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Minister denounces HRC silence on Wone verdict & more
Minister denounces HRC silence on Wone verdict
A D.C. minister who emerged as an outspoken opponent of the city’s same-sex marriage law has denounced the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBT groups for not speaking out against the acquittal of three gay men implicated in the Robert Wone murder case.
Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative, was referencing a D.C. Superior Court judge’s decision June 29 acquitting Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward of charges stemming from the 2006 murder of local attorney Robert Wone.
Judge Lynn Leibovitz, who presided over the non-jury trial, ruled that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the three defendants committed any crimes.
“In the past, the National Black Church Initiative has spoken out against violence against homosexuals,” Evans said in his July 21 statement. “But none of the local or national gay groups have spoken out against this miscarriage of justice.
“Outcries are heard loud and clear when these organizations or members of their community are wronged,” he said. “What kind of hypocrisy is at play when they refuse to respond when homosexuals perpetrate a wrong?”
Michael Cole, an HRC spokesperson, said the group speaks out on hate crimes against gays and other minorities, but it’s not within its purview to comment on other criminal cases. Police and prosecutors did not classify the Wone case as a hate crime.
“We follow and comment on issues of crimes against our community because one of the critical pieces of work that we deal with is protecting our community from hate crimes,” Cole said.
David Greer, one of three gay editors of the Who Murdered Robert Wone blog, said the editors and numerous contributors to the blog have spoken out in the blog on what they consider the injustice of the unsolved Wone murder.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Rehoboth attack not bias-related: police
The assault and robbery of a gay man on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk was one of at least four muggings in the popular resort town over the past two weeks and does not appear to be a hate crime, according to Rehoboth’s police chief.
But Stephen Gerard, the victim of the July 17 boardwalk mugging, said the trauma of the attack was heightened when two police officers responding to the scene asked him if he provoked the incident by making a pass at one or more of the perpetrators.
“The officers who took my statement were skeptical of me,” he said in an e-mail. “They determined I was gay and accused me of looking for prostitutes who frequent that end of the beach.”
Gerard said the incident was unprovoked and took place seconds after he walked past a group of about five young men who were hanging around a bench on the boardwalk.
“After I passed them, I noticed a shadow coming from behind to the left,” he said. “Then everything went black. When I awoke, I was bleeding profusely and my wallet was stolen. A straight couple nearby called 911.”
Gerard was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released.
Rehoboth Police Chief Keith Banks told the Blade he regrets that Gerard interpreted the officers’ questions as being accusatory. He noted that the south end of the boardwalk — where Gerard was attacked — has been known as a gay male cruising spot and that some gays have been targeted for assaults there in past years.
“For a very long time we haven’t had anything like this,” Banks said, so when Gerard’s case surfaced last week, the officers arriving at the scene wanted to cover every possible angle.
“As soon as I saw that, I was in contact with the officers working that night, the shift commander, to see what exactly was going on, if it could have been handled better, how it was worded,” he said. “We don’t want to add any more trauma to a victim. I can assure you of that. We want to get these guys just as bad. We have a wonderful community here and we don’t want it harmed by some thugs doing this type of crime.”
Banks said the victims in the other three incidents are not believed to be gay. He said each gave similar descriptions of the attackers, leading police to believe the same group of perpetrators is committing the muggings.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Lesbian chef challenges Dupont restrictions
The acclaimed chef and owner of the Dupont Circle restaurant Hank’s Oyster Bar, who is lesbian, has created a stir by challenging a longstanding city practice backed by some civic groups calling for restaurants and bars to agree to certain restrictions on their operations.
The restrictions are outlined in documents known as voluntary agreements, which Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and some neighborhood activists have demanded in exchange for not opposing a business’s liquor license. Nightlife advocates, gay and straight alike, have complained that the voluntary agreements are forced upon the businesses and unfairly impose restrictions, such as early closing hours and bans on dancing or entertainment, that are not required by law.
Supporters of the agreements say they are needed to protect residential areas from noise and other disturbances that they say some bars, restaurants and nightlife venues create.
Hank’s Oyster Bar owner Jamie Leeds has applied for permission with the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to expand her popular restaurant to an adjacent building near 17th and Q streets, N.W. She has requested that the voluntary agreement she signed five years ago when she opened the restaurant be terminated because, among other reasons, it forbids her from expanding to a larger space.
