Local
Choi dismisses attorneys, may represent himself
Dan Choi, who was arrested in 2010 at a White House protest, may represent himself at trial.
Gay former Army Lt. Dan Choi earlier this year informed a federal judge in D.C. that he has dismissed the attorneys representing him in a trial for his November 2010 arrest for chaining himself to the White House fence to protest “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Choi told the Blade this week he’s leaning toward representing himself in a practice referred to in the court system as pro se representation.
“Frank Kameny has been a major inspiration in that way,” said Choi, referring to the late gay rights leader from D.C. Kameny represented himself before the U.S. Supreme Court in the late 1960s in an unsuccessful challenge to his firing from a federal government job because he was gay.
The petition that Kameny wrote asking the high court to take his case has been hailed as a precedent-setting manifesto for the gay rights movement.
“I think for activists, especially for people who protest at the public square, there’s no more powerful thing and there’s no greater empowering moment than to stand before the judge and let them hear your own voice,” Choi said.
He said he’s weighing whether to appeal his own case to the Supreme Court to challenge a procedural ruling preventing him from arguing at trial that he was targeted for “vindictive” or “selective” prosecution.
If the Supreme Court were to refuse to take his case or if he forgoes that appeal, his trial, which began in August 2011, would resume in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Prosecutors used a harsher than usual federal law to charge Choi with a misdemeanor count of disobeying a lawful order by police to move away from the White House fence after he and nearly a dozen others handcuffed themselves to the fence. All of the other protesters agreed to a government offer to plead guilty to forgo a trial and to have the charge dropped if they refrained from getting arrested again at the White House for four months.
Choi refused that offer, saying his aim is to win an acquittal at trial on grounds that his action handcuffing himself to the White House fence is protected by his First Amendment right to free speech and should not be considered an illegal act.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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Comings & Goings
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Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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