News
CPAC lifts ban on gay conservative group
No booth allocated, but GOProud will be allowed as a ‘guest’
The GOProud booth at CPAC in 2011. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
After years of being banned, a group for gay conservatives will once again participate this year in the annual Conservative Political Action Conference — although its involvement will be limited compared to previous years.
As first reported by the National Journal, the American Conservative Union announced on Wednesday that it would allow GOProud to participate in CPAC, which will take place March 6-8 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
Dan Schneider, the ACU’s executive director, said his organization decided to allow GOProud to return to CPAC following a meeting between the groups last week.
“The directors have a new vision for promoting a broad array of conservative priorities; from sound fiscal policies to strong Second Amendment rights to pro-life policies,” Schneider said. “We welcome GOProud’s attendance at this year’s CPAC conference. I believe their presence could help establish a productive relationship in the future.”
However, GOProud is only set to participate at CPAC as a guest at the event. No booth was allocated to the gay conservative group at the conference.
Ross Hemminger, co-director of GOProud, said his organization didn’t seek a booth at the event and wanted to participate as a guest to rebuild the relationship with the ACU.
“We will have the presence that we wanted there,” Hemminger said. “I’ve been making clear to people, we didn’t ask for a booth, we didn’t ask to co-sponsor, we asked to attend as guests, and the ACU and CPAC have been very willing to work with us to that, and they’ve been wonderful to work with.”
Although GOProud had a booth at CPAC in 2010 and 2011, the organization was barred from participating in 2012 along with the John Birch Society. Although the ACU would later say GOProud was barred for “disrespectful behavior,” GOProud always asserted it was barred from attendance because it identified as a gay group.
It should be noted that GOProud was invited back to CPAC in the first year that the former leaders of the group, Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron, are no longer affiliated with the organization.
But the lifting of the ban on GOProud wasn’t the only news on Wednesday regarding CPAC. New Jersey Governor and possible 2016 Republican presidential contender Chris Christie, who was snubbed at last year’s event, was allowed to have a speaking slot at the event.
One remaining question is whether the Log Cabin Republicans will attend CPAC. Gregory Angelo, Log Cabin’s executive director, said the decision is still up in the air.
“We’re still working out what LCR participation might look like at CPAC,” Angelo said. “Any Log Cabin Republicans presence would need to be meaningful.”
Asked what a meaningful presence would look like, Angelo said, “We’re still ironing that out.”
Senegal
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Popular journalist and musician among those taken into custody
Senegalese police have charged a dozen men with committing “unnatural acts.”
The New York Times reported Pape Cheikh Diallo, a popular television reporter, and Djiby Dramé, a musician, are among the men who authorities arrested. They appeared in court in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, on Monday.
Le Soleil, a Senegalese newspaper, reported authorities arrested the men on Feb. 6 “for intentional transmission of HIV, unnatural acts, criminal conspiracy, and endangering others.” The newspaper further notes the men have been placed in “pre-trial detention.”
Senegal is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.
Police in Kaolack, a town that is roughly 135 miles southeast of Dakar, in 2015 arrested 11 people who allegedly engaged in same-sex sexual acts during “a celebration of a gay marriage.” The National Assembly in 2021 rejected a bill that would have further criminalized homosexuality in the country.
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. will be moderating a panel at Dupont Underground on Sunday. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney’s Office drops hate crime charge in anti-gay assault
Case remains under investigation and ‘further charges’ could come
D.C. police announced on Feb. 9 that they had arrested two days earlier on Feb. 7 a Germantown, Md., man on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation after the man allegedly assaulted a gay man at 14th and Q Streets, N.W., while using “homophobic slurs.”
But D.C. Superior Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. violent crime cases, charged the arrested man only with simple assault without a hate crime designation.
In response to a request by the Washington Blade for the reason why the hate crime designation was dropped, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office provided this response: “We continue to investigate this matter and make no mistake: should the evidence call for further charges, we will not hesitate to charge them.”
In a statement announcing the arrest in this case, D.C. police stated, “On Saturday, February 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and continued walking,” the statement says.
“The suspect assaulted the victim and used homophobic slurs,” the police statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers.”
It adds that 26-year-old Dean Edmundson of Germantown, Md. “was arrested and charged with Simple Assault (Hate/Bias).” The statement also adds, “A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime.”
Under D.C.’s Bias Related Crime Act of 1989, penalties for crimes motivated by prejudice against individuals based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and homelessness can be enhanced by a court upon conviction by one and a half times greater than the penalty of the underlying crime.
Prosecutors in the past both in D.C. and other states have said they sometimes decide not to include a hate crime designation in assault cases if they don’t think the evidence is sufficient to obtain a conviction by a jury. In some instances, prosecutors have said they were concerned that a skeptical jury might decide to find a defendant not guilty of the underlying assault charge if they did not believe a motive of hate was involved.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed by D.C. police in Superior Court appears to support the charge of a hate crime designation.
“The victim stated that they refused to High-Five Defendant Edmondson, which, upon that happening, Defendant Edmondson started walking behind both the victim and witness, calling the victim, “bald, ugly, and gay,” the arrest affidavit states.
“The victim stated that upon being called that, Defendant Edmundson pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push,” the affidavit continues. “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay,” it says.
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Meet D.C.’s Most Eligible Queer Singles
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
U.S. Attorney’s Office drops hate crime charge in anti-gay assault
