Local
Democrats lose big in Va.
Election results an ominous sign heading into midterms
TYSONS CORNER, Va. — Democrats on Tuesday suffered stinging loses in Virginia that could prove ominous for the party heading into the 2022 midterm elections.
Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the gubernatorial race by a 50.7-48.6 percent margin.
Republican Winsome Sears became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor when she defeated state Del. Hala Ayala (D-Prince William County) by a 50.8-49.1 percent margin. Republican Jason Miyares beat incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring by a 50.6-49.3 percent margin.
Youngkin told his supporters in Chantilly early Wednesday morning that he will work to create “a Virginia where the Virginia promise comes alive for everyone who calls this Virginia home,” without specifically mentioning LGBTQ people.
“We will change the trajectory of this commonwealth and friends, we are going to start that transformation on day one,” he said. “There is no time to waste.”
McAuliffe on Wednesday conceded.
“While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in,” he said in a statement. “We must protect Virginia’s great public schools and invest in our students. We must protect affordable health care coverage, raise the minimum wage faster, and expand paid leave so working families have a fighting shot. We must protect voting rights, protect a woman’s right to choose, and, above all else, we must protect our democracy.”
Youngkin during the campaign expressed support for Tanner Cross, a gym teacher at a Leesburg elementary school who was suspended in June after he spoke out against Virginia Department of Education guidelines that are designed to protect transgender and non-binary students. The former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, earlier this year also said he does not support allowing trans children to play on sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity.
The anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized as an extremist group, is among the groups that endorsed Youngkin, who also opposes marriage equality. Youngkin nevertheless told the Washington Post in a recent interview that it is “legally acceptable” in Virginia and he would “support that” as governor.
McAuliffe, who received the endorsement of both the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Virginia’s political action committee, during an Oct. 21 telephone interview with the Washington Blade described Youngkin as “the most homophobic, anti-choice candidate in Virginia history.”
McAuliffe sought to portray Youngkin as an acolyte of former President Trump. McAuliffe also criticized Youngkin over his call to ban the teaching of critical race theory in Virginia schools, even though it is not part of the statewide curriculum.
Youngkin’s campaign, for its part, has pointed out that HRC in 2019 named the Carlyle Group as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” in its annual Corporate Equality Index. Log Cabin Republicans is among the groups that endorsed Youngkin.
“Glenn Youngkin’s anti-equality, anti-choice, racist tactics sought to sow fear and confusion, turning Virginian against Virginian for political gain,” said interim HRC President Joni Madison on Wednesday in a statement. “His hateful policies and rhetoric will have a real, devastating impact on LGBTQ+ people, women, and people of color across the commonwealth. This is particularly true for transgender young people and their parents, who have faced an onslaught of targeted attacks that have put them in danger in their schools and communities.”
State Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is the first openly trans person seated in any state legislature in the U.S. won re-election in the 13th District. Republicans, however, appear to have regained control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Democrats still control the state Senate by a 21-19 margin.
Democrats in 2019 regained control of the General Assembly for the first time since the 1990s.
Outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam over the last two years has signed a series of LGBTQ rights bills that, among other things, added sexual orientation and gender identity to Virginia’s nondiscrimination law and banned so-called conversion therapy for minors. Madison said HRC will “fight alongside our members and partners to block anti-equality policies and overcome the forces that are trying to drag us backwards.”
“The movement for equality is on the right side of history,” added Madison.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Vee Lamneck echoed Madison.
“We know that the majority of Virginians support LGBTQ people. Virginians want to see their LGBTQ neighbors protected from discrimination. Virginians want to see their LGBTQ friends be able to get married and raise a family. And, we expect all of our elected leaders to hold true to these values of equality and fairness,” said Lamneck in a statement to the Blade. “We have worked hard for the protections that we now have in place, and together, with thousands of our supporters from every corner of the state, we will ensure that Virginia remains a welcoming place for all LGBTQ people.”
Bob Witeck, a longtime LGBTQ rights activist who lives in Arlington, on Wednesday in an email to the Blade conceded it “is a rough morning, given Virginia’s 12-year pattern of turning the commonwealth bluer.”
“I suspect Youngkin will not lead like a culture warrior,” he added. “However, the other two statewide officials, Winsome Sears (lieutenant governor) and Jason Miyares (attorney general) are mirrors of Trump and can cause more significant setbacks, especially Miyares in his role.”
Witeck said he agrees with Tré Easton, a senior advisor for Battle Born Collective, who told the New York Times that Democrats “can’t scare people into the polls. You have to give people something to vote for.”
“Youngkin and the GOP have picked up on some powerful grievances among white voters and parents that we will need to combat persuasively,” said Witeck. “Virginia was definitely a battleground for LGBTQ families and citizens since it turned on control of schools, and fear of trans kids once again as well as curricula.”
