Local
Safeway assault case still open
Unidentified woman sought in July attack on gay man
This unidentified female suspect remains at large after allegedly assaulting a gay man at a Safeway.
An unidentified female suspect captured on video assaulting a gay man at a Safeway store at 5th and L Streets, N.W., on July 2 while calling him “faggot” remains at large more than a month after the incident sparked widespread interest on social media.
“This case is still open and under investigation,” said D.C. police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump. “No arrest at this time.”
The victim of the alleged assault, local Realtor Mark Rutstein, 40, told the Blade at the time of the incident that the suspect began punching him in the face and calling him a faggot seconds after he approached her at a customer service counter and politely asked her if she was standing in line.
In attempting to defend himself Rutstein said he pulled the woman to the floor by her hair and held her down while screaming for security to help him. He said he released the woman when security guards and an assistant manager arrived.
But to his dismay and over his objections, the guards and the assistant manager escorted the woman to the door and allowed her to flee, according to Rutstein. He said the manager then refused his request to call police, telling him a police station was located across the street and he should go there if he wanted police assistance.
Rutstein said he flagged down a police car outside the store, resulting in four officers arriving at the store to take a police report. Two were from the department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.
While there, the officers obtained an electronic copy of video footage of the alleged assault from the store’s security camera system. Police later released photos taken from the video and appealed to the public for help in identifying the suspect.
In response to criticism over the decision by Safeway employees to allow the suspect to escape, a Safeway spokesperson said the guards missed seeing how the incident started and assumed it was a fight between two customers.
“We have apologized to the customer and are conducting our own investigation as well as continue to cooperate with law enforcement on their investigation,” Safeway spokesperson Craig Muckle said in a July 9 statement.
Police listed the incident as an anti-gay hate crime.
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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