Local
‘I remember being kicked, called faggot’
Victim recalls brutal attack, thanks community
The victim of a brutal anti-gay attack (left) underwent two surgeries in which his badly severed jaw was reattached with two permanent titanium plates. He spoke to the Blade this week on condition of anonymity and is pictured here at home with his partner. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A 29-year-old gay man spoke to the Blade Tuesday through jaws wired shut to facilitate the healing of facial injuries brought about by a brutal beating that extended over several streets near his home in Columbia Heights on March 12.
“It happened so fast,” said the man, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation from his unidentified attackers, who remain at large.
“I remember being dragged. I remember being kicked. I remember being yelled at and being called faggot,” he said. “And my mind wants to say there were three of them, but it’s all flashes.”
Sitting beside his partner at the kitchen table of the couple’s home, the two said they decided to grant a series of news media interviews this week to draw attention to a rash of violent incidents against members of the LGBT community.
Both said their spirits were lifted when they learned one day earlier, on Monday, March 26, that D.C. police arrested a 27-year-old woman in connection with the March 11 shooting of a gay man at the International House of Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights.
They say police have told them investigators are hopeful they will soon identify the attacker in the 29-year-old gay man’s case and will make one or more arrests in the case.
The IHOP restaurant is about seven blocks from where the 29-year-old gay man was attacked at Georgia Avenue and Irving Street, N.W., one day later.
The man shot at the IHOP, said to be 31, suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the abdomen. Witnesses said the shooting took place after the woman in custody, LaShawn Yvonne Carson, and two men with her called the victim anti-gay names and a scuffle broke out.
Similar to the incident involving the 29-year-old gay man who spoke to the Blade, police listed the shooting incident as a hate crime related to the victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation.
The victim's jaw was broken in two places, requiring the insertion of two permanent titanium plates. (Courtesy image)
On the same day the 29-year-old gay man was beaten and robbed, a transgender woman was knocked unconscious at about 11:45 p.m. at West Virginia Avenue and Mt. Olivet Road, N.E. Police said they had insufficient evidence to list that incident as a hate crime, but they were looking into the possibility that it was.
The 29-year-old gay man and his partner said the two were also buoyed by a silent march organized by their friends that took place March 20, the day the 29-year-old beating victim was released from the hospital. As many as 700 people marched past where the attack against him took place after beginning the procession at the IHOP.
The victim said he was too weak to march after having spent eight days in the hospital. He underwent two surgeries in which his badly severed jaw, broken in two places by attackers who kicked him in the face, was reattached with two permanent titanium plates.
“It was stellar. It was reassuring,” he said of the march. “It makes me proud to be where I’m at — friends who I have in my life. And it gave me a lot of strength. It gave me a lot of security. It re-instills my faith in people.”
Although the attack against him began at Georgia Avenue and Irving Street, police said they found the victim four blocks away at Georgia and Morton Street. The victim said he recalls being dragged through an alley a short distance from Georgia Avenue after the initial attack.
The alley where the victim was allegedly dragged before being attacked by a second group and robbed of his iPhone and iPad. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
He said minutes after the attackers appear to have left him alone, he called his partner on his cell phone to tell him he had been attacked and needed help. But the partner said he sounded dazed and couldn’t say where he was.
Seconds later, the partner heard other people speaking to the victim. The victim told the Blade he believes another group of attackers beat and robbed him, taking his iPhone and the iPad he had in the briefcase he was carrying.
“It was really hard to be attacked the second time and think that someone would do that,” he said.
“I just want to give thanks for the amazing support and outpouring that we’ve had from everyone lately,” he said. “It makes me proud to be part of the community that I belong to.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
District of Columbia
Man accused of threatening to shoot D.C. bar employee after making anti-gay slurs
May 24 incident took place near Black Pride events on U Street
D.C. police on Sunday, May 24, at around 4:20 p.m. arrested a Maryland man for allegedly threatening to shoot an employee while using anti-gay slurs at Ben’s Next Door restaurant and bar at 1211 U St., N.W.
According to a statement released by police and a police incident report, the arrested man, identified as Delonte Fraley, 32, of Accokeek, Md., made the threats after the employee told a bartender not to serve the man alcohol.
“The suspect overheard the employee and threatened to shoot the employee and used homophobic slurs against the employee,” the police statement says. “When the employee left the restaurant for the day, the suspect was standing near the employee’s vehicle,” it says.
“The employee returned to the restaurant and called the police,” the statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers,” it says.
The police statement says the arresting officers charged Fraley with Felony Threats (Hate/Bias).
D.C. Superior Court records show prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. criminal cases, escalated the charge to Threatening to Injure or Kidnap a Person (Bias-Related Hate Crime).
The incident occurred during Memorial Day weekend when thousands of visitors and D.C. area LGBTQ advocates and supporters were attending D.C. Black Pride events held in locations across the city, including Black Pride parties hosted by LGBTQ bars in the U Street entertainment area near Ben’s Next Door.
Among the nearby LGBTQ bars hosting D.C. Black Pride events were Nellie’s Sports Bar and Thurst Lounge. Ben’s Next Door is located next to the popular longtime U Street eatery Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Court records show that Judge Robert R. Rigsby at a May 25 presentment hearing released Fraley on personal recognizance with a stay-away order — the details of which were not publicly disclosed pending a June 4 preliminary hearing.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed in court by D.C. police says Fraley allegedly confronted the employee at Ben’s Next Door with anti-gay slurs on the day prior to his arrest.
“The complainant told the defendant that because he used homophobic slurs towards himself previously on May 23, 2026, and his hostess, as well as making threats to the complainant and calling him a faggot, he was unable to stay in the establishment,” the affidavit states.
It adds, “The defendant became irate stating, ‘I know where your Tesla is at. See me outside faggot, I will slap your ass’ and ‘I will shoot your ass.’” The affidavit says the complainant confirmed to police the Tesla referred to by Fraley was his vehicle. It says as the victim walked toward his car after getting off work, he saw Fraley standing directly in front of the car.
“The complainant stated he felt unsafe while the defendant was standing in front of his vehicle because he felt the defendant was capable of carrying out those threats,” says the affidavit. It says the victim then decided to return to the restaurant and call police without the defendant having seen him.
“The defendant was placed under arrest for Felony Threats Hate/Bias and was transported to the Third District Station for processing,” the affidavit concludes.
It couldn’t immediately be determined whether the victim identifies as LGBTQ or whether any of the Ben’s Next Door patrons had been involved with D.C. Black Pride.
“Established in 2008, Ben’s Next Door is a family-owned and operated restaurant and bar on U Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” a statement on its website says. “As a Black-owned establishment, it’s our goal to deliver a warm, welcoming, familiar, and communal vibe to all guests,” the statement says.
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