Charlotte Clymer, a trans activist, on Wednesday said the Virginia election results are not “about McAuliffe’s platform” and are “not a reflection on the extraordinary success of Virginia Democrats in the legislature over the past two years.”
“It’s about the central messaging,” said Clymer in a series of tweets. “Voters need a lot more from Democratic candidates than simply being anti-Trump.”
This isn’t about McAuliffe’s platform, by the way. And it’s not a reflection on the extraordinary success of VA Dems in the legislature over the past two years.
It’s about the central messaging. Voters need a lot more from Dem candidates than simply being anti-Trump.
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) November 3, 2021
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. will be moderating a panel at Dupont Underground on Sunday. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney’s Office drops hate crime charge in anti-gay assault
Case remains under investigation and ‘further charges’ could come
D.C. police announced on Feb. 9 that they had arrested two days earlier on Feb. 7 a Germantown, Md., man on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation after the man allegedly assaulted a gay man at 14th and Q Streets, N.W., while using “homophobic slurs.”
But D.C. Superior Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. violent crime cases, charged the arrested man only with simple assault without a hate crime designation.
In response to a request by the Washington Blade for the reason why the hate crime designation was dropped, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office provided this response: “We continue to investigate this matter and make no mistake: should the evidence call for further charges, we will not hesitate to charge them.”
In a statement announcing the arrest in this case, D.C. police stated, “On Saturday, February 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and continued walking,” the statement says.
“The suspect assaulted the victim and used homophobic slurs,” the police statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers.”
It adds that 26-year-old Dean Edmundson of Germantown, Md. “was arrested and charged with Simple Assault (Hate/Bias).” The statement also adds, “A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime.”
Under D.C.’s Bias Related Crime Act of 1989, penalties for crimes motivated by prejudice against individuals based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and homelessness can be enhanced by a court upon conviction by one and a half times greater than the penalty of the underlying crime.
Prosecutors in the past both in D.C. and other states have said they sometimes decide not to include a hate crime designation in assault cases if they don’t think the evidence is sufficient to obtain a conviction by a jury. In some instances, prosecutors have said they were concerned that a skeptical jury might decide to find a defendant not guilty of the underlying assault charge if they did not believe a motive of hate was involved.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed by D.C. police in Superior Court appears to support the charge of a hate crime designation.
“The victim stated that they refused to High-Five Defendant Edmondson, which, upon that happening, Defendant Edmondson started walking behind both the victim and witness, calling the victim, “bald, ugly, and gay,” the arrest affidavit states.
“The victim stated that upon being called that, Defendant Edmundson pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push,” the affidavit continues. “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay,” it says.
District of Columbia
Capital Pride wins anti-stalking order against local activist
Darren Pasha claims action is linked to his criticism of Pride organizers
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Feb. 6 partially approved an anti-stalking order against a local LGBTQ activist requested last October by the Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based LGBTQ group that organizes the city’s annual Pride events.
The ruling by Judge Robert D. Okun requires former Capital Pride volunteer Darren Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride’s staff, board members, and volunteers until the time of a follow up court hearing he scheduled for April 17.
In his ruling at the Feb. 6 hearing, which was virtual rather than held in-person at the courthouse, Okun said he had changed the distance that Capital Pride had requested for the stay-away, anti-stalking order from 200 yards to 100 feet. The court records show that the judge also denied a motion filed earlier by Pasha, who did not attend the hearing, to “quash” the Capital Pride civil case against him.
Pasha told the Washington Blade he suffered an injury and damaged his mobile phone by falling off his scooter on the city’s snow-covered streets that prevented him from calling in to join the Feb. 6 court hearing.
In his own court filings without retaining an attorney, Pasha has strongly denied the stalking related allegations against him by Capital Pride, saying “no credible or admissible evidence has been provided” to show he engaged in any wrongdoing.
The Capital Pride complaint initially filed in court on Oct. 27, 2025, includes an 18-page legal brief outlining its allegations against Pasha and an additional 167-page addendum of “supporting exhibits” that includes multiple statements by witnesses whose names are blacked out.
“Over the past year, Defendant Darren Pasha (“DSP”) has engaged in a sustained, and escalating course of conduct directed at CPA, including repeated and unwanted contact, harassment, intimidation, threats, manipulation, and coercive behavior targeting CPA staff, board members, volunteers, and affiliates,” the Capital Pride complaint states.
In his initial 16-page response to the complaint, Pasha says the Capital Pride complaint appears to be a form of retaliation against him for a dispute he has had with the organization and its then president, Ashley Smith, last year.
“It is evident that the document is replete with false, misleading, and unsubstantiated assertions,” he said of the complaint.
Smith, who has since resigned from his role as board president, did not respond to a request by the Blade for comment at the time the Capital Pride court complaint was filed against Pasha.
Capital Pride Executive Director Ryan Bos and the attorney representing the group in its legal action against Pasha, Nick Harrison, did not immediately respond to a Blade request for comment on the judge’s Feb. 6 ruling.
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Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
