Local
Cobalt staffer suffers broken jaw in attack
Stolen phone used to leave insulting Facebook message
Gregory ‘Sean’ Morris, an employee of the gay bar Cobalt, suffered a broken jaw during a mugging last month. The attack is not being treated as a hate crime. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
One of two unidentified men who broke the jaw of an employee of the D.C. gay bar Cobalt during a mugging last month apparently left an insulting message on the victim’s Facebook page using his stolen cell phone.
Gregory “Sean” Morris, 32, said two men attacked and robbed him at 5 a.m. Sunday, July 25, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Lamont Street, N.W., as he was on his way home from work.
Morris said one of the attackers appeared to have accessed his Facebook page a few days after the mugging through the use of his cell phone, which was stolen during the attack. According to Morris, the person published a message written as if it came from Morris.
“I wanted to bust a nut but I can’t because my jaw hurts so bad,” he quoted the message as saying.
Police have listed the attack as robbery by force and violence. There was no immediate evidence of a hate crime, Morris said, because the attackers did not say anything to him as they robbed and assaulted him.
Morris noted that he was wearing a Cobalt shirt when he was attacked, but didn’t know if the attackers recognized the name as that of a gay bar.
The incident took place near where Morris exited a Metro bus and was walking to catch a second bus to take him closer to his home in Northwest D.C.
He said he recalls being knocked unconscious and waking up as one of the attackers dragged him from the sidewalk down a stairwell leading to the basement entrance of a house or building. He noted that one of the attackers punched him in the jaw as the other removed a backpack from his back.
“I realized immediately that they had broken it,” Morris said of his jaw. “They didn’t say a word to me.”
The only words spoken were when one assailant instructed the other to “hit me” when they realized he had regained consciousness, Morris told the Blade in a phone interview. He eventually managed to flag down a police car and was quickly taken to Howard University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to repair his jaw, which is now wired shut and will remain that way for eight weeks.
Morris, who works at Cobalt as a light technician and an independent events promoter, does not have medical insurance. Cobalt employees and friends have contributed to a fund to help him pay his doctor and hospital bills. He has also applied for compensation from the city’s victim assistance program, which provides some financial aid to victims of crime.
After taking his backpack, wallet, watch, and a small amount of cash, the two men left him in the stairwell and began to walk away, Morris said. As he struggled out of the stairwell and reached for his phone to call for help, Morris noticed the two attackers were watching him.
“I reached to see if they had taken my phone out of my pocket and they hadn’t,” Morris said. “They realized they hadn’t and they turned around and they came back to rob me again. They took my phone out of my pocket.”
The man who assaulted him in the stairwell then “hit me again,” he said.
Morris is hoping police will be able to track the suspects through cell phone records and any use of his stolen credit cards.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert
A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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