In a development viewed as recognition of Hank’s as a well-liked and trouble-free business, the Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission voted not to challenge Leeds’ expansion proposal or demand she sign a new voluntary agreement.
But the Dupont Circle Citizens Association and five nearby residents filed challenges with the liquor board requesting that it reject her request to terminate the voluntary agreement. The challengers say they are open to negotiating an amended voluntary agreement that might allow Hank’s to expand into the adjacent building if Leeds complies with various restrictions.
Nightlife advocates have hailed Leeds for standing up to what they call unfair and unreasonable restrictions imposed in voluntary agreements.
David Mallof and Alexis Rieffel, two of the residents opposed to dropping the agreement, say in their challenge that any decision by the liquor board approving Leeds’ request “would be widely viewed as aggressive, anti-resident regulatory behavior.” The two called for the board to reject a “sweeping, draconian, unwarranted, and overreaching possible termination of an appropriately and legally promulgated, valid and in-force, mutually and contractually agreed upon voluntary agreement.”
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
District of Columbia
Adams Morgan queer bar broken into and vandalized
Sinners and Saints targeted Thursday night
On Thursday night, Sinners and Saints, a popular queer bar in Adams Morgan and the only QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color) bar in D.C., was broken into and vandalized with homophobic slurs, according to a recent Instagram post from the establishment.
“Last night, our bar — the only QTBIPOC bar in DC — was broken into and hate-crimed during DC Black Pride, a time meant for celebration, resilience, and joy — and on the eve of WorldPride 2025. We are heartbroken, but we are not broken,” the post read.
The statement was accompanied by a slideshow showing the damage: the front iron gate door and its glass counterpart shattered, glass strewn across the floor, and the word “FAGGOT” scrawled in black ink on the wall.
“This space exists to protect and celebrate queer and trans BIPOC communities, and this attack only strengthens our resolve,” the post continued. “We will NOT be silenced. We will NOT be intimidated. We will NOT back down.”
“To those who tried to harm us: hate fuels our defiance. To our community: we see you, we love you, and we will continue fighting for you. Sinners and Saints is resistance. We will rebuild. We will STAY OPEN. And we will keep our doors — and hearts — wide open for all who need refuge.”
They ended the message with a call to action: “Stand with us. Share this. Show up. We keep us safe.”
“What happened was truly disheartening, but we won’t be silenced,” co-owner Fazeel Ashraf told the Washington Blade. “QTBIPOC spaces are so important in this current political climate. I’d love to do a phone interview with one of my fellow partners.”
Despite the heartbreak surrounding the break-in and what Ashraf described as “a hate crime,” the LGBTQ community quickly rallied in the comments, offering support and assistance.
“Please let us know how we can help!” wrote Nik Battaglia. “I’m a handy queer with handy queer friends — I can fix shit, paint shit, and am happy to stand guard outside.”
Even national figures chimed in.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Laganja Estranja commented, “Incredible response! I believe in you. Sending so much love and strength.”
The Blade reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department regarding the break-in but has not received a response.
To view the damage, and some of the LGBTQ community’s supportive statements, visit the Sinners and Saints’s Instagram page.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Raffi Freedman-Gurspan on being appointed Associate Director, Federal Funding & Infrastructure Office, at the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration & Finance. Freedman-Gurspan will be returning to her hometown of Boston and joining Gov. Maura Healey’s Administration. Freedman-Gurspan served in both the Obama and Biden administrations as well as worked in LGBTQ and redistricting advocacy during her 11 years in D.C.
Freedman-Gurspan was the first openly transgender person on the White House staff when she worked for President Obama. She most recently served at the U.S. Department of Transportation in former Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s office, as Deputy Director of Public Engagement. Previously she worked with the National Redistricting Action Fund/The All On The Line Campaign, as Deputy States Director. She worked for the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) as Director of External Relations. In the Obama White House, she worked in the Office of Public Engagement, as Senior Associate Director. She was the White House Liaison to the LGBTQ community responsible for management of all public inquiries on matters regarding LGBTQ people, including recommending public responses to senior leadership, assisting in drafting administration talking points, and coordinating stakeholder engagement with the White House offices. She worked with the White House, Presidential Personnel Office (PPO), as Outreach and Recruitment Director.
Prior to that she was on the staff of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, House of Representatives Office of State Rep. Carl Sciortino, as legislative director, and worked for the City of Somerville, Health Department, Office of Commissions, Somerville, Mass., as LGBTQ Liaison.
