Local
More than 100 attend D.C. vigil for Texas lesbian couple
HRC President Chad Griffin among those who spoke in Dupont Circle
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin speaks at Dupont Circle vigil (Blade photo by Blake Bergen)
More than 100 people gathered in Dupont Circle on Friday for a vigil in honor of a lesbian couple that was shot last week in a Texas park.
“Last Friday night, a week ago tonight, as many prepared for LGBT Pride celebrations around the country, 19-year-old Mollie Olgin was taking her girlfriend of five months, 18-year-old Kristene Chapa, to a movie,” said Jamie McGonnigal, who co-organized the gathering with Jay Carmona. “They had some extra time on their hands, so they stopped by a local park [in Portland, Texas.]”
Chapa and Olgin were found in the park the next morning—Olgin was pronounced dead at the scene, while Chapa remains in intensive care with a shotgun wound to her head. Authorities continue to investigate.
While it remains unclear whether the women’s sexual orientation was a factor, those who spoke at the vigil said the shooting underscores the violence and discrimination that LGBT people continue to face.
“We can’t stand around and take this any longer,” said the Rev. Avinash Macquarie of the United Fellowship Church. “Mollie Judith Olgin did not deserve to die because she loved Mary Christine Chapa. Mary Christine Chapa should not be in the hospital fighting for her life because she loved Mollie Judith Olgin. No one should ever be judged because of their attractionality. We must begin to fight this ugly creature called discrimination. We must fight with our voices as we tell the world we are not going to continue to let gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people be killed.”
Andrew Barnett, director of the Sexual Minority Youth Action League, and Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence Chair A.J. Singleterry made similar points.
“The fact that it’s this hot and there’s still this many people here is an indication of how sick to death we are of losing our young people,” added Maya Rupert, federal policy director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “We owe you a better world to become adults in than the one that we have right now. There is work that is being done. We are doing things to make things better, but you matter. I want to echo that point. You matter.”
The Dupont Circle vigil was one of more than 25 in honor of the couple that took place across the country.
The D.C. gathering also took place three days after Alvonica Jackson, Ali Jackson and Desmond Campbell allegedly stabbed a 16-year-old boy near the Howard Theatre in what police have described as an anti-gay hate crime. The D.C. Council earlier on Friday held a hearing on hate crimes and the Metropolitan Police Department’s response to them. Alvin Bethea, who read a letter on behalf of the mother of Deoni Jones, a transgender woman who was stabbed to death at a Northeast bus stop in February, was among those who testified.
“It’s important that we all come together as a community and reject violence against all people, against all human beings,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “Texas is a long ways away, but we’re in our nation’s capital and so all of you being here today sends that message and says to those in Texas who are investigating that the world is watching—that the world is watching to ensure that the investigation is handled properly and thoroughly handled by the local authorities that are there investigating.”
Meanwhile, police in Portland, Texas this week said that an eyewitness has come forward in the shooting, according to ABC news. Police contend there is not yet enough evidence to classify the shooting as a hate crime, but thanks to the eyewitness account, they say they are now seeking a white male with dark hair around 5’8” and about 140 pounds, in his 20s.
District of Columbia
D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage
Your guide to events throughout June
Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more.
The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will include a coronation ceremony for the 2026 Royal Court: Ms. DC Latinx Pride Vida Rangel and Mx. DC Latinx Pride Steph Niaupari. RSVP at latinxhistoryproject.org. The event is free, though donations are accepted.
An outdoor event is planned for Sunday, June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Anacostia River Park (1500 Anacostia Dr., S.E.). Cultivating Queer Outdoor Joy is a “peaceful outdoor community event focused on grounding, connection, and queer joy in nature.” The event is free.
A panel discussion is planned for The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd., N.W., 2nd floor) on Monday, June 15 from 6-8 p.m. La Plática: The Future of 2 Spirits and Trans Natives will focus upon the “stories, leadership and vision of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and Trans Native people.” RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
A sex-positive poetry workshop, “Hoetry: Writing Erotic Poetry,” is planned for Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). The event is free.
The workshop So You Wanna Do Drag? is planned for Thursday, June 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). Featured guests Ricky Rose and Mari Con Carne will hold a style showcase to discuss the basics of developing a drag persona. RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project is collaborating with Rumba Queer DC to produce an official Latinx Pride Party: Sin Vergüenza. The event is at the multi-level venue, Transmission (1353 H Street, N.E.) on Thursday, June 18 from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. There are dance lessons, vendors and three different music experiences in the sprawling venue. There will also be a drag showcase from 10-11 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets are available at shotgun.live/en/events/sin-verguenza. Tickets are $15 for entry into the party. Tickets to participate in the dance lesson are $29.98. Participants may choose between a bachata lesson or a salsa lesson from 7-8 p.m.
La Fiesta: Official DC Latinx Pride Party is planned for Friday, June 19 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.). Serena Morena from “Drag Race México” and “Drag Race UK vs The World” is slated to headline the 21+ event. Early tickets are available for $15 (plus $0.38 service fee) until June 16. The door cover charge without early tickets is $20. Attendees can also purchase a meet and greet experience with Serena Morena for $30. Tickets are available at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project plans to march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 20 and to have a table at the Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 21. Visit latinxhistoryproject.org to register to march alongside LGP in the parade or to staff the table at the festival.
The DC Latinx Pride 2026 Closing Event is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th Street, N.W.). The free event is a panel discussion “centering the experiences of immigrants who have lived in Latin America and now call the United States home.”
Visit latinxhistoryproject.org for more information.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mark Sickles, and American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer are among those who spoke at the launch that took place in Richmond. State Del. Kirk McPike (D-Alexandria), who co-chairs the campaign, also participated.
“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,” said Bauer. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the commonwealth’s constitution.”
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger in February signed a bill that finalized the referendum’s language.
The referendum will take place on Nov. 3.
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