National
Will arrests at White House usher new era of activism?
Gay soldier becomes face of civil disobedience

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 āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tell.ā (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
A gay solider who handcuffed himself to the White House fence last week in protest of āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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.
āI 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. āWhen thereās 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 āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tell.ā
Choi, who is in the process of being discharged from the Army under āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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 Pelosiās 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.
āWe had three simultaneous actions happening at the same time on the same day ā with the simple demand that we wanted āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tellā repealed immediately and ENDA to be brought to the floor immediately,ā McGehee said.
āAnd weāll be back in April,ā said McGehee, who lives in Fresno, Calif. āI canāt tell you what weāre going to do, but weāll be back.ā
Asked if future actions would involve LGBT protesters getting arrested, McGehee said, āYes, absolutely.ā
āSome of these will include non-violent civil disobedience that will lead to arrests and some of them will be moments that youāre going to highlight injustice through a creative action idea that doesnāt include an arrest,ā she said.
āBut what weāre 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 ālunch-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 nationās LGBT groups chose a path of more traditional lobbying and electioneering to build support for gay rights causes.
McGeheeās reference to the arrest actions by black civil rights activists in the South, where police often treated arrested demonstrators harshly, paralleled Choiās 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 cityās 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 āviolentlyā ripped several cloth insignias, including an American flag insignia, from Choiās uniform.
One by one, the officer ripped off the flag insignia, cloth stripes indicating Choiās rank and a cloth U.S. Army insignia, so as āto 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.
āWithin the gay community, so many leaders want acceptance from polite society,ā he said in the interview. āI think thereās been a betrayal of what is down inside of us in order to achieve what looks popular, what look enviable.
āThe movement seems to be centered around how to become an elite,ā he said. āI 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 ādeep schismā exists within the LGBT rights movement, with many gay and transgender youth becoming alienated from the more establishment-oriented groups.
Choiās 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 āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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.
āJoe explained that it wasnāt 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 ārepeal āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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, āIām 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, āOf 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 āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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 Choiās march to the White House, calling it āpolitically unsophisticated beyond belief.ā
āItās a shame that our community needs to be educated about the political process and they donāt get it,ā he said. āThey donāt understand that Congress needs to be moved on this issue and that people across the country have the power to do that. And if theyāre going to get them to yell and scream at the president, weāre going to fail, weāre going to lose.ā
But Choi and McGehee said later that Obama isnāt pushing hard enough to prod Congress to repeal āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tell.ā The two said their arrest action was aimed, in part, at pushing the president into including language to repeal āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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 HRCās decision to team up with a comedienne for a rally addressing discrimination against gays in the military.
ā’Donāt Ask, Donāt Tell’ is not a laughing matter,ā he said in the Newsweek interview.
HRC says differing
tactics no āschismā
Solmonese and two local activists involved in lobbying for D.C.ās same-sex marriage law took exception to some of Choiās comments.
āAny healthy and diverse social movement will have a diversity of voices and opinions,ā Solmonese told DC Agenda. āIndividuals 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 Choiās criticism of HRC off base.
āDirect action is a very good tactic,ā he said. āBut itās 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 āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tell,ā but also to attack HRC at the same time.ā
Summersgill disputed Choiās assertion that national lobbying groups like HRC are more interested in seeking an elitist status than in passing laws.
āHRC is a federal lobbying organization,ā he said. āTo pass laws, you have to talk to and build relationships with members of Congress.ā
Jose Zuniga, who was among the first to challenge āDonāt Ask, Donāt 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.
āI respect Dan Choiās 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 ⦠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.
Pennsylvania
Gay journalist murdered inside Philadelphia home
Josh Kruger’s death has left city ‘shocked and saddened’

An openly gay journalist was shot to death in his Point Breeze neighborhood home in the 2300 block of Watkins Street in South Philadelphia early Monday morning.
