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Charges dropped against Choi, Pietrangelo

Trial for White House arrests cancelled

Published

15 years ago

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Charges against U.S. Army Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II (left) Lt. Dan Choi stemming from their ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ protests outside the White House were dropped Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The trial for two gay Army officers arrested for chaining themselves to the White House fence in protest over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was cancelled Wednesday after charges were dropped in the case.

On the scheduled trial date, prosecutor Christine Chang announced before the D.C. Superior Court that the government was dropping the charges against Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II for their acts of civil disobedience.

Choi and Pietrangelo had faced penalties stemming for chaining themselves to the White House gates March 18 and April 20. The Army officers were charged with two counts of a failure to obey a lawful order and could have been fined up to $1,000 for their offense.

Following the court appearance, Chang told the Blade the U.S. attorney’s office is “not proceeding with the case at this time,” but declined to comment on why the charges were dropped.

Mark Goldstone, a local attorney representing Choi and Pietrangelo in court, said he was “shocked” the U.S. Attorney’s office decided to dismiss the charges.

Goldstone said he suspected someone from the White House called the U.S. Attorney’s office Wednesday to cancel the trial for “purely political reasons.”

“I think they’re embarassed about defending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is an abomination,” Goldstone said.

Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, told the Blade that the White House had no involvement in dropping the charges against Choi and Pietrangelo.

Following the trial, Choi said his efforts to draw attention to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were not “just for a sound bite” or “to get famous.”

Had the trial proceeded, Choi said he would have talked about how “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” affects LGBT service members and how “people are dying because they kill themselves” under the current law.

At several points during his coming out process, Choi said he wanted to “put a bullet” into his West Point pistol and shoot himself.

“You know all of the consequences of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” Choi said. “You’re not just getting fired from your job, it’s not just a national security issue, and it’s not just a matter of taxpayer money. It’s really about the enforced shame that it causes.”

Pietrangelo said after his court appearance he wasn’t surprised that the U.S. Attorney office’s dismissed the charges because he’s “absolutely confident that we had justice on our side.”

“We won even before we went into the court room is how I felt,” Pietrangelo said. “We were prepared to litigate the whole dirty mess that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is.”

Pietrangelo said he intends to participate in further acts of civil disobedience to keep drawing attention to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but declined to offer any details about his plans.

Litigation in the courts and legislation in Congress is pending that could lead to repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The House and a Senate committee in May approved a measure that would lead to the end of the law, and people following Capitol Hill expect the full Senate to take up the issue within months.

Still, Choi said the administration has been “more than incompetent” and “unwilling” to follow through with President Obama’s promise to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Choi said he plans to continue participating in acts of civil disobedience as long as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” remains in effect and everyone needs to step up to their responsibility.

Asked whether he would return to the White House, Choi replied, “Let me just say going to jail and being shackled up is nothing compared to allowing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to exist on the books.” He declined to elaborate further on his plans.

Paul Yandura, a gay D.C. activist and organizer with GetEqual, which helped organize the protests, noted the officers who arrested Choi and Pietrangelo came to the court on the scheduled date of the trial, suggesting the U.S. Attorney’s office was prepared to have them testify.

Yandura said activists following the court apperance asked the prosecutor whether she was prepared for the case and Chang responded she was prepared but couldn’t provide further comment.

“Someone told her at the last minute to drop all charges,” Yandura said. “It’s probably because it’s an embarassment that repeal’s not done. … They just decided to shut this down before we had two trials talking about ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.'”

Yandura also noted that the stay-away order precluding Choi and Pietrangelo from approaching the White House has been lifted, meaning both men engage in further acts of civil disobedience there.

Goldstone said he had planned to present at trial evidence that included previous public statements from Obama asking for continued pressure to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Obama needed proof of agitations … for political cover,” Goldstone said. “Dan and Jim took his command as a direct command.”

Activists affiliated with GetEqual had presented Obama with a subpoena to testify on behalf of Choi and Pietrangelo during the trial. Neither the president nor any White House official was seen at court during the scheduled day for the trial.

Goldstone said he didn’t plan to present any other witnesses at the trial because he said Choi and Pietrangelo are the “best possible spokespersons” on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Among those who made an appearance in court on the scheduled trial date were Robin McGehee, co-founder of GetEqual, as well as Anthony Woods, a gay Army officer discharged in 2008 under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and who unsuccessfully ran to represent California in Congress earlier this year.

McGehee said civil disobedience won out in this case and charges were dropped because the White House didn’t want the attention on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Dan and Jim got what they wanted, which was to apply the pressure and to draw attention to the issue,” she said.

Woods said he wanted to attend the scheduled trial as a “show of solidarity” for Choi; he and Choi graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2003.

“I think he knows there are very real consequences to what he’s doing, which makes what he’s doing that much more heroic,” Woods said.

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District of Columbia

25K people attend People’s March in D.C.

President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is on Monday

Published

9 hours ago

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January 18, 2025

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The People's March was held downtown Washington on Jan. 18, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Upwards of 25,000 people attended the People’s March that took place in D.C. on Saturday.

Participants — who protested against President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals they say would target transgender people, immigrants, women, and other groups — gathered at McPherson and Farragut Squares and Franklin Park before they joined the march that ended at the Lincoln Memorial.