Freedman-Gurspan served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Presidentially Appointed Council; and as a member, and Board Member, Boston University, College of Arts and Sciences, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Norwegian, concentration in Nordic Studies, from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
District of Columbia
Murdered Israeli embassy officials were supporters of D.C.’s LGBTQ synagogue
Bet Mishpachah calls fatal shooting outside Capital Jewish Museum ‘devastating’
The two Israeli embassy officials who were shot to death outside D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday evening, May 21, were strong supporters of Bet Mishpachah, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive synagogue, according to a statement it released.
“We are especially devastated by the loss of our dear colleague and friend of Bet Mishpachah, Sarah Milgram, and her soon to be fiancé, Yaron Lischinsky,” the LGBTQ synagogue said in a May 22 statement.
“Sarah was the liaison between Bet Mishpachah and the Israeli Embassy, working closely with our staff and clergy,” the statement says. “Her warmth, professionalism, and deep commitment to building bridges within the Jewish community made her not only a trusted partner but a beloved part of our extended congregational family,” according to the statement.
A statement also released on May 22 by the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia says Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez, 30, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with other weapons related charges in connection with the shooting deaths of Milgram and Lischinsky.
Officials with the D.C. police and the FBI, which has joined D.C. police in continuing to investigate the case, have said Rodriquez arrived in D.C. from Chicago one day prior to the shooting and appears to have targeted an event taking place at the Capital Jewish Museum for violence at the time it was hosting an event called “Young Diplomats Reception,” in which Israeli Embassy officials were in attendance.
Police and FBI officials have said Rodriguez allegedly shot Milgrim and Lischinsky after they left the Capital Jewish Museum at the conclusion of the event. The museum is located at 575 3rd Street, N.W.
“Surveillance footage reportedly shows Rodriquez walking past the victims before turning and firing multiple rounds,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement says. “After the victims fell, he allegedly continued firing at close range, including as one attempted to crawl away,” it says, adding, “Investigators recovered a 9 mm handgun and 21 spent shell casings at the scene.”
Police have said Rodriguez walked into the Capital Jewish Museum after the shooting and was detained by security guards until D.C. police arrived. Witnesses said he began to shout, “free, free Palestine” before police took him into custody.
“Make no mistake, this attack was targeted, antisemitic violence,” said Steven Jenson, an FBI assistant director working on the investigation. “The FBI will continue to pursue all leads and use all available resources to investigate this heinous murder,” he said in the statement.
The fatal shooting took place five days after the Capital Jewish Museum opened a special exhibition called “LGBT Jews in the Federal City” on May 16. “This landmark exhibition explores a turbulent century of celebrations, activism, and change in the nation’s capital by D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community,” the museum said in a statement announcing the exhibition.
Photos and documents related to Bet Mishpachah make up a prominent part of the exhibition.
During a May 22 press conference organized by the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, to provide an update on the investigation into the two murders, Pirro and FBI official Jensen referred to the two murders as a hate crime and terrorist act.
In response to a question from the Washington Blade asking if investigators were looking into whether the LGBTQ exhibition at the Capital Jewish Museum might have played some role in Gonzales’s motive for targeting the museum, Pirro responded to the question.
“So, we are looking into absolutely everything,” she said. “There is so much information we’re looking at. And I must tell you, coming from New York, I’ve never seen the cooperation and coordination that I’m seeing here. It was immediate. It was instant. It was coordinated. And my hat’s off to this area. We’re going to clean it up, thank you,” she said in ending the press conference.
Josh Maxey, Bet Mishpachah’s executive director, said he and Israeli Embassy official Milgram became friends during their two-and-a-half-year interaction working on joint events between the embassy and Bet Mishpachah.
“This became a wonderful two and a half years journey of putting events together, of hosting events together, doing different programs for the community,” Maxey told the Blade. Among the activities the two worked on, he said, was the embassy’s annual LGBTQ Pride event.
Maxie said his own grieving over the death of Milgram and her boyfriend Lischinsky was heightened by the fact that he spoke with her by phone on the day of the shooting shortly before she arrived at the Jewish Museum over plans about this year’s LGBTQ Pride events.
“Sarah really championed us to be included in Israeli events,” Maxey said. “And so, I am just devastated that this true embodiment of an ally was so viciously and violently taken away from us.”
Adams Morgan queer bar broken into and vandalized
‘Things Like This’ embraces formula and plus-size visibility
Calendar: May 23-29
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