Local
U.S. Attorney prosecuting D.C. anti-trans attack as hate crime
Police chief praises decision to retain charge
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham and Mayor Muriel Bowser were reluctant at a news conference on Tuesday to join LGBT activists in criticizing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for dropping most of the hate crime designations made by D.C. police for violent crimes against LGBT people in 2018.
Bowser and Newsham called the news conference to provide an update on the D.C. police response to an increase in violent crime, including shootings, in recent weeks. Newsham gave a report on several arrests in a number of cases. He and Bowser said the department would be requiring some officers to work one extra day in overtime each week to step up efforts to apprehend violent offenders and recover illegal firearms.
In response to a question by the Washington Blade asking for their reaction to a Washington Post investigative report in August showing that prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office dropped hate crime designations last year for nearly all hate crime charges brought by D.C. police in both LGBT and non-LGBT cases, Bowser said she was pleased that LGBT people, especially transgender women, were coming forward to report hate crimes.
“And we are sending a very clear message that we’re investigating these crimes and we expect them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.
“I appreciate the work that MPD has done,” Bowser said, adding that the increase in hate crimes based on LGBT status, religious status and other categories over the past two years in D.C. appears to be part of a national trend. “And I think we should be proud people in the LGBT community, especially transgender women, are calling us for help.”
Newsham noted that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecutes most violent crimes in the District, has retained the hate crime designation made by D.C. police for the most recent anti-LGBT incident in the city. He was referring to a Sept. 17 assault and robbery of a transgender woman on the 7700 block of Eastern Ave., N.W. for which D.C. police arrested a male suspect, 23-year-old Besufikad Tujuba, on charges of bias related assault and biased related second-degree theft.
Charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court accuse Tujuba of yelling anti-trans and anti-gay slurs shortly before he allegedly punched and kicked the woman and stole her purse, which contained $40 in cash and her cell phone. The victim is a client of the Casa Ruby LGBT community services center, which is located about three blocks from where the incident took place.
“I think there’s been a lot of discussion about it, about the fact that there have been a lot of crimes going to the U.S. Attorney’s Office that we believe to be hate crimes,” Newsham said in response to the Blade’s question. “I’m really thankful that in this most recent case they did make the hate crime designation.”
U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jessie K. Liu, who was appointed by President Trump, has said her office drops hate crime designations for cases only after her prosecutors determine the evidence isn’t sufficient to obtain a hate crime conviction before a jury.
She has said her office continues to prosecute such cases as non-hate crimes for the underlying offense such as assault or murder.
LGBT activists have complained that prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office appear to be overly cautious about bringing hate crimes cases to trial, saying the federally appointed prosecutors often prefer to drop the hate crime designation as part of a plea bargain offer to persuade a defendant to plead guilty to a less serious charge.
District of Columbia
D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage
Your guide to events throughout June
Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more.
The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will include a coronation ceremony for the 2026 Royal Court: Ms. DC Latinx Pride Vida Rangel and Mx. DC Latinx Pride Steph Niaupari. RSVP at latinxhistoryproject.org. The event is free, though donations are accepted.
An outdoor event is planned for Sunday, June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Anacostia River Park (1500 Anacostia Dr., S.E.). Cultivating Queer Outdoor Joy is a “peaceful outdoor community event focused on grounding, connection, and queer joy in nature.” The event is free.
A panel discussion is planned for The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd., N.W., 2nd floor) on Monday, June 15 from 6-8 p.m. La Plática: The Future of 2 Spirits and Trans Natives will focus upon the “stories, leadership and vision of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and Trans Native people.” RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
A sex-positive poetry workshop, “Hoetry: Writing Erotic Poetry,” is planned for Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). The event is free.
The workshop So You Wanna Do Drag? is planned for Thursday, June 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). Featured guests Ricky Rose and Mari Con Carne will hold a style showcase to discuss the basics of developing a drag persona. RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project is collaborating with Rumba Queer DC to produce an official Latinx Pride Party: Sin Vergüenza. The event is at the multi-level venue, Transmission (1353 H Street, N.E.) on Thursday, June 18 from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. There are dance lessons, vendors and three different music experiences in the sprawling venue. There will also be a drag showcase from 10-11 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets are available at shotgun.live/en/events/sin-verguenza. Tickets are $15 for entry into the party. Tickets to participate in the dance lesson are $29.98. Participants may choose between a bachata lesson or a salsa lesson from 7-8 p.m.
La Fiesta: Official DC Latinx Pride Party is planned for Friday, June 19 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.). Serena Morena from “Drag Race México” and “Drag Race UK vs The World” is slated to headline the 21+ event. Early tickets are available for $15 (plus $0.38 service fee) until June 16. The door cover charge without early tickets is $20. Attendees can also purchase a meet and greet experience with Serena Morena for $30. Tickets are available at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project plans to march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 20 and to have a table at the Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 21. Visit latinxhistoryproject.org to register to march alongside LGP in the parade or to staff the table at the festival.
The DC Latinx Pride 2026 Closing Event is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th Street, N.W.). The free event is a panel discussion “centering the experiences of immigrants who have lived in Latin America and now call the United States home.”
Visit latinxhistoryproject.org for more information.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mark Sickles, and American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer are among those who spoke at the launch that took place in Richmond. State Del. Kirk McPike (D-Alexandria), who co-chairs the campaign, also participated.
“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,” said Bauer. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the commonwealth’s constitution.”
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger in February signed a bill that finalized the referendum’s language.
The referendum will take place on Nov. 3.
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