Local
Gay Discovery hostage shares story
Former Blade staffer on how life has changed since terrifying standoff
Chris Wood in a December, 2008 Blade staff photo outtake. (Blade file photo by Henry Linser)
A gay man who was one of three hostages held at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., on Sept. 1 used hand signals to initiate his and a fellow hostage’s escape seconds before police shot and killed a gunman who threatened to blow up the building.
Christopher B. Wood, 25, a former Washington Blade employee who works as a marketing specialist with Discovery Communications, gave a harrowing account of his four-hour ordeal in captivity at the hands of a disturbed gunman that has attracted national media coverage.
Seconds after Wood and Discovery Channel producer Jim McNulty ran for the exit door in a plan orchestrated by hand signals between Wood, McNulty, and a security guard who was also held hostage, members of a police swat team shot and killed the gunman, James Lee.
Authorities described Lee as a disturbed “environmental extremist” who believed the Discovery Channel was broadcasting harmful programs that would worsen global warming and other environmental problems.
In an interview with the Blade, Wood explained how he was able to clandestinely respond to a text message that a co-worker sent him from outside the building. Wood said the text message came at a time when he believed he would likely die at the hands of the gunman, who had explosives strapped to his body.
“Please tell Mark I love him,” Wood told co-worker Carlos Gutierrez in a text message referring to Wood’s partner.
About two hours later, while thinking of his partner Mark and other loved ones while being forced to lie face down on a marble floor in the Discovery building’s lobby, Wood said his fright and anxiety began to change to anger.
“I started to think in my head…no, this is not the way this is going to end,” he told the Blade in discussing his thoughts of a plan to escape. “I’m not going to die here on the floor. I’m not going to let somebody take over my life and tell me when I’m going to die.”
According to Wood and accounts by authorities, both Wood and fellow hostage McNulty walked into the Discovery building lobby shortly after returning from their lunch break about 1 p.m. on Sept. 1. McNulty said he saw Lee pointing his gun at the building’s lobby security guard and initially thought the two were actors participating in the filming of a movie until Lee pointed the gun at him and ordered him to lie face down on the floor.
Wood said he first noticed McNulty lying on the floor when he entered the lobby minutes later and thought McNulty was ill and wondered why someone wasn’t helping him. Before he could take more than a few steps, Wood said Lee pointed the gun at him and ordered him to lie on the floor.
During their four hours in captivity, Lee forced Wood and McNulty to remain on the floor except for times when he ordered them to stand and answer his questions about the plight of the earth, Wood said. Wood said the security guard remained at a desk where there was a phone that police hostage negotiators used to talk to Lee on and off throughout his stay in the building’s lobby.
Wood said he sized up Lee’s state of mind after hearing him talk to the negotiators through a speakerphone, where both parties could be heard.
“[T]he negotiator was asking how the hostages were,” said Wood. “And he kept saying, ‘I don’t care about these hostages. I don’t care if they die. I don’t care about them. I just care about what I want…If I blow up it will take all of them with me.”
Wood said that Lee “ranted” at McNulty after asking McNulty if he had kids. When McNulty told him he had two children Lee shouted that having children contributes to overpopulation, which is destroying the natural environment, according to an account by McNulty in media interviews.
When Lee called Wood over to the guard’s desk to question him, Wood said he had determined he would try to say as little as possible to avoid antagonizing Lee.
“So the gunman [said], ‘Stand up, you stand up. Put your hands on the desk,’” Wood said. “I walked up over to the desk, put my hands on the desk. And he [said], ‘He looks fine. Look at him, young, healthy.’”
From that point on, Wood said, Lee allowed him and McNulty to remain standing. It was at that time that Wood noticed the guard making subtle gestures that Wood thought suggested that he and McNulty should attempt to “make a run for it.”
“I looked at the guard,” said Wood. “I finally got his attention and I mouthed the word ‘run.’ And he shook his head yes. And so I then turned my body trying to get Jim’s attention.”
After what seemed like an eternity, Wood said, McNulty looked toward him “and I mouthed the word ‘run.’ He shook his head yes.”
Wood said he then began counting down with his fingers to McNulty with his body turned so that Lee could not see his fingers counting down from three to one, when the two would bolt for the door.
“And as soon as the gunman looked down toward the negotiator [on a speaker phone] I dropped my arms and ran to the same door that I came in,” he said, noting that he heard the sound of a “pop.”
