Local
Gay Asian man, parents attacked in D.C.’s Observatory Circle area
Suspect shouted, ‘faggots,’ ‘You are not Americans!’
A gay Chinese man and his parents were attacked and beaten about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7, on the 3700 block of Fulton Street, N.W. near the National Observatory by a male suspect who called them “faggots” and shouted, “You are not Americans!,” according to charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court.
The charging documents show that D.C. police, who arrived on the scene as the incident was unfolding, arrested Patrick Joseph Miller Trebat, 38, on one count of Felony Assault, two counts of Simple Assault, and one count of Destruction of Property. A police incident report lists the assault as a suspected hate crime.
A statement released by the Watch Commander of the D.C. Police Second District, whose officers made the arrest, said the family of three were transported to a local hospital for treatment of injuries listed as non-life threatening.
The Watch Commander, who is not identified by name, added in the statement that suspect Trebat punched and kicked the three victims as he stated, “Get out of my country.”
Among the victims was Sean Lai, 30, an out gay man of Chinese ancestry who last year completed his doctorate degree in physics at Georgetown University and currently works as a data scientist. He has been a D.C. resident since 2013.
Court documents state that Trebat allegedly attacked Lai and his parents as they were walking on the street in the city’s Observatory Circle neighborhood where they are currently living and which is a short distance from the National Cathedral.
The court documents show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. filed documents in D.C. Superior Court, charging Trebat with two counts of Bias-related Assault with Significant Bodily Injury and one count of Bias-related Assault in connection with the incident along with a charge of destruction of property related to damage to Lai’s cell phone during the attack.
But the charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office attribute the bias aspect of the crime only to the three victims’ “actual or perceived national origin.” The charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office do not attribute the attack to bias related to Lai’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, even though one of the charging documents quotes Trebat as reciting the word “faggots.”
William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said the office does not comment on its reasons for charging decisions in pending cases. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is continuing to investigate the facts and circumstances of the case and has no further comment at this time,” Miller told the Washington Blade.
The court documents show that Trebat is a resident of an apartment at 4201 Cathedral Ave., N.W., which is located less than a mile from where the incident occurred. The documents show he was released by a judge two days after his arrest on the condition that he be placed in the court’s High Intensity Supervision release program.
Court records show D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe also issued a pretrial stay away order. The details of the order were not immediately made public, but most such orders require an arrested person to stay away from anyone he or she is charged with harming.
The court records also show that court status hearings set for the Trebat case initially scheduled for Aug. 30 and Oct. 20 were cancelled and his next scheduled appearance in court for a felony status conference is set for Nov. 15.
Details of the incident are provided in the police incident report and a two-page arrest affidavit prepared by police and prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Although Lai’s sexual orientation is not disclosed in the police report or the arrest affidavit, a close friend who contacted the Washington Blade said Lai wishes to be identified as an out gay man. The friend said Lai plans to release a public statement about the incident after more details about the case become known.
According to the two documents, Lai, who is listed as Victim 3, told police he and his parents were walking home along the 3700 block of Fulton Street, N.W. when Suspect 1, later identified as Trebat, started following them. The police report says the family lives on the 3900 block of Fulton St.
“Victim 3 states that he and his family tried to cross the street to create distance between them and Suspect 1,” the police report says. “Victim 3 states that he heard Defendant 1 call him and his family ‘faggots’ and that he heard D-1 exclaim, ‘You are not Americans!’ before D-1 began to assault his family,” the arrest affidavit states.
The affidavit identifies Victim 1 as the mother, age 61, and Victim 2 as the father, age 64.
“Victim 1 and Victim 2 did not speak English,” the affidavit says, adding that police arriving on the scene immediately placed a radio call for a police officer who is a Mandarin speaker who quickly arrived on the scene to provide translation services to help police interview the parents.
“V-1 stated that D-1 assaulted her husband V-2, causing him to fall to the ground,” the affidavit continues. “V-1 states that D-1 then pushed her to the ground, causing the listed injury. V-2 stated that D-1 came from behind and struck him with a closed fist in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground,” says the affidavit.
“V-3,” Sean Lai, “states he turned around and observed D-1 assault his parents,” says the affidavit. “V-3 intervened and pushed D-1 away from his parents, ensuing in a physical struggle between V-3 and D-1,” the affidavit says.
The affidavit says the father then tried to intervene to protect his son from Trebat’s assault, but Trebat “kept pushing them both to the ground.” It says that at some point during the assault, each of the three victims sustained injuries serious enough to send them to a hospital.
It says that during his struggle with Trebat, Lai’s phone fell out of his pocket and was damaged when it struck the ground. The affidavit says the damaged phone prompted prosecutors to charge Trebat with the single count of destruction of property.
The attack against Lai and his parents took place five months after the release of a report in March by the group Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate that found at least 140 hate-related incidents had been reported against people of Asian ancestry across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia since March of 2020.
Civil rights organizations have attributed the anti-Asian attacks to the bogus and racist belief by some that Asians should be blamed for the coronavirus pandemic because it originated in China.
District of Columbia
Blade contributor, husband exchange vows in D.C.
Yariel Valdés and Kevin Vega held ceremony at Jefferson Memorial on March 23
Washington Blade contributor Yariel Valdés and his husband, Kevin Vega, exchanged vows at the Jefferson Memorial on March 23.
