Local
Longtime gov’t speechwriter Shelbia Lengel dies at 81
Played lead role in organizing first national AIDS hotline
(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Shelbia “Shellie” Lengel, who served as a public affairs spokesperson and writer, including speechwriter, for several U.S. government agencies in Washington beginning in the late 1950s and played a lead role in organizing the government’s first national AIDS hotline in the early 1980s, died Aug. 27 of cancer at her home in Charlottesville, Va. She was 81.
A native of West Virginia, Lengel graduated second in her high school class in Charleston, W.Va., and was accepted at Duke University in North Carolina on a full scholarship, according to her son, Eric Lengel. Eric Lengel said his mother graduated from Duke in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in English.
He said his mother began her professional career in the federal government in 1958 at the Department of Agriculture as a public information writer and speechwriter.
She continued her role as a writer and speech writer in subsequent years at the then Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1962 to 1968; and at the Environmental Protection Agency from 1969 to 1971. While at EPA she helped organize the agency’s first Earth Day activities, Eric Lengel said.
He said she took a hiatus from government service from 1971 to 1976 when she served as executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Pennsylvania at the organization’s office in Reading, Pa.
She resumed her career in the federal government in 1976, her son said, when she became a public affairs spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, where she remained until her retirement in 1988.
Eric Lengel said his mother became actively involved in HHS’s efforts to address the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, among other things, by playing a key role in getting the agency’s AIDS hotline up and running.
He said she also worked on AIDS related projects with then U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Everett Koop at a time when AIDS was little understood. President Ronald Reagan appointed Koop, who was known then as a conservative fundamentalist Christian who was strongly opposed for the Surgeon General’s position by LGBT and AIDS activists.
But in the midst of Shellie Lengel’s role as a spokesperson for HHS, Koop riled his once conservative supporters and pleased many AIDS activists by calling for widespread distribution of condoms, including in schools, as part of the nation’s AIDS prevention effort.
Eric Lengel said his mother became involved as a volunteer for AIDS causes upon her retirement in 1988. Among other things, she worked as a volunteer for D.C.’s Food and Friends, the first large-scale organization in the D.C. area that delivered meals for homebound people with HIV/AIDS.
Her longtime support for the LGBT community and its struggle with AIDS hit home in a profound way in 1994, Eric Lengel said, when his brother, one of her three sons, Andy Lengel, who was gay, died of AIDS.
Shellie Lengel is survived by her husband, Alan Lengel; her sons Eric and Ed Lengel; and grandchildren Megan Lengel, Stephen Lengel, Mike Lengel, Thomas Lengel, and Laura Lengel.
She was scheduled to be buried at the National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Va., next to her son Andy in an upcoming private ceremony.
District of Columbia
Judge rescinds stay-away order in Capital Pride anti-stalking case
Evidence hearing to determine if order should be reinstated against Darren Pasha
A D.C. Superior Court judge on April 17 rescinded an anti-stalking order he approved in February at the request of Capital Pride Alliance against local LGBTQ activist Darren Pasha.
In a ruling at a court status hearing, Judge Robert D. Okum agreed with defendant Darren Pasha’s stated concern that the initial order was too broad and did not specify who specifically he must stay at least 100 feet away from, as called for in the order.
Okum ruled on April 17 that the initial order, which he noted was oral rather than written, would be suspended until an evidentiary hearing takes place in which Capital Pride will need to present evidence justifying the need for such an order.
“I’m fine with scheduling a hearing at which the plaintiff can present evidence, and the defendant can present evidence,” Okum said. “But I’m not fine with just continuing this oral TRO [Temporary Restraining Order] that Mr. Pasha really doesn’t even have notice of. That seems unfair,” he said.
After asking both Pasha and Capital Pride Alliance Attorney Nick Harrison when they would be available for the evidence hearing, Okum set the date for April 27 at 11 a.m. in Superior Court.
The case began when Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based LGBTQ group that organizes the city’s annual Pride events, filed a Civil Complaint on Oct. 27, 2025, against Pasha, accusing him of engaging in a year-long effort to harass, intimidate, and stalk Capital Pride’s staff, board members, and volunteers.
The complaint was accompanied by a separate motion seeking a restraining order, preliminary injunction, and anti-stalking order prohibiting Pasha from “any further contact, harassment, intimidation, or interference with the Plaintiff, its staff, board members, volunteers, and affiliates.”
In his initial ruling in February, Okum issued an order requiring Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride staff, board members, and volunteers until the April 17 status hearing. He reduced the stay-away distance from the 200 yards requested by Capital Pride.
Pasha, who has so far represented himself in court without an attorney, has argued in multiple court filings and motions that the Capital Pride stalking allegations are untrue. In his initial 16-page response to the complaint, Pasha said it appears to be a form of retaliation against him for a dispute he has had with Capital Pride and its former board president, Ashley Smith, who has since resigned from the board.
“It is evident that the document is replete with false, misleading, and unsubstantiated assertions,” Pasha’s court response states.
At the April 17 hearing, Okum also ruled that, as standard procedure for civil complaints such as this one, he has ordered both parties to enter into court-supervised mediation to attempt to reach a settlement rather than go to trial.
In an earlier ruling Okum denied Pasha’s request for a jury trial, stating that civil cases such as this must undergo a trial with the judge determining the verdict under existing civil court statutes.
The April 17 court hearing was held in a courtroom at the courthouse, but as allowed under current court rules, Capital Pride attorney Harrison and Capital Pride official June Crenshaw participated virtually through a video connection. Pasha attended the hearing in the courtroom.
“This matter is proceeding through the court in the normal course,” Capital Pride released in a statement. “We look forward to presenting the relevant evidence at the scheduled hearing. Capital Pride Alliance remains committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for our staff, volunteers, and community, and to addressing concerns through appropriate channels.”
“This is clearly a case of retaliation,” Pasha told the Blade after the hearing. “Today the judge removed the stay-away order and asked Capital Pride Alliance to present enough evidence and examples to see if a stay-away order should be granted,” he said. “Because Pride is coming up in June, we need to see where this is going.”
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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