Although he did not witness it, Wood learned later the sound he heard was the first of several shots fired by the Montgomery County police swat team. Police said members of the swat team, who entered the building earlier and were ready to rush into the lobby, shot Lee several times, killing him instantly.
“I’m not sure what the next chapter holds,” Wood said. But I will say that I have a whole new perspective on life. I went from dying and thinking I was dead to making a decision to live, making the decision to be the one that got us out of there safely and ran and made the initial stand. And my life will never be the same.”
A transcript of the Blade’s interview with Wood follows:
Washington Blade: Can you describe how it happened that you walked into this hostage situation on Sept. 1 at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.?
Chris Wood: I had my one o’clock and my noon [meetings] cancelled so I decided I was going to go out and grab a quick lunch. And I did right in downtown Silver Spring. I was walking back to the lobby taking my iPod headphones out of my ears, putting everything into my hands getting ready to walk into the lobby. I walked into the first door — it’s double doors. I opened the first door and started walking in and realized somebody was laying face first on the ground. And I looked to the left and I noticed a bag that I guess belonged to an individual and I recognized the bag was my co-worker Jim McNulty. And I looked back at the person laying face first on the ground and I put it together that it was Jim laying on the ground and that was his bag. By this point I’m reaching for the second door and basically looking up toward my left toward the reception desk trying to see why isn’t anyone helping him? What’s going on? And as I’m looking up to the left the gunman is wielding the gun at me saying, ‘Get on the ground, get on the ground.’ This was while I was walking into that second door. And I immediately switched everything from my left hand to my right hand — my iPod and my Blackberry and went down to the ground on the cold marble.
Blade: And this was in this very expansive lobby of the Discovery Channel headquarters?
Wood: Yes it is.
Blade: After that initial command, did the gunman say anything to you?
Wood: No. At this point he had gone back to the guard and he was continuing to assemble the device that was strapped to him. And as I was on the ground, I was looking up to the left looking at him and the guard and what was going on. Eventually, my phone kept going off in my right hand. I kept trying to answer it but I wasn’t looking at my phone. My head was to the left paying attention to the gunman and the other two hostages and I kept trying to answer it and answer it every time it rang or buzzed and eventually he asked Jim to get up. Jim got up and he was asking him questions.
The NBC reporter had called in that time [to the guard desk]. He was the first phone call in. The gunman eventually thought that that NBC reporter was a cop and ended up hanging up on him. But while he was asking Jim questions, Jim became in between the site of the gunman and I so the gunman could not look over and see me. I took my phone out of my right hand and switched it over to my left hand above my head while still lying on the floor. And the first thing I did was saw that my boss had called and I called the number back. Whoever was on the other end of that phone listened for two minutes and hung up.
And then I looked at my e-mail and saw that my boss wrote me an e-mail that said, “Are you O.K?” And I wrote back and said I’m a hostage with Jim McNulty and the guard in the lobby. And then I had two more text messages come in, one from a friend that works at Discovery. I texted him back and said I’m a hostage in the lobby. And my second text message to him was please tell Mark I love him. Mark is my partner.
… So I sent out the phone call and two text messages and at that point the gunman had finished his conversation with Jim and told Jim to get on the ground. And eventually he asked me to get up and walk over to the desk.
He asked me an array of questions. The first thing he said to me was you look like a strong man. And then he said, “What do you do here?” And I lied and I said I’m admin. And he said, “Admin, what is admin? What do you do?” And I said I file papers. Obviously, I lied. I didn’t want him to know what I did. I didn’t want him to know that I worked for a particular channel. I didn’t want him to know that I worked in the marketing department because of the way he was going on and ranting off and on with the negotiator and the NBC reporter that I heard earlier. And then he asked me, “Are you in the military?” I said no. He’s like, “Look me in the eyes when I talk to you. I looked at him twice and answered two of those questions. He said, “Do you plan on having kids?” I said no. And he’s like, “Can you promise me you’ll never have kids?”And I said yes. Basically just giving him any answer that would get him to leave me alone and satisfy what he was asking.
Blade: Did he ask you if you were married?
