysters. Then on 1st Street there is Goolee’s Grill for a comforting breakfast and Bloody. Walk up the second block of Rehoboth Avenue and you reach the Purple Parrot and its ever-popular Biergarten.
The iconic Blue Moon restaurant and bar was recently sold to new owners who have pledged to keep it an LGBTQ-affirming space, according to longtime owner Tim Ragan. Ragan and his partner Randy Haney sold the Blue Moon to Dale Lomas and Mike Subrick, owners of Atlantic Liquors on Route 1. “They don’t want to change a thing,” Ragan told the Blade. Happy hour continues all summer long from 4-6 p.m.
For morning coffee nothing beats The Coffee Mill, in the mews between Rehoboth and Baltimore Avenue, where I can be found every morning I am at the beach. The owners, Mel and Bob, also own the Mill Creamery ice cream shop, and another Coffee Mill in Dewey Beach. Mel is proud of his clothing store BRASHhh on 1st Street. On the Rehoboth Avenue side of the mews is the beloved Browseabout Books where you can find a beach read, grab a coffee, and shop for everything from toys to home decor. A few doors away on Rehoboth Avenue is the fun Gidget’s Gadgets.
My favorite place for happy hour is Aqua Bar & Grill for good drinks, food, and service. Say hi to Katie Lyell behind the bar at Aqua, winner of the Blade’s Best Of Award for Best Rehoboth Bartender. Aqua, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, hosts Taco Tuesdays and half-price burgers on Thursdays, all on the spacious outdoor deck. While you are on Baltimore Avenue make sure to stop by CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community center. Pick up your copy of Letters and take a peek at the art exhibit in their offices. Maybe even say hello to the new executive director, Robin Brennan, Ph.D. I had the chance to stop in and meet her and my congratulations to the board. I think they made a great choice for executive director and the organization is clearly in good hands. Then stop in the CAMP Courtyard, and get something to eat at Lori’s Oy Vey café, celebrating her 30th season, and still the best chicken salad at the beach. Visit the newly relocated Gallery 50 on Baltimore Avenue, which moved from Wilmington Avenue. Then stop in at Elegant Slumming, also on Baltimore Avenue, say hi to Philip, and shop his exquisite jewelry, and some great artwork. If you have a pet and want to treat them to something nice, stop by Critter Beach on Rehoboth Avenue.
After a day in the sand, and a good dinner, there is the nightlife. Diego’s on Rehoboth Avenue Extended hosts regular entertainment, including drag shows and internationally renowned DJs. A new partially enclosed patio offers an expanded space to hang out. Don’t miss their Sundays with local icon Pamala Stanley, now in her 21st season at the beach; in addition to her Sunday dance party, she performs her “Piano Pam” show on Monday evenings. Then there is always fun at Freddie’s Beach Bar, on 1st Street with its video bar and regular entertainment. Clear Space Theatre on the first block of Baltimore Avenue has a busy summer of shows including “The Cher Show”(June 23-Aug. 27), “Mean Girls” (June 26-Aug. 29), and “Pretty Woman” (July 1-Aug. 25). Clear Space always hosts talented casts including many college students who are getting their first chance to shine. Some come back when they are a little more established. This year that includes Caetano de Sá who first performed at the beach in “Jersey Boys” when he was a student at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where he earned his BFA in musical theater. He will be back as of May 25 for the summer rep to play Sonny in the production of “The Cher Show,” Martin/Coach Carr in “Mean Girls,” and Mr. Hollister in “Pretty Woman,” along with some cabarets. The incredibly talented Ashley Williams is also back in town and will host a cabaret show on Aug. 2. Tickets for all the shows are available online and they sell out fast.
So, make your plans now to head to the beach. Stay a day, or a week, or more, in a hotel, or a rental house. But make those plans quickly, as things sell out fast in Rehoboth. Look forward to seeing you at the beach!
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