According to Officer Shawn Ritchie, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, 39-year-old Josh Kruger was shot at about 1:30 a.m. and collapsed in the street after seeking help. Kruger was transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m.
Police said that Kruger was shot seven times throughout the chest and abdomen and that no weapons were recovered nor have any arrests been made. Homicides investigators noted that there was no sign of forced entry and the motive remains unclear.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement:
“Josh Kruger lifted up the most vulnerable and stigmatized people in our communities ā particularly unhoused people living with addiction. As an openly queer writer who wrote about his own journey surviving substance use disorder and homelessness, it was encouraging to see Josh join the Kenney administration as a spokesperson for the Office of Homeless Services.
Josh deserved to write the ending of his personal story. As with all homicides, we will be in close contact with the Philadelphia police as they work to identify the person or persons responsible so that they can be held to account in a court of law. I extend my deepest condolences to Joshās loved ones and to all those mourning this loss.ā
WHYY reported Kruger had written extensively with bylines in multiple publications, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, the Philadelphia Citizen, WHYY, and Billy Penn.
CBS News reported that Kruger overcame homelessness and addiction to work for five years in city government, handling Mayor Jim Kenney’s social media and serving as the communications director for the city’s Office of Homeless Services.
He left city government in 2021 to return to journalism, according to his website.
“He was more than just a journalist,” Kendall Stephens, who was a friend and neighbor of Kruger’s, told CBS News. “He was more than just a community member. He was somebody that fought that great fight so many of us are not able to fight that fight because we’re too busy sheltered in our own homes wondering if someone is going to knock down our doors and kill us the same way they killed him. The same way they tried to kill me. And we’re tired of it.”
Kenney said in a statement that he is “shocked and saddened” by Kruger’s death.
“He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing. Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him.”
Shocked and saddened by Josh Krugerās death. He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing.
— Mayor Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) October 2, 2023
Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him. https://t.co/dnRxQ0Ic3W
The District Attorneyās LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee issued the following statement:
āMany of us knew Josh Kruger as a comrade who never stopped advocating for queer Philadelphians living on the margins of society. His struggles mirrored so many of ours ā from community rejection, to homelessness, to addiction, to living with HIV, to poverty ā and his recovery, survival, and successes showed whatās possible when politicians and elected leaders reject bigotry and work affirmatively to uplift all people. Even while Josh worked for the mayor, he never stopped speaking out against police violence, politicized attacks on trans and queer people, or the societal discarding of homeless and addicted Philadelphians.
We are devastated that Joshās life was ended so violently. We urge anyone who has information that could lead to an arrest and prosecution for Joshās murder to contact the Philadelphia Police or the DAās Office directly. LGBTQ+ Philadelphians experience violence of all kinds every day; few people used their platforms to remind powerful people in government of that reality as effectively as Josh Kruger did. Josh and the communities he advocated for every day of his life deserve nothing less than justice and accountability for this outrageous crime.ā
U.S. Federal Courts
Lesbian mother from El Salvador released from ICE custody
Jessica Barahona-Martinez arrested on June 26, 2017

A federal judge last week ordered the release of a lesbian mother from El Salvador who had been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since June 2017.
Jessica Patricia Barahona-Martinez and her three children entered the U.S. on May 31, 2016. A court filing notes she fled “persecution she faced in El Salvador as a lesbian, and because the government had falsely identified her as a gang member.ā
Barahona-Martinez lived with her sister and other relatives in Woodbridge, Va., until ICE arrested and detained her on June 26, 2017. She was housed at two ICE detention centers in Virginia until her transfer to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a privately-run facility the GEO Group, a Florida-based company, operates in Basile, La., in October 2020.
An immigration judge in November 2019 granted Barahona-Martinez asylum for the second time. The government appealed the decision and the Board of Immigration Appeals, which the Justice Department oversees, ruled in their favor.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Louisiana last month filed a writ for habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana’s Lafayette Division that asked for Barahona-Martinez’s release. U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty on Sept. 27 ruled in her favor.