Wood: No he did not … Eventually by giving him one-word answers he’s like, “I’m bored with you. Go lay back down.” So I started to walk back towards my stuff. He’s like, “Right there on the ground.” I laid down first and he said, “Turn around the other way so I can see you.” So I laid down the other way and he asked Jim to get up at that point. It was about three o’clock. Jim stood up. He continued to have a lot of questions for Jim, asking him about his kids, about his family, about what he did and ranting back and forth with the negotiators. You know, getting really annoyed at the negotiators. So eventually I was laying there and my arms and hands started to fall asleep and went through a range of emotions when I went down to the ground for the second time. I was really upset when I laid back down. I was crying.
In my mind I was thinking this is the end, this is the end of my life. This is what my life has come to. I got really upset and started to get really mad. And the fact that somebody could take this power away from me and he’s going to decide when I lose my life. I started to thinking in my head. I’m like, “No this is not the way this is going to end. I’m not going to die here on the floor. I’m not going to let somebody take over my life and tell me when I’m going to die.” My arms at that time started to fall asleep on the cold marble floor. So I started moving my hands just trying to get them to wake up …
I guess I had been lying there for quite a while. And the gunman was on the phone with the negotiators and the negotiator was asking how the hostages were. And he kept saying “I don’t care about these hostages. I don’t care if they die. I don’t care about them. I just care about what I want. You have my demands. I want this done and I don’t care if they die. If I blow up it will take all of them with me.” And the guard said he hasn’t moved in a while and he pointed at me on the floor. So the gunman was like, “Stand up, you stand up. Put your hands on the desk.” I walked up over to the desk and put my hands on the desk. And he’s like, “He looks fine. Look at him, young, healthy.” And he went back to talking to the negotiators. I eventually let my hands slowly slip off the desk. We were able to move about freely quite a bit. My legs were hurting, my back was hurting.
Blade: You mean at that time he allowed you to walk around in the lobby?
Wood: Not walk around — we were staying in place but I could move my arms, I could fold my arms. I could scratch my face. He wasn’t restricting our movement in our place. So I started watching the guard standing behind the desk … the gunman was there talking on the speaker phone with the negotiators. The guard is behind the desk. Jim and I were off kind of in front of the desk but toward the right hand side. I looked at the guard and he’s making hand signals — not looking at me, making like taking two fingers and wiggling them like legs and I couldn’t figure it out and I finally just got it in my head that this is the opportunity to run, this is our chance to run. He’s on the phone with the negotiator. We can make it. We can do this. I looked at the guard. I finally got his attention and I mouthed the word “Run.”And he shook his head yes. And so I then turned my body trying to get Jim’s attention. Jim had no idea it was me until I stood up next to him that last and final time. It was about four o’clock. It was about an hour before the incident ended.
Blade: At the time you were thinking about making a run for it, were you and Jim both standing at that moment?
Wood: Yes. Jim, myself and the guard were standing.
Blade: How long were you standing?
Wood: For the last hour we were standing … So Jim finally looked over at me and I mouthed the word “Run.” He shook his head yes. I crossed my arms and took my left hand it tucked it underneath my right arm so that the gunman couldn’t see my fingers but Jim could. And I held up three fingers. And I started to put one down in a countdown but got nervous because the gunman looked at me. I put it back up and then he looked away and I started counting down again. I put one finger down and I put the next finger down and I put the final finger down and I froze. I looked at Jim, I looked at the gunman and the gunman was looking right at me. And as soon as the gunman looked down toward the negotiator I dropped my arms and ran to the same door that I came in. I hit that first door with my right palm. I hit the second door with my right hand palm. In between the first door and the second door I heard a pop. I didn’t know what it was. And I went out, straight out around a pole that was probably 10 feet wide or so or eight feet wide. And as I was rounding the corner there were like five police officers …
… I’m not sure what the next chapter holds. But I will say that I have a whole new perspective on life. I went from dying and thinking I was dead to making a decision to live, making the decision to be the one that got us out of there safely and ran and made the initial stand. And my life will never be the same.
Blade: Do you eventually think you will go back to work at the Discovery Channel?
Wood: I would like to. At this time I just don’t know when.
Blade: Are you on some form of leave from work?
Wood: They’re just providing assistance and providing everything to me —everything that I need. They have not — my job is there and that still stands. But other than that I really can’t comment on much of how they’re proceeding with everything.
Blade: What is your official title there and what have you being doing?
Wood: I’m a marketing specialist for TLC Strategic Marketing.
Blade: Can you remind me the time period you were with the Blade?
Wood: August 2009 was when I was laid off. And I came in December of 2007.
Blade: And were you also a marketing person?
Wood: Yes, I was marketing manager….