The Gender Liberation Movement is among the groups that sponsored the march. Dozens of other People’s Marches took place in cities across the country on Saturday.

Trump’s inauguration will take place in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers)

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Virginia

Arlington man arrested for arson at Freddie’s Beach Bar

Suspect charged with setting fires at two other nearby restaurants

Published

1 day ago

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January 17, 2025

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Timothy Clark Pollock (Photo courtesy of the Arlington County Fire Department)

The Arlington County Fire Department announced on Jan. 16 that an Arlington man has been arrested on three counts of arson for at least three fires set at restaurants on the same block on South 23rd Street, including Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, which is a gay establishment.

A statement released by the fire department says a warrant for the arrest of Timothy Clark Pollock was issued on Jan. 15 and that Clark was apprehended by Alexandria police on Jan. 16 at approximately 6:54 a.m. It says he was transferred into the custody of fire marshals and the Arlington Police Department.

Fire department officials have said the fires that Pollock allegedly set took place between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, on the 500 block of South 23rd Street in the Crystal City section of Arlington.

Freddie Lutz, owner of Freddie’s, said the front door of his establishment was set on fire with what appeared to be a flammable liquid such as lighter fluid. The door was partially blackened by the fire, but the restaurant itself did not catch fire, Lutz said.

Fire department officials said the other two nearby establishments hit by small fires around that same time were the Crystal City Sports Pub and McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant.

Lutz told the Washington Blade that the fire at Freddie’s took place the day before and the day after Freddie’s received a threatening phone call from what sounded like the same unidentified male caller.

“He said I’m going to fuck you up and I’m going to fuck the women up,” Lutz said the person told Freddie’s manager, who answered the two calls.

Lutz speculated that the caller could have been the same person who started the fire at Freddie’s and possibly the other two restaurants.

The short statement by the Arlington County Fire Department announcing the arrest did not say whether fire and police investigators have determined a possible motive for the fires. The statement says Pollock was being held without bond and that he is “also facing additional charges for unrelated crimes, which remain under investigation.”

The online Arlington news publication ARLNow reports that a Facebook account associated with Timothy C. Pollock includes a photo from inside Freddie’s posted on Facebook on Dec. 21.

Lutz confirmed for the Blade the photo is clearly one that was taken inside Freddie’s showing Christmas decorations, leading Lutz to believe that Pollock has been inside Freddie’s at least once if not more than once.

Photos of Timothy C. Pollock on that person’s Facebook page appear to be the same Pollock as that captured in the mug shot photo of Pollock released by the Arlington County Fire Department on Jan. 16.

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Delaware

Delaware governor issues executive order creating LGBTQ+ Commission

Body to ‘strengthen ties’ between government and community

Published

1 day ago

on

January 17, 2025

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Delaware Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, center, on Jan. 16, 2025, signed an executive order that created the state's first LGBTQ+ Commission. (Photo courtesy of Sussex Pride)

Delaware Gov. Bethany Hall-Long on Jan. 16 signed and issued an executive order creating a Delaware State LGBTQ+ Commission that she said will hold public forums for the exchange of ideas on the needs of the state’s diverse LGBTQ community.

“The nine-member commission will serve to strengthen ties between the government and LGBTQ+ organizations,” a statement released by the governor’s office says.

The statement adds that the new commission will “help remove barriers to societal participation for LGBTQ+ people and improve the delivery of services to the community in Delaware to areas such as employment, equality, education, and mental health.”

It says that members of the commission will be appointed by the governor and serve without monetary compensation for a three-year term.

According to the statement, the commission members “will represent different facets of the LGBTQ+ community, taking into account age, race, gender, identity, background, life experiences and other factors, and reflect the geographic diversity of the state.”

Hall-Long’s executive order creating the new commission came at a time when she is serving in effect as interim governor for a period of just two weeks. As lieutenant governor, she became governor on Jan. 7 when outgoing Gov. John Carney resigned to take office in his newly elected position of mayor of Wilmington.

Carney, who served two terms as governor, could not run again for that position under Delaware’s term limit law. Democrat Matt Myer won the governor’s election in November and will be sworn in as Delaware’s next governor on Jan. 21, when Hall-Long will step down.

Myer was expected to appoint the commission members in the weeks following his assumption of gubernatorial duties.

“Ultimately, the commission will advise the governor, members of the governor’s Cabinet, members of the General Assembly, and other policymakers on the effect of agency policies, procedures, practices, laws, and administrative rules on the unique challenges and needs of LGBTQ+ people,”  the statement released by Hall-Long’s office says.

“It is truly an honor to bring this commission to fruition, and I am very excited to see the positive changes the commission will make in the lives of our LGBTQ+ neighbors,” Hall-Long said in the statement.

David Mariner, executive director of Sussex Pride, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in Delaware’s Sussex County, which includes Rehoboth Beach, praised the new executive order as an important step in advancing LGBTQ equality.

“It is my hope that through this commission, we can address the critical issues facing LGBTQ Delawareans,” Mariner said in his own statement.

“This includes developing an LGBTQ health report with a tangible roadmap to health equity, increasing collaboration and communication on hate crimes and hate-related activities, and ensuring that nondiscrimination protections, guaranteed by law, are a reality for all of our residents,” he said.

The statement announcing the LGBTQ+ Commission and the full text of the executive order can be accessed here. 

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