“Petitioner (Barahona-Martinez) ultimately argues that her prolonged detention violates due process; she moves that this court issues a temporary restraining order, requests release, a bond hearing, an expedited hearing and costs and attorney fees,” wrote Doughty.
“This court finds that petitioner has plausibly alleged her prolonged detention violates due process,” added Doughty.
An ACLU spokesperson on Monday told the Blade that ICE has released Barahona-Martinez and she is once again in Virginia with her children and sister.
State Department
State Department hosts intersex activists from around the world
Group met with policy makers, health officials, NGOs

The State Department last week hosted five intersex activists from around the world.
Kimberly Zieselman, a prominent intersex activist who advises Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad, brought the activists to D.C.
⢠Morgan Carpenter, co-founder and executive director of Intersex Human Rights Australia
⢠Natasha Jiménez, an intersex activist from Costa Rica who is the general coordinator of Mulabi, the Latin American Space for Sexualities and Rights
⢠Julius Kaggwa, founder of the Support Initiative for People with Atypical Sex Development Uganda
⢠Magda Rakita, co-founder and executive director of Fujdacja Interakcja in Poland and co-founder of Interconnected UK
⢠Esan Regmi, co-founder and executive director of the Campaign for Change in Nepal.
Special U.S. Envoy for Global Youth Issues Abby Finkenauer and Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine are among the officials with whom the activists met.
Zieselman told the Washington Blade on Sept. 21 the activists offered State Department officials an “intersex 101” overview during a virtual briefing.
More than 60 Save the Children staffers from around the world participated in another virtual briefing. Zieselman noted the activists also met with Stern, U.N. and Organization of American States officials, funders and NGO representatives while in D.C.
“The people we met were genuinely interested,” Rakita told the Blade.
Stern in an exclusive statement to the Blade said “the visiting intersex activists clearly had an impact here at State, sharing their expertise and lived experience highlighting the urgency to end human rights abuses, including those involving harmful medical practices against intersex persons globally.” Andrew Gleason, senior director for gender equality and social justice at Save the Children US, in a LinkedIn post he wrote after attending his organization’s meeting with the activists echoed Stern.
“There are many learnings to recount from todayās discussion, but one thing is clear, this is unequivocally a child rights issue, and one that demands attention and action at the intersection of LGBTQI+ rights, reproductive rights and justice, disability justice and more,” wrote Gleason. “Gratitude to the panelists for sharing such poignant testimonies and providing insights into what organizations like ours can do to contribute to the broader intersex movement; and thank you to Kimberly for your leadership and bringing this group together.”
The activists’ trip to D.C. coincided with efforts to end so-called sex “normalization” surgeries on intersex children.
Greek lawmakers in July passed a law that bans such procedures on children under 15 unless they offer their consent or a court allows them to happen. Doctors who violate the statute face fines and prison.
Germany Iceland, Malta, Portugal and Spain have also enacted laws that seek to protect intersex youth.
A law that grants equal rights and legal recognition to intersex people in Kenya took effect in July 2022. Lawmakers in the Australian Capital Territory earlier this year passed the Variation in Sex Characteristics (Restricted Medical Treatment) Bill 2023.
Intersex Human Rights Australia notes the law implements “mechanisms to regulate non-urgent medical care to encourage child participation in medical decisions, establish groundbreaking oversight mechanisms and provide transparency on medical practices and decision making.” It further points out the statute “will criminalize some deferrable procedures that permanently alter the sex characteristics of children” and provides “funding for necessary psychosocial supports for families and children.”
“It’s amazing,” Carpenter told the Blade when discussing the law and resistance to it. “It’s not perfect. There was some big gaps, but physicians are resisting every step of the way.”
The State Department in April 2022 began to issue passports with an “X” gender marker.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as non-binary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an āXā gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.