Blade: Was Lee, the hostage taker, interrogating Jim McNulty before you about things like his having kids and things like that?
Wood: Yes, he interrogated him first because Jim stood up first and then he laid him back down and got me up and interrogated me.
Blade: Did you have any thoughts about how he would react if he knew you were gay?
Wood: I didn’t know how he would react but I most certainly wasn’t going to antagonize him or bring it up if he didn’t bring it up.
Blade: Do you have any other thoughts that might be important that I didn’t ask about?
Wood: It’s just the support from the community, from friends, from the Discovery Channel — it’s all been amazing and overwhelming. It really makes me think about life and how not to take it for granted. A lot of people take life for granted and you just really can’t because you never know what’s going to happen.
Blade: Has the support come through calls, e-mails and on Facebook — things like that?
Wood: I kept myself very sheltered. The media was very overwhelming and so I didn’t have a phone for a week because it became part of the investigation. I had left it on the floor and didn’t have a phone for a week. And everybody was communicating through friends. I wouldn’t log onto Facebook. I wouldn’t go anywhere. Now it’s starting to become e-mail and phone but for about a week — a week and a half I wouldn’t communicate with anybody.
Blade: Have you had a chance to go out at all to the clubs or anywhere else?
Wood: I have not gone out at all.
Blade: You want to wait until you’re ready to do that?
Wood: I wanted to do the media because I want to explain the story a couple of times. I don’t want to explain it 3,000 times.
Delaware
Delaware church to protest Rehoboth restaurant’s drag brunch
Broad community support, counter protest mobilized for Goolee’s Grille
Delaware LGBTQ advocates are organizing a counter-protest in response to a planned protest against a drag brunch in Rehoboth Beach on July 20.
Members of St. Ann’s Church in Bethany Beach announced plans to protest a Sunday drag brunch hosted at Goolee’s Grille, a gay-owned restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. In the church newsletter, they described the action as a “peaceful and Legal Rosary Rally in Protest and Reparation for Goolee’s Grille Rehoboth Beach hosting ‘Drag Brunch’ to normalize transgender and variants.”
The counter-protest will begin at 11:15 a.m. outside the restaurant and is organized by a coalition of local organizations including Sussex Pride, Indivisible Delaware, Speak Out Against Hate, CAMP Rehoboth, Rehoboth Beach Pride, and the Delaware Anti-Violence Project.
“The rally is aimed at showcasing the overwhelming support for Goolee’s Grill, a beloved small business that has stood as a beacon of diversity and acceptance in the Rehoboth Beach community,” read a press release from Sussex Pride.
The Rehoboth Beach Pride festival takes place the day before on July 19.
“As we celebrate Rehoboth Beach Pride, all LGBTQ+ people, but particularly LGBTQ+ youth, should know that there are many faith communities here that love and accept us exactly as we are,” said David Mariner, executive director of Sussex Pride. “These members of St. Ann’s Church of Bethany do not speak for everyone.”
Goolee’s hosts drag brunches every third Sunday of the month. This week’s show is sold out, though the gift shop will be open. The restaurant opened in 2004 in Ocean City before moving to Rehoboth in 2014.
“As a perpetual student of Jesus Christ, my faith has always taught me to love my neighbor, offer myself to the stranger, and reach out to those living on the fringe,” said Rev. Shelley D. McDade, Rector of the Parish of All Saints’ Church & St. George’s Chapel. “Thank you, Goolee’s, for continually serving up an authentic dish of love, acceptance and fun.”
District of Columbia
Gay Ward 1 Council candidate expresses ‘passion’ for public service
Brian Footer says listening to residents’ concerns is focus of campaign
Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Brian Footer, who has announced his candidacy for the Ward 1 D.C. Council seat up for election in 2026, says his campaign includes a diverse coalition of supporters dedicated to addressing the concerns of Ward 1 residents.
In an interview with the Washington Blade, Footer outlined his plans for addressing a wide range of issues impacting Ward 1 and the city as a whole, which he said affect all city residents, including LGBTQ residents.
“On the City Council I’m going to be especially focused on making housing more affordable, improving public safety, and making it easier to do business in our community,” he said. The needs and concerns of the city’s senior citizens is also an issue of great interest for him, he told the Blade.
“Public service is something that has always been ingrained in me,” he added. “And local government is where I’ve chosen to channel that passion, because it directly impacts people’s lives.”
