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Prominent LGBT strategist announces bid for Virginia Assembly seat

Jasper Hendricks, senior strategist for public engagement from the National Black Justice Coalition, announced he would seek the Virginia Assembly seat opening up upon the retirement of independent delegate.

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The senior strategist for public engagement from the nation’s most prominent African American LGBT organization, the National Black Justice Coalition, announced Sunday that he would be seeking the Virginia Assembly seat opening up in his hometown upon the retirement of independent delegate, Watkins Abbitt. Jasper Hendricks, III, has worked for the National Black Justice Coalition for three years, and has an expansive career in politics stretching back many years, including staff for Congressman Kendrick Meek of Miami as well as serving political director of the Wisconsin Democratic party during the 2006 Governor’s race.

Hendricks, however, has lived in the 59th District his entire life.

“I’m originally from here. I went to school in Appomattox,” he said, “I have been commuting via Amtrak to D.C. three days a week.” He says spends long weekends with his family at home.

Hendricks is very tied into the local community, and even consulted local residents before deciding to run for the retiring delegate’s seat.

“Right now I’m the first Democrat to announce. I’ve heard there are others who are considering it, but taking advice from locals, I was the first person to file.”

When asked about his chances in this sometimes red, sometimes blue district, Hendricks says they are very good, especially since he knows his constituents so well.

“The district is very rural, encompasses Appomattox county of the famous civil war battles. Also Buckingham county and parts of Albemarle county. So its a very rural district.”

The current state delegate of 26 years, Watkins Abbitt, was originally a Democrat, but he switched to independent about fifteen years ago, and now caucuses with Republicans. His father, Watkins Abbitt Sr. is a former member of Congress.

However, Democrats haven’t fared poorly in this rural Virginia district. Both Tim Kaine and President Barack Obama won the district.

“It could be Democratic, Mark Warner won the district by over ten points. Obama lost Appomattox county, but I don’t intend to lose it.”

The district is only about 23% African American, which would make Hendricks the first black candidate in this area to seize the Democratic nomination for this seat.

The Dem candidate is chosen by caucus in late August.

Read the official press release is below.

Jasper Hendricks, III Seeks Democratic Nomination for 59th District VA House of Delegates

Appomattox, VA – Appomattox resident Jasper Hendricks III filed statement of organization today to seek the Democratic nomination for the open 59th district Virginia State House of Delegates seat. The current 59th District Delegate, Watkins Abbitt, has announced his retirement after 26 years as the district’s delegate, which covers all of Appomattox and Buckingham counties and parts of Nelson, Albemarle, and Campbell counties.

A lifelong resident of the 59th District, Jasper attended Appomattox County Elementary and Middle Schools before graduating from Prince Edward County Public Schools. Jasper went on to study political science at Norfolk State University and began his career in public service as an outreach advisor to two democratic presidential campaigns and three Members of Congress. Currently Jasper is a consultant working to develop and implement effective coalition-building and programmatic outreach designed to increase civic engagement.

Jasper is the son of Joyce Hendricks who retired in 2007 from Thomasville Furniture after 30 years of service in their Appomattox plant and the late Jasper Hendricks, Jr who had been employed at Griffin Pipe Industries in Lynchburg for 30 years. Jasper says his campaign will highlight the need to create access and opportunities to jobs, education, and the need for responsible economic development throughout the district.

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District of Columbia

Activists hold chalk art protest at McDonald’s after anti-gay assault

Police say victim attacked, beaten by 15 people for not saying ‘excuse me’

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Local gay activist Joey Minervini and two others drew supportive messages in chalk at the site of an anti-gay attack. (Photo courtesy of Joey Minervini)

Local gay activist Joey Minervini and two others used chalk to draw LGBTQ supportive messages on the sidewalk outside the McDonald’s restaurant at 14th and U Streets, N.W. at 9 a.m. Sunday Nov. 3, one week after D.C. police say a gay man was attacked and assaulted by 15 men and women at that McDonald’s while shouting the word “faggot.”

Police say they are investigating the Oct. 27 assault against Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarro, 22, that Lascarro has said began inside the McDonald’s at about 1 a.m. when one of the attackers, a woman, criticized him for not saying “excuse me” when he walked past her.

“He ignored her, and he walked away,” Lascarro’s husband, Stuart West, told the Washington Blade. West said his husband told him the woman then called him a faggot and her friends, who were mostly men, blocked the exit door at the McDonald’s, preventing Lascarro from leaving and about 10 of the attackers began to punch him repeatedly in the face and body.

He was taken by ambulance to Howard University Hospital, where he was treated for multiple cuts and bruises before being released the next day.

Minervini released a series of photos he took of the Nov. 3 chalk protest, a few of which show the words “EXCUSE ME We All Belong” drawn in rainbow colored chalk on the sidewalk in front of the McDonald’s entrance. Other messages they drew on the sidewalk included, “We all belong here,” and “D.C. For You And Me,” with a drawing next to it with fingers making the peace sign.

Joining Minervini for the protest was D.C. artist and muralist Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, who operates a local chalk art and mural business called CHALK RIOT, Minervini told the Blade. He said one of his friends, Darren Pierre, also participated in doing the chalk art drawings.  

