Local
Peroutka’s operatives guilty in Arundel robocalls
Fusaro, Waters sentenced to a year in jail
Dennis Fusaro, former campaign manager of anti-LGBT Council member Michael Anthony Peroutka, and Stephen Waters, an independent political consultant, were found guilty on Feb. 21 by Anne Arundel County District Court Judge John P. McKenna Jr. stemming from robocalls made against Peroutka’s gay opponent.
Both men, who are from Virginia, were sentenced to a year in jail with all but 30 days suspended for misdemeanor charges of violating and conspiring to violate the authority line requirements of Maryland election laws. They were also sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine, according to the Capital Gazette. The ruling is being appealed.
Patrick Armstrong, then 31, an openly gay candidate who ran unsuccessfully for the District 5 Council seat in Anne Arundel, was a victim of robocalls on Oct. 31, 2014. The call, which stated it was from “Marylanders for Transgenders,” a fake group, asked voters to call his mother’s house where he had lived at the time to thank him for coming out of the closet and his support for “all transgenders” in the Fairness for All Marylanders Act “so that they can go to any bathroom of their choice based their own confused gender identity.”
The message also said, “Call Patrick today and thank him for his bravery in coming out of the closet.”
Armstrong’s opponent, Republican Michael Peroutka, 64, is a Christian Reconstructionist and secessionist. He had allegedly said that gay people are out to “recruit your children” into their “death style” and that legislators’ passing of marriage equality “violates God’s law.”
Peroutka denied any involvement in the robocall but some recipients of the call filed a complaint with the state Board of Elections, which forwarded it to the state prosecutor’s office.
Approximately 5,000 calls were made to Anne Arundel County residents. Armstrong lost by fewer than 2,000 votes though he was ahead in the polls. He told WJZ-TV that the call was a dirty trick.
“I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the trial and look forward to winning again in the appeal,” Armstrong told the Blade. “The robocall was a disgusting slur against the trans community and a clear attempt to use my sexuality against me. The trial, however, focused on an election law violation rather than the message itself. These two individuals wanted to spread this message of hate but were too cowardly to attach their names to it.”
Armstrong said he’s grateful to the Maryland state prosecutor’s office for tracking this call to these men.
“I oppose bullying of all kinds whether against the gay community, the trans community or anyone else,” Armstrong said. “This behavior cannot be tolerated and we must continue to educate those who are filled with anger or hatred or fear towards the LGBT community because they are fueled by ignorance.”
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)
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