Footer, a Democrat, initially will be running for the Ward 1 Council seat in the city’s June 2, 2026, Democratic primary. If he were to win the primary and the November 2026 general election, he would become the Council’s second openly gay member.
Incumbent Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau (D) told the Blade last week that she wasn’t ready to discuss her plans for the future and whether she would run for re-election.
Blade: Can you tell a little about your background, where you were born and raised and where you are from if you are not a native of the D.C. area?
Footer: I’m proud to say I’m a third-generation native of the D.C. area. From my grandfather’s dental practice just north of Dupont. From my parents meeting while working at G.W. Hospital. Or three generations of Footers attending the Hebrew School of Washington Hebrew. D.C. is my home and part of my family’s history.
And for the past 20 plus years as an adult gay man, D.C. has been my chosen home, in large part due to the vibrant and proud LGBTQ+ community. Public service is something that has always been ingrained in me. And local government is where I’ve chosen to channel that passion, because it directly impacts people’s lives.
I started my public service journey as a U.S. House page working for Dick Gephardt. And cut my teeth in local policy working for the New York City Council’s Speaker, Christine Quinn, managing her aging and veterans affairs portfolio. That’s where I got to experience how local government can truly impact people’s daily lives. …
I chose to extend my public service by first running for ANC in 2014…. And I came back to the ANC in 2022 and served as chair of 1E since then.
Blade: Can you say a little about how you describe your occupation and your working career?
Footer: I would say that I am an expert in the Older Americans Act. And that is an amazing space to make sure that we’re supporting our senior community to a place of dignity and respect. And so, I worked for government for many years, like 10 or 11 years. I started at the federal level, went down to the state level and eventually found my passion at the local level.
And that’s where I started getting my expertise in the aging space. And currently I work at KPMG as a healthcare consultant. And my clients there are the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
Blade: Have you been involved in local D.C. community affairs for
a good amount of time?
Footer: Yes, in 2014 I decided to run for ANC. And as I mentioned, I have a passion for really getting into local issues. And so, running for ANC was an opportunity to extend my experiences and I’ve had an amazing time doing that. And then I ran for the Ward 1 Dems position. I was chair of that. And that took me through the 2016 presidential election.
And then in 2022 I decided to run again for ANC just a couple of blocks away. And I represent the southern part of Howard University and the northern part of Shaw. And I’m on the southern boundary of ANC 1 E, which represents Howard University, Park View, and Pleasant Plakins, with Georgia Avenue running through all SMDs [Single Member Districts].
Blade: What neighborhood do you live in now?
Footer: I live in the northern Shaw neighborhood, kind of the east side of U Street. So, I live in a building called Atlantic Plumbing. It’s right next to the 9:30 Club.
Blade: You mention on your campaign website that you feel things are not going as well as they should in the city in a number of different areas. Can you tell a little about what those areas or issues are and what you would do to correct or fix them?
Footer: So, on the City Council I’m going to be especially focused on making housing more affordable, improving public safety, and making it easier to do business in our community. And these are urgent issues. And people need relief now, not a decade from now. And so, with respect to public safety, we have been given a false choice between law enforcement and compassionate long-term solutions that get people back on their feet.
We need both. And they have to be coordinated. We have a lot of public safety programs in place, but we’re not doing any one of them very well. We have the information and data about crime and safety in Ward 1 to focus on targeted policies that will actually work if only we’re committed to them and follow through. I mean better coordination between agencies, more consistent support for violence prevention programs, and urgent improvements for things like street lighting, trash, and behavioral health services. So, we need to feel safe and be safe. Right now, too many residents don’t feel either.
With respect for housing, the rent is too high. It is unaffordable for lots of families. And so, over the past 10 years, rent has increased more than 66 percent while the consumer price index for the area increased by approximately 25 percent; that means that rent prices have been increasing by a rate of more than double that of general inflation.
We’ve been given a false choice between supporting business or supporting renters. I’m in favor of working with the business communities to build as many new homes as possible. It doesn’t have to come at the expense of renters and owners’ rent. There are solutions that have been implemented elsewhere in the country we should emulate. We should use the power of local government to make it easier and cheaper to build while bringing renters and the business community to the table.
As for small businesses, there are plenty of good programs in D.C. to support small businesses. Right now, however, different parts of the D.C. government don’t talk to each other. And we’re putting the onus on business owners to navigate this bureaucratic maze. We should be making it a lot easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get the licenses they need, pay their people a living wage, and serve our community.
