Local
Woman charged in IHOP shooting rejects plea bargain offer
Defendant captured on video shooting gay man in restaurant; case sent to grand jury
The International House of Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The government’s offer called for keeping in place the charge of aggravated assault while armed filed against Lashawn Yvonne Carson, 27, at the time of her arrest. However, the offer included a recommendation that she be sentenced to seven years in jail for an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a possible fine of $10,000.
D.C. Superior Court Judge J. Michael Ryan, who presided over the hearing, said the case would be sent to a grand jury, which observers said could indict Carson on the aggravated assault while armed charge as well as other charges, including a more severe charge of assault with intent to kill and the listing of the case as a hate crime.
D.C. police initially classified the case as an anti-gay hate crime. The U.S. Attorney’s office dropped the hate crime designation when it filed the case in court. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office said its prosecutors normally hold off on deciding whether to list cases as hate crimes until they are presented before a grand jury.
According to accounts by police and witnesses, Carson allegedly shot the victim in the abdomen about 6:30 a.m. on March 11 near the lobby of the IHOP restaurant after an off-duty D.C. police officer broke up a physical altercation between Carson and several of her friends and the victim and at least two of his friends.
A police arrest affidavit says the altercation began after people sitting with Carson at the restaurant made anti-gay remarks toward the victim and people sitting with him.
The affidavit says video footage taken by a surveillance camera at the IHOP shows Carson walking up to the victim after the police officer stopped the two parties from fighting. The affidavit says the video shows Carson firing a single shot that struck the victim, who is shown clutching his abdomen and falling to the floor.
The victim recovered from what police said was a serious but non-life threatening wound to his liver. Carson was initially held without bond. On May 3, another judge agreed to release her to home confinement, with the requirement that she wear an electronic ankle bracelet.
Carson wore the ankle bracelet in court on Tuesday. Her attorney, Patrick Christmas, told the court that Carson, who is pregnant, has complied with all requirements of the home release order issued on May 3 by Judge Magistrate Frederick Sullivan.
William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said that while the maximum sentence for aggravated assault while armed is 30 years in prison, the court’s guidelines for such a charge range from a four to ten year prison term depending on the circumstances of individual cases.
Gay D.C. attorney Dale Edwin Sanders, who practices criminal law in D.C. and Virginia, called the seven-year sentence offered by the government “a real good offer” given the fact that Carson’s action was captured on video.
“I would take that in a heartbeat,” he said.
Christmas, Carson’s attorney, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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