Excitement for this year’s WorldPride celebration in Washington grows more palpable by the day as more iconic performers are added to festival lineups and a steady stream of new events are announced. It’s clear that Washington is preparing for something big.

But as with any major event, concerns are emerging about how to ensure the safety of the LGBTQ community as people from around the world gather to celebrate the diversity that makes it so special.

Washington is home to about 20 bars that cater to the LGBTQ community. Some bar owners worry that as the celebration approaches their venues will bear the brunt of the influx of visitors. Without federal support, they fear the challenges that come with accommodating such large crowds will only intensify.

The Washington Blade spoke with several gay bar owners following a community meeting that included bar owners, D.C. police, and staff from the mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The discussion focused on safety concerns for WorldPride and potential solutions to ease the growing burden on these businesses.

“I think a lot of the bar owners just felt like we needed to all coordinate what we’re doing together with the 2 to 3 million people they say are coming to town,” said Stephen Rutgers, co-owner of Crush, an LGBTQ dance bar on 14th Street. (Rutgers also serves as the Blade’s sales and marketing director.) “There are 16-ish, maybe a little more, LGBTQ bars in the city, which maybe hold 3,500-plus people total. We’re sort of the backbone of the community, and so we’re going to be inundated no matter what. It is great for business, but it also brings a lot of concerns for a lot of the business owners.”

Originally not intended to focus on security, the mid-February meeting quickly shifted to safety concerns, according to Ed Bailey, co-owner of Trade and Number 9. Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, attended, taking notes as bar owners voiced their fears.

“As Japer started the conversation, there was a little bit of a general ‘WorldPride is coming. These are the dates. Here are a few marquee events that are scheduled.’ We went through the basics — when the parade is, when the main downtown festival is, the other music festival, and some other things. And then within 10 minutes of the meeting starting like that, the question of security and safety was brought up. I don’t even remember how, and I don’t think it was the topic at hand. It just became part of the topic, and then it became the only thing that was discussed for the rest of the meeting.”

The discussion centered on how to financially support bar owners in securing the additional staffing needed to handle the influx of millions of LGBTQ tourists. Many attendees emphasized the government’s responsibility to ensure safety for these visitors, especially considering that WorldPride 2019 drew 5 million people to Manhattan.

“WorldPride is going to be the largest event that has ever happened in Washington, D.C., ever, of any kind,” Bailey said. “More people will be here for WorldPride than have been here for any other thing in history. The city has a complete, 100% obligation to manage this, make it safe, be as welcoming as possible, and ensure everything is in its best form.”

This becomes more complicated given that the District’s resources are ultimately controlled by the Republican-led federal government.

“Is Washington up to that task as a city government? I don’t think it’s ever been tested like this,” Bailey added. “It is unprecedented for Washington — a city essentially controlled by the federal government — to try to maintain, manage, and operate an event of this magnitude without federal assistance. It just puts a stranglehold on the D.C. government.”

David Perruzza, owner of Pitchers, a queer sports bar, and A League of Her Own, a lesbian bar in Adams Morgan, said he sees potential security issues arising not at official WorldPride events but closer to home.

“So now it’s WorldPride, and there will be other events. And God forbid Trump does another counter-event. What are we going to do if we have an issue?” Perruzza said. “Our main concern is security for these establishments, not so much the events. The events have tons of cops for them and everything, but we just want to make sure that we’re going to be taken care of.”

Rutgers echoed Perruzza’s concerns about the possibility of interference from the president and other Republicans in power.

“I do think people have a lot of questions about whether the bigger stuff is going to be able to happen. It does raise those concerns for us. We’re on private property, so we’re safe, but if things start to get canceled, there will be fewer and fewer spaces for people to go, which then, I think, overwhelms us even more,” Rutgers said. “There are only so many bars. There are only so many larger venues that can hold big private parties that the administration can’t touch. And if they somehow take over city permitting and cancel the street festival, where are those couple hundred thousand people going to go?”