Minervini said most passersby, including customers entering and leaving the McDonald’s, appeared to be supportive of the protest, with some taking pictures of the chalk drawings.

“The vibe there was positive,” he said. “Some people were unaware of what we were doing, so I explained to them a gay man was attacked for apparently not saying ‘excuse me.’ So, that’s why we were chalking the words ‘excuse me’ to reclaim the phrase,” Minervini said. “We were doing it there to reclaim the space a little bit.”

He said he did not see any of the McDonald’s employees come out to look at the drawings up until the time the three ended their chalk art action about 10:15 or 10:30 a.m. Minervini said he and a friend walked past the McDonald’s around 5 p.m. Sunday evening and the chalk drawings were still on the sidewalk.

D.C. police have listed the attack against Lascarro as a suspected hate crime. But they have not provided an update on their investigation, including whether investigators have interviewed McDonald’s employees who were present during the attack or whether they have requested video footage from the security cameras at the McDonald’s.

West, Lascarro’s husband, said the ambulance took Lascarro to the hospital before police arrived and police officers first spoke to Lascarro about the attack at the hospital rather than at the scene of the assault.  

“Thankfully, he has been recovering from his injuries, the scrapes, cuts, bruising and swelling have all started to heal, but I fear the real damage can’t be seen,” West said in an updated message in a GoFundMe posting he set up to help defray the costs of Lascarro’s medical expenses.

“Unfortunately, after this incident, he’s battling with many emotions including anxiety, depression, fear of leaving the house and worse, questions whether D.C. is the right fit for him,” West says in his posting.

West told the Blade Lascarro, who goes by his middle name of Thomas, is a recent immigrant from Colombia who has permanent U.S. resident status. He said Lascarro had been at the nearby gay bars Crush and Bunker before stopping at the McDonald’s on his way home.

(Photo courtesy of Joey Minervini)
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District of Columbia

D.C. police investigating anti-gay assault at 14th & U McDonald’s

In separate incident, gay man found unconscious near Florida Avenue bar

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Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarro was attacked at a McDonald’s at 14th and U streets. (Photos courtesy of Stuart West)

D.C. police are investigating an incident in which a group of as many as 15 men and women allegedly assaulted a gay man while some of them called him a “faggot” at around 1 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27,  at the McDonald’s restaurant at 14th and U Streets, N.W., according to a police report and the victim’s husband.

The report, which lists the incident as a suspected hate crime, says the victim, Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarro, was taken to Howard University Hospital for treatment. A police spokesperson said he was released from the hospital the next day.

A GoFundMe page posted by Stuart West, Lascarro’s husband, who said Lascarro goes by his middle name Thomas, states, “Medical bills, therapy costs, and ongoing recovery needs will continue to increase and any help to ensure he gets the care he needs to regain his health and peace of mind will be a blessing.”

The GoFundMe message adds, “Thomas was attacked by a mob who used hateful, derogatory language targeting his identity as a gay man. This horrific hate crime left him hospitalized overnight, facing serious physical injuries and emotional trauma.”

In response to an inquiry from the Blade about the 14th and U Street incident, a D.C. police spokesperson disclosed that a man whose friends identify him as gay was found unconscious on the ground suffering from a head injury about 5 a.m. also on Sunday, Oct. 27, at the intersection of 5th and T Streets, N.W. just off Florida Avenue near the gay bar Uproar.

A police report lists the case as a robbery but doesn’t say how the injuries he suffered to his head happened. And like the case of the gay man attacked at the McDonald’s, friends of the man found unconscious posted a GoFundMe page identifying the man.

“Bryan Smith (aka the barber) recently suffered immense trauma to his head and will be hospitalized for the foreseeable future,” it says. “Bryan is a dear friend and a pillar in the D.C. queer and nightlife communities,” the GoFundMe appeal says. “Any amount of donations would be greatly appreciated to go towards the upcoming expenses he will incur.”

One of the friends who posted the GoFundMe told the Washington Blade they would have no further comment at this time. However, D.C.’s Fox 5 News reports members of Smith’s family said he remains in a coma, with D.C. police saying they have video footage of two possible suspects who reportedly took Smith’s phone and wallet containing credit cards.

Although people who knew Smith said he had worked for many years as a hairstylist, the Fox 5 News report says he had recently been serving as a DJ. It points out that police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the perpetrators responsible for Smith’s robbery and assault.

West, the husband of Lascarro, when contacted by the Blade, said Lascarro, 22, had been at the nearby gay bars Crush and Bunker, and he stopped at the McDonald’s on his way home. West said the assault began inside the McDonald’s, which was crowded with customers. He said the police report correctly states that Lascarro told police the incident began when one of the attackers, a woman, criticized him for not saying “excuse me” when he walked past her.   

“He ignored her, and he walked away,” West told the Blade, adding that the woman then called him a faggot and her friends, who were mostly men, blocked the exit door at the McDonald’s, preventing Lascarro from leaving and demanded that he apologize to the woman.