Blade: Can you say a little about the current Ward 1 Council member? Do you feel she is not doing what you feel should be done on these issues?
Footer: So, you know, what I’ll say about Council member Nadeau, she has served Ward 1 for many years. And I respect anyone who steps up for public service. Whether she decides to run again or not, my decision to enter this race comes from listening to neighbors who are ready for a new vision. One that’s focused on safety, stability, and a city government that truly works for everyone.
I’m not running against anyone. I’m running for the future of Ward 1. I bring a different leadership style. I listen first. I build coalitions. I act boldly and I follow through. This campaign is about what we can do differently and better to make people feel safe, supported, and seen. Ward 1 deserves that conversation no matter who is on the ballot.
Blade: The local D.C. government and its current laws, including the Human Rights Act, are recognized as being supportive of the rights of the LGBTQ community. As a gay candidate, is there anything else you think needs to be done to protect the rights and the wellbeing of the D.C. LGBTQ community?
Footer: I will say I’m proud to be a gay man and part of D.C.’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community. And my involvements in the community over the years have been both personal and political, from organizing, advocating alongside queer leaders, advocating for inclusive policies, to showing up for the community when it matters most.
In D.C., I have worked with and supported local LGBTQ+ groups in a variety of ways, from volunteering for the Victory Fund in my early career to organizing LGBTQ+ senior housing round tables for SAGE and other housing advocates. But beyond formal liaisons, my queer identity informs how I lead. It’s with empathy, resilience and a deep appreciation for truth and family and intersectionality.
That’s why I’m running – to make sure queer people in Ward 1 and across the city feel seen, heard, and supported. And just to answer your question a little more directly, I think that there are two things in particular that are going to be important that I want to work towards and bring a lot of attention to.
One of them is dealing with housing. LGBTQ+ seniors are twice as likely to live alone and four times less likely to have children compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers. And so national surveys show that many LGBTQ+ seniors fear having to go back in the closet when entering assisted living or retirement communities or nursing homes. And so, stories of misgendering and lack of cultural competency among staff are common.
So, affirming and safe and affordable housing isn’t just about comfort. It’s about dignity and safety for our seniors. And the second topic we see a lot about is to support organizations like SMYAL, because up to 60 percent of youth experiencing homelessness in D.C. identify as LGBTQ+. So, we need to make sure that we have those services to support people.
Blade: The D.C. Council has been considering a proposal by Mayor Bower in her FY 2026 budget to repeal a law impacting restaurants and bars, including the city’s gay bars, known as Initiative 82 that was passed twice by voters in a ballot initiative, which calls for ending the so-called tipped wage and requiring the businesses to pay the full minimum wage to restaurant and bar workers. Businesses and many of the tipped workers say the law has had a devastating impact on the businesses and they support repealing it. Do you have a position on that?
Footer: I think this is a good example of what I’ve said before that we are consistently being given false choices, right? And so, I think that we need to do our due diligence in order to find what is the common ground. There are some who say some small businesses don’t want to pay their people a living wage. And so, the question becomes how do you support our small business community to be able to survive and also make sure that they’re supporting their employees.
And so, the specifics of whether I would vote for repealing it – I would say I’m not in favor of repealing what the voters have now said twice. But I do think the economic situation of our city has changed since the last time the voters had the opportunity to address this issue. And so, I figure it’s the City Council and the mayor’s job and the city government’s job to find out how we can make sure we’re blending those two things. It shouldn’t have to be a binary choice.
Blade: So, at this point are you saying you would not support the full repeal of the law?
Footer: At this point I don’t know if I would support a full repeal.
Blade: One other issue we have learned is that another candidate, longtime community activist Terry Lynch, has entered the race for the Ward 1 Council seat. Have you had any interaction with him over the years?
Footer: I haven’t. I recently reached out to him, and we’re supposed to get together soon to catch up. But I’m not very familiar with Terry Lynch. I’m looking forward to meeting him
Blade: The local LGBTQ group GLAA DC, formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, issues ratings for candidates running for the D.C. Council and for mayor. They base their ratings on a candidate’s record on LGBTQ issues and their response to a questionnaire the group sends to all candidates. Two of the questions they always ask is do you support decriminalizing sex work between consenting adults and decriminalizing possession of recreational drugs such as cocaine. How would you answer those two questions?
