Local
Partner accused of murder in Md. man’s death
Stabbing death happened day before Valentine’s
The arrest of a gay man for allegedly murdering his partner one day before Valentine’s Day in the partner’s apartment in Temple Hills, Md., has prompted friends and family members to struggle over the specter of domestic violence, people who knew the victim have said.
Prince George’s County police have charged Eldridge Slaughter, 42, a Northeast D.C. resident, with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Christopher Alan Trueheart, 44.
“Christopher was such a gentle soul who loved everyone. His friends are truly stunned and saddened,” said Dwayne Smith, one of Trueheart’s friends.
Friends said Trueheart’s romantic relationship with Slaughter was widely known. Trueheart’s Facebook page – still active as of last week – included a photo of the two men leaning their heads together in an intimate pose.
In his Facebook profile, Trueheart wrote, “I currently have a partner who I love and care for very much.” He stated in his profile that the anniversary of the relationship was Sept. 28, 2008.
A spokesperson for P.G. County police declined to discuss the relationship between the two men and said he could not confirm whether the murder was an incident of domestic violence.
The spokesperson, Cpl. Henry Tippett, said the murder was related to some kind of “personal dispute.”
The Washington Post reported on Feb. 15 that police and law enforcement sources identified Slaughter and Trueheart as being in a “romantic relationship.”
Police said a member of Trueheart’s family found him unconscious in his apartment on the 4400 block of 23rd Parkway, Temple Hills, on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 13.
A police report says an autopsy determined the cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries.” The police report says investigators quickly identified Slaughter as a suspect in the case and brought him in for questioning. According to the report, Slaughter was in possession of property belonging to Trueheart.
“The defendant waived his constitutional rights and provided a full confession, including details of the murder that would have been only known by the person committing the murder,” the police report says.
Slaughter is being held without bond pending trial.
Others who knew Trueheart said friends and family members, stricken with grief over Trueheart’s death, were reluctant to immediately talk about whether they were aware of signs of abuse in Slaughter’s behavior toward Trueheart.
Amy Loudermilk, co-chair of Rainbow Response, a D.C. group that monitors domestic violence in the LGBT community, said domestic violence is a “major public health” issue and should not be treated as a private matter.
“Silence only contributes to the stigma and taboo around this issue, especially in the LGBT community,” she said. “While friends should certainly be respectful to surviving relatives, and should take their own time to heal before speaking out if they need to do so, every voice possible is needed to fight the epidemic of domestic violence.”
Said Loudermilk, “Additionally, many friends find strength and healing in speaking out and doing something to help prevent another tragedy.”
Rainbow Response provides information about how domestic violence impacts the LGBT community and how the community should address the issue on its website, rainbowresponse.org.
Loudermilk said Rainbow Response supports the routine disclosure by police about whether a crime is linked to domestic violence.
“Again, silence only contributes to the perpetuation of the problem,” she said. “It’s important for another person going through the same situation to be able to read about it and realize that they are not the only one, and perhaps reach out for help.”
She said reporting cases of domestic violence also helps gather statistics on the frequency of the problem that’s needed to better enable advocacy and anti-domestic violence groups to provide services to victims.
She said anyone who feels threatened over possible domestic violence can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
Virginia
Gay Va. State Sen. Ebbin resigns for role in Spanberger administration
Veteran lawmaker will step down in February
Alexandria Democrat Adam Ebbin, who has served as an openly gay member of the Virginia Legislature since 2004, announced on Jan. 7 that he is resigning from his seat in the State Senate to take a job in the administration of Gov.-Elect Abigail Spanberger.
Since 2012, Ebbin has been a member of the Virginia Senate for the 39th District representing parts of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax counties. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria from 2004 to 2012, becoming the state’s first out gay lawmaker.
His announcement says he submitted his resignation from his Senate position effective Feb. 18 to join the Spanberger administration as a senior adviser at the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.
“I’m grateful to have the benefit of Senator Ebbin’s policy expertise continuing to serve the people of Virginia, and I look forward to working with him to prioritize public safety and public health,” Spanberger said in Ebbin’s announcement statement.
She was referring to the lead role Ebbin has played in the Virginia Legislature’s approval in 2020 of legislation decriminalizing marijuana and the subsequent approval in 2021of a bill legalizing recreational use and possession of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older. But the Virginia Legislature has yet to pass legislation facilitating the retail sale of marijuana for recreational use and limits sales to purchases at licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.
“I share Governor-elect Spanberger’s goal that adults 21 and over who choose to use cannabis, and those who use it for medical treatment, have access to a well-tested, accurately labeled product, free from contamination,” Ebbin said in his statement. “2026 is the year we will move cannabis sales off the street corner and behind the age-verified counter,” he said.
Maryland
Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire from Congress
Md. congressman served for years in party leadership
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISA MASCARO | Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term.
Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, is set to deliver a House floor speech about his decision, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“Tune in,” Hoyer said on social media. He confirmed his retirement plans in an interview with the Washington Post.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Kennedy Center renaming triggers backlash
Artists who cancel shows threatened; calls for funding boycott grow
Efforts to rename the Kennedy Center to add President Trump’s name to the D.C. arts institution continue to spark backlash.
A new petition from Qommittee , a national network of drag artists and allies led by survivors of hate crimes, calls on Kennedy Center donors to suspend funding to the center until “artistic independence is restored, and to redirect support to banned or censored artists.”
“While Trump won’t back down, the donors who contribute nearly $100 million annually to the Kennedy Center can afford to take a stand,” the petition reads. “Money talks. When donors fund censorship, they don’t just harm one institution – they tell marginalized communities their stories don’t deserve to be told.”
The petition can be found here.
Meanwhile, a decision by several prominent musicians and jazz performers to cancel their shows at the recently renamed Trump-Kennedy Center in D.C. planned for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve has drawn the ire of the Center’s president, Richard Grenell.
Grenell, a gay supporter of President Donald Trump who served as U.S. ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term as president, was named Kennedy Center president last year by its board of directors that had been appointed by Trump.
Last month the board voted to change the official name of the center from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump And The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts. The revised name has been installed on the outside wall of the center’s building but is not official because any name change would require congressional action.
According to a report by the New York Times, Grenell informed jazz musician Chuck Redd, who cancelled a 2025 Christmas Eve concert that he has hosted at the Kennedy Center for nearly 20 years in response to the name change, that Grenell planned to arrange for the center to file a lawsuit against him for the cancellation.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit arts institution,” the Times quoted Grenell as saying in a letter to Redd.
“This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt,” the Times quoted Grenell’s letter as saying.
A spokesperson for the Trump-Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Washington Blade asking if the center still planned to file that lawsuit and whether it planned to file suits against some of the other musicians who recently cancelled their performances following the name change.
In a follow-up story published on Dec. 29, the New York Times reported that a prominent jazz ensemble and a New York dance company had canceled performances scheduled to take place on New Year’s Eve at the Kennedy Center.
The Times reported the jazz ensemble called The Cookers did not give a reason for the cancellation in a statement it released, but its drummer, Billy Hart, told the Times the center’s name change “evidently” played a role in the decision to cancel the performance.
Grenell released a statement on Dec. 29 calling these and other performers who cancelled their shows “far left political activists” who he said had been booked by the Kennedy Center’s previous leadership.
“Boycotting the arts to show you support the arts is a form of derangement syndrome,” the Times quoted him as saying in his statement.
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