“And when he said he was not going to apologize and he raised his hand to try and move the door to get out, that’s when more than 10 individuals started to assault him,” West said. “And so, they started punching him all over his face and body, and it eventually moved to outside the McDonald’s on the D.C. sidewalk, where more people got involved and started hitting him and assaulting him.”

At one point when Lascarro was sitting on the ground, “bloodied, dazed, and confused, they decided to throw drinks and trash at him,” West said. He said when two people walking by asked him if he needed help, Lascarro was able to dial 911 on his phone, and an ambulance arrived minutes later, which took him to the hospital.

“They performed a full CT scan and thankfully there were no critical injuries discovered,” West said. “So, the only injuries are bruises and scrapes and cuts and a very sore jaw,” he said, adding that the head injuries have caused his husband to suffer migraine headaches.

West said he later visited the McDonald’s and asked two supervisors if they would release to him a copy of the video surveillance camera images from their security cameras from the night of the attack. He said the two declined his request but said they were cooperating with the police investigation.

D.C. police officials have said investigators routinely obtain video camera footage from businesses or from city security cameras along public spaces such as parks or streets when investigating crimes.

Police have said anyone with information that could lead to the identification of the perpetrators involved in the crimes targeting Lascarro and Smith should contact police at 202-727-9096.

The GoFundMe pages for the two men are here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-thomass-recovery-from-hate-crime

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-bryan-smiths-medical-recovery

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Alsobrooks leads Hogan in Md. Senate race: polls

Previewing regional races in Md., Va., Del.

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Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican Larry Hogan are competing for a U.S. Senate seat that could determine control of the chamber. (Photos courtesy of the Baltimore Banner)

Polls indicate Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is comfortably ahead of former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).

A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted between Oct. 17-22 found Alsobrooks ahead of Hogan by a 52-40 percent margin. Alsobrooks, a Democrat, was ahead of her Republican rival by a 48-39 percent margin in a poll the University of Maryland Baltimore County conducted between Sept. 23-28.

Alsobrooks during an interview with the Washington Blade before she defeated Congressman David Trone in the May 14 primary said she supports the Equality Act. Alsobrooks also highlighted her support for Maryland’s marriage equality law that voters upheld in a 2012 referendum.

Hogan in 2018 signed a bill that banned so-called conversion therapy in Maryland. He criticized Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law during a 2023 interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.”

A bill that created the Commission on LGBTQ Affairs in the Governor’s Community Initiatives Office took effect in 2021 without Hogan’s signature. Hogan also did not sign a bill that banned the so-called LGBTQ panic defense in Maryland.

Hogan marched in this year’s Annapolis Pride parade.

Campaign spokesperson Blake Kernan on Wednesday referred the Blade to the campaign’s final ad it released earlier in the day.

“I’m not just another Republican,” says Hogan. “I’ll make your life more affordable, and support a woman’s right to choose.”

(video courtesy of hogan’s campaign)

Kernan defended Hogan’s record on LGBTQ rights in an article the Blade published on Aug. 7. Kernan in a May 22 statement criticized Alsobrooks over her comments about Hogan’s abortion rights record.

The Alsobrooks campaign on Tuesday told the Blade it is “ready to defend our Democratic Senate Majority, protect our freedoms, and fight for our families.”

“Angela continues to travel across the state and can feel the enthusiasm and energy from all voters — from young people concerned about the cost of living, women concerned about access to reproductive freedoms, seniors concerned about the cost of prescription drugs, and all Marylanders who want a future where their families can thrive,” said the campaign in a statement. “Angela is in this fight for every one of them, for every Marylander.” 

Democrat April McClain Delaney is running against former Maryland state Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington County) in the race to succeed Trone in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District.

A Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies poll conducted between Aug. 24-31 found Parrott ahead of Delaney by a 41-39 percent margin. A Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted between Aug. 6-11 found Delaney ahead of Parrott by a 42-40 percent margin.

Delaney, a former Commerce Department official who is married to former Maryland Congressman John Delaney, in her campaign ads has noted Parrott in 2005 said people who test positive for HIV should be tattooed. Parrott in 2014 led an unsuccessful effort to prompt a referendum on Maryland’s transgender rights law that then-Gov. Martin O’Malley signed.

In Virginia, state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Loudoun County) is running against Republican Mike Clancy in the state’s 10th Congressional District. The winner will succeed Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, who announced last September she would not seek re-election after doctors diagnosed her with an aggressive form of Parkinson’s disease.

“When I think about who will best continue my legacy and deliver real results for us in Congress, I can think of no one better than state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam,” said Wexton in an Oct. 16 press release in which she and former U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) endorsed Subramanyam’s campaign.

Democrat Eugene Vindman is running against Republican Derrick Anderson for outgoing Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger’s seat in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.

Spanberger is running for governor in 2025.

In Delaware, state Sen. Sarah McBride is poised to become the first transgender person elected to Congress. Democratic Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is also likely to become the first Black person to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate.

“There’s no one better to represent us in Washington, D.C., and in the United States Senate than Lisa Blunt Rochester,” said President Joe Biden in a recent endorsement.

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