Footer: We just started to do a lot more research into that. And I don’t have a position on that just yet. But you’re not the first person to bring up that topic. It’s definitely something we’re going to do research on and have a better understanding on how that directly impacts people in Ward 1. So, I’ll have a more formal answer and be able to talk through the specifics of that.
District of Columbia
Trans woman attacked, beaten near Lincoln Memorial
D.C. police list June 29 incident as suspected hate crime
D.C. police are investigating an incident in which a 43-year-old transgender woman says she was attacked and assaulted by three men around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, June 29, as she was riding her battery powered scooter near the Lincoln Memorial.
District resident Cayla Calhoun, a popular bartender and sommelier at the D.C. restaurant Annabelle, told the Washington Blade she is struggling to recall the details and possible multiple locations of the attack due to the severe head injuries she has suffered.
A police report says Calhoun was found lying on a curb at the intersection of 19th Street and Constitution Avenue around 6 a.m. on June 29.
A GoFundMe appeal posted by her friend Ellen Vaughn, which reports Calhoun was found semiconscious at that time and taken to George Washington University Hospital, says her injuries include two concussions, multiple broken ribs, seven cranial fractures, and a fractured elbow.
The police report says Calhoun called for an ambulance at the 19th and Constitution Avenue location and told the emergency medical technicians who arrived at the scene that her injuries were caused by her falling off of her skateboard multiple times.
The police report says three days later, on July 3, while at the hospital, Calhoun told police “that she now remembered being assaulted by three males at 19th and I Street, N.W.,“about three quarters of a mile from where the ambulance technicians found her on Constitution Avenue.
Calhoun told the Blade she believes her memory was faulty at the time she first spoke with the ambulance technicians and police due to her head injuries. She said she is now beginning to recall that the three male attackers, whom she describes as white males, first approached her as she was riding her scooter near the Reflecting Pool close to the Lincoln Memorial.
She said the incident occurred while she was taking her routine after-work scooter ride shortly after she completed her bartending shift at Annabelle at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 28. She said her sometimes daily after-work scooter ride, which she took on the night of the attack, involves traveling along a bike path on the Rock Creek Parkway past the Kennedy Center to the Lincoln Memorial.
From the Lincoln Memorial she rides along the Reflecting Pool toward the Washington Monument, around which she circles before starting her ride home, heading north on 15th Street to her residence at 15th and R Street, N.W.
She said that on the night of the attack she now recalls passing three men who were also on scooters somewhere near the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool.
“As I passed them, they yelled faggot and pedophile at me,” she told the Blade. “I was pulling onto the area there by the reflecting pond. And I figured I would ride right away.”
As best she recalls, the men followed her “and pushed me off my scooter and continued to yell slurs.” She said she recalls trying to ride away from the men and that her interaction with them may have continued in other nearby locations. But due to her head injuries she said she does not recall being assaulted by the attackers, although the multiple injuries to her head and body convinced her they had to have struck her in some way multiple times.
“I have a space where I can see myself in that moment thinking to myself this is not good,” she said. “Somebody is making fun of you. You need to go as fast as you can and you need to find people. And that’s the last thought that I remember happening until the hospital.”
The D.C. police report lists the incident as an Aggravated Assault and identifies the weapon as “hands/feet.” The report lists the suspected motive as “Hate-Bias” based on the victim’s “Gender identity — anti-transgender/transsexual.”
A D.C. police spokesperson said the case remains under active investigation and that anyone with information about the case should contact police at 202-727-9099.
The attack against Johnson took place six days before another D.C. transgender woman, Dream Johnson, 28, was shot to death around 12:30 a.m. on July 5 in front of an apartment building at 2013 Benning Rd., N.E., according to a D.C. police report.
Police have yet to identify a motive in that case. But one of Johnson’s family members, her aunt, has said she learned through someone who spoke to a witness to the shooting that three men had approached Johnson while she was walking along Benning Road and one of them called her a derogatory name before one of them shot her multiple times.
Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder. Anyone with information about this case is being asked to contact Homicide Detective Natasha Kennedy, the lead investigator, at 202-380-6198.
Local transgender rights advocate Earline Budd said close to 100 people turned out for a candlelight vigil held in Johnson’s honor on Saturday, July 12, at D.C.’s River Terrace Park. Among those who spoke at the vigil were Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Further details about the Cayla Calhoun case can be accessed through her friend’s GoFundMe appeal.
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