Local
Anti-gay graffiti spray painted on home of Rehoboth couple
State Police fail to list incident as hate crime
CAMP Rehoboth’s Steve Elkins described the graffiti as containing ‘vile homophobic slurs.’ (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)
An LGBT rights advocate in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has expressed concern that Delaware State Police chose not to designate as a hate crime a Sept. 23 incident in which anti-gay messages were spray painted on the house of a gay couple.
Steve Elkins, executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBT community center, told the Washington Blade that he saw photos of the graffiti spray painted in several places on the couple’s rented house. He said the messages were definitely “crude and homophobic.”
Master Corp. Gary Fournier of the State Police told the Blade in an email that an unidentified suspect or suspects spray painted “obscene gestures and words” on the house and a vehicle parked in the driveway on the 19000 block of John J. Williams Highway, which is near Delaware Coastal Highway 1 outside the Rehoboth Beach City limits.
Fournier said State Police have designated the incident as a case of criminal mischief and trespass.
“The investigation into this incident is on-going and is not being investigated as a hate crime,” he said.
He declined to disclose what the spray painted messages said or what the “obscene gestures” depicted. He also declined to say why police don’t believe the incident is a hate crime.
Gene Harris, one of the two men who live in the house, told WRDE TV News that he and his partner woke up about 8 a.m. on Sept. 24 and discovered what he called hate fueled messages scrawled on their home.
The Cape Gazette, a Rehoboth-area newspaper, published two photos showing graffiti painted in several places on the exterior walls, the roof, and the garage door of the house. The photos were not taken close enough to show what the graffiti depicted.
“It took us back 20 or 30 years to a feeling of shame and humiliation and somehow embarrassment – yes embarrassment,” Harris told the TV news station.
Elkins, who also spoke to the TV news station, told the reporter in an on-camera interview that he viewed the incident as a hate crime.
“It’s pretty scary to see what was painted not only on the front of the home but all around the house,” he said. “And even on…a car that belonged to a friend of theirs was sprayed with some vile homophobic slurs,” Elkins said in the TV interview.
“It made me sick to my stomach to see it,” he said.
Elkins told the Blade that among the words sprayed on the house was “cock sucker.”
Jason Miller, a spokesperson for the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, said the office was aware of the incident and was monitoring the police investigation. He said that if an arrest is made the Attorney General’s office would make an independent decision on what charge should be filed against the person or persons arrested.
“Through our own review of the case, we can upgrade the charges,” he said, adding that his office would list the incident as a hate crime if it determines such a charge is warranted.
The Delaware News Journal reported that the house in which the two gay men live is owned by Sussex County Council member Joan Deaver, who lives in a nearby house.
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.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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