The couple married in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2025. The Jefferson Memorial ceremony — which Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Samy Nemir Olivares officiated — coincided with the third anniversary of Yariel and Kevin’s first date.
Yariel in 2019 asked for asylum in the U.S. because of the persecution he suffered as a journalist in his native Cuba. He spent nearly a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before his release on March 4, 2020.
Yariel wrote a series of articles about his time in ICE custody that the Blade published. The series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2022.
Yariel and Kevin live in South Florida.
District of Columbia
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
Mayoral candidate cites record of longtime support for LGBTQ rights
More than 100 people filled the upstairs room of the D.C. gay bar Number 9 on Thursday night, March 26, to listen to D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie at an event promoted as an “Out for McDuffie” meet and greet session.
Several local LGBTQ activists who attended the event said they support McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, in his run for mayor while others said they had not yet decided whom to vote for in the June 16 D.C. Democratic primary election.
As of March 27, eight other Democrats were competing against McDuffy in the June 16 primary, including D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), considered McDuffie’s lead opponent. Lewis George also has a record of strong support on LGBTQ issues.
Most political observers consider McDuffie and Lewis George the two lead candidates in the race, with the others having far less name recognition.
The two lead organizers of the Out for McDuffie event were LGBTQ rights advocates Courtney Snowden, a former D.C. deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Cesar Toledo, a local LGBTQ youth housing services advocate.
“I’m a candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C. and I’m running for mayor because I love this city,” McDuffie told the gathering after being introduced by Snowden. “And now more than ever we need leadership to take us to the future,” he said, adding that he and his administration would “stand up and fight” against President Donald Trump’s efforts to intervene in local D.C. affairs.
“Our strength is in the 700,000 beautifully diverse residents of Washington, D.C.” he told the gathering. “And as Courtney said, I didn’t just show up and run for mayor and then start saying that I’m going to be an ally for the queer community, for the LGBTQ+ community,” he said, “I’ve lived my entire professional life fighting for justice and fighting for fairness.”
Following his speech, McDuffie told the Washington Blade, “We’re going to fight to protect our LGBTQ+ community every single day. That’s what I’ve spent my career doing, making sure we have a beautifully diverse and inclusive city.”
He remained at Number 9, located at 1435 P St., N.W., for nearly an hour after he spoke, chatting with attendees.
District of Columbia
‘No Kings’ protests set for D.C.
Anti-Trump demonstrations to take place across country on Saturday
As President Donald Trump and his administration escalate rhetoric targeting transgender youth and student athletes, push efforts to restrict voting access for millions of Americans, and pursue foreign policy decisions that critics say bypass congressional authority, organizers across the country are once again mobilizing in protest.
For many LGBTQ advocates, the moment feels especially urgent.
In recent months, activists have pointed to a surge in anti-trans legislation, attacks on gender-affirming care, and efforts to roll back nondiscrimination protections as direct threats to the safety and visibility of queer and trans communities. Organizers say the demonstrations are not just about policy, but about defending the right of LGBTQ people — particularly trans youth and people of color — to live openly and safely.
Thousands of “No Kings” protests are planned nationwide, with multiple demonstrations set to take place in D.C.
One of the primary events, “No Kings Washington,” will be held in Anacostia, an overwhelmingly Black area of D.C. that is often at the center of conversations around racial justice, policing, and access to resources in the nation’s capital.
The protest in Anacostia is focused on what organizers describe as the “power behind the throne,” specifically Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor. Miller has been closely associated with the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, including the family separation practice that resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents at the Southern border.
Activists have also linked immigration enforcement policies to broader concerns about LGBTQ migrants, including queer asylum seekers who often face heightened risks of violence and discrimination both in their home countries and within detention systems.
Anacostia protest details:
Participants are asked to gather starting at 1:30 p.m. on the southeast side of the Frederick Douglass Bridge. The closest Metro station is Anacostia on the Green Line, about an 8-minute walk from the starting point. Organizers strongly encourage attendees to use public transportation, as street parking is limited.
The march will proceed past Fort McNair and conclude near the Waterfront Metro station.
D.C. icon and LGBTQ activist Rayceen Pendarvis is set to speak at the protest around 2 p.m.
Kalorama protest details:
A separate protest will take place earlier in the day in Kalorama, a neighborhood long associated with political power and home to presidents, cabinet officials, and foreign ambassadors. Demonstrators are expected to gather at 10 a.m., with a march running until approximately noon near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Kalorama Road.
Arlington/National Mall protest details:
Another group is expected to assemble at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery at 10 a.m. before crossing the Memorial Bridge into D.C., passing the Lincoln Memorial and continuing on to the Washington Monument. Organizers say the march is intended to defend “American democracy, the rule of law, and a healthy planet.”
Unlike last June — when organizers discouraged large-scale demonstrations in D.C. due Trump’s military/birthday parade — activists are now explicitly calling on people to show up in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas.
The protests also coincide with Transgender Day of Visibility weekend, which includes additional gatherings and celebrations on the National Mall. At the same time, peak bloom for the National Cherry Blossom Festival is expected to draw large crowds to the city. With multiple major events happening simultaneously, officials and organizers anticipate significant congestion, increased traffic, and crowded public transit throughout the weekend.
Organizers are urging participants to plan ahead and come prepared.
“Bring your signs, noisemakers, music, and creative ideas, and gather in joyful, nonviolent protest,” they said. “Children are very welcome.”
For more information, visit nokings.org.
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