The possibility of increased police presence in LGBTQ spaces was also discussed. Initially seen as a potential solution to growing concerns, it now appears less viable as the full scale and demands of WorldPride on city resources become clearer.

“They used to have a program where bars and restaurants could hire off-duty MPD officers,” Rutgers explained. “The city would cover a portion of the cost of overtime, and the bar would cover the rest. One issue is that it wasn’t funded in the budget this year, so there’s no money for it. And, two, when MPD is fully activated, there are no off-duty officers available. MPD is already short-staffed. I think there are just flaws in the program — it’s great, we would want to hire people, but we can’t.”

“All of the bar owners were concerned. They feel like they are easier targets, and while there will likely be significant security and police presence at the festival and large events, there probably won’t be much visible police coverage in the areas where the bars are,” Bailey added. “Every single officer employed by the Metropolitan Police Department will be working that weekend. No one will have time off. There will be no extra officers in the nightclub and bar world.”

Beyond the lack of officers and funding, a police presence doesn’t always guarantee a safer space, especially considering that the first Pride was a rebellion against police.

“I also am astutely aware that having police at your establishments is not something that is welcome or comfortable for a very large portion of our community, so that becomes tricky,” Bailey said. “But I believe that given the scenario and the situation, if there were a way to create a system where neighborhoods could collectively pay a fee to have an officer in a patrol car on the block — so businesses could access that officer when significant issues arise — that might bring some comfort. Removing that officer from directly standing at the bar would lessen the impact on customers who may not feel comfortable with a police presence.”

Bowles from the mayor’s office issued a statement to the Blade responding to the bar owners’ concerns.

“We are proud to welcome more than 3 million visitors to Washington, D.C. for WorldPride 2025,” the statement reads. “Washington, D.C. has extensive experience providing world-class security and hospitality for large-scale public events, and this will be no exception. The District continues to work diligently with community organizers and partners to ensure that WorldPride is a safe, accessible, and bold celebration of our community.”

Regardless of how it’s achieved, safety remains the top priority for LGBTQ bar owners, even if it means sacrificing profits or taking on additional responsibilities, the owners said.

“Everybody’s got to step up,” Bailey concluded. “It’s a long, difficult, hard weekend from a working standpoint, but hopefully, a joyous and remarkable experience.”

The Washington Blade reached out to Capital Pride and the Metropolitan Police Department for comment, but neither responded.

Patrick Wojahn, the former mayor of College Park who resigned after law enforcement executed a search and seizure warrant and discovered a “very large quantity” of child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, has agreed to be disbarred in Maryland.

Wojahn, 49, a Democrat who served as mayor from 2015 to 2023, later pleaded guilty in Prince George’s County Circuit Court to 140 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison — plus five years of probation.

In an order on Friday, Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader granted a joint petition for disbarment by consent and noted that Wojahn agreed that his actions constituted professional misconduct.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

The sentencing in D.C. federal court for Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now-defunct LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby on a charge of wire fraud, has been postponed for the second time, from March 28 to April 29.

A spokesperson for U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who is presiding over the case, said it was the judge who postponed the sentencing due to a scheduling conflict. The earlier postponement, from Jan. 10 to March 28, came at the request of Corado’s attorney and was not opposed by prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C.

Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors. The charge to which she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for D.C. says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 “in taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Under the federal wire fraud law, for which Corado is being prosecuted, she could be subjected to a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution requiring her to repay the funds she allegedly stole.

Court observers, however, have said that due to Corado’s decision to waive her right to a trial and plead guilty to the lesser charge, prosecutors will likely ask the judge to hand down a lesser sentence than the maximum sentence.

An earlier criminal complaint filed against Corado, which has been replaced by the single charge to which she has pleaded guilty, came at the time the FBI arrested her on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. from El Salvador.

At the request of her attorney and against the wishes of prosecutors, another judge at that time agreed to release Corado into custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order. The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail at the time of her March 5 arrest.