Local
Man who shouted slurs at Alexandria gay couple found not guilty of assault
But judge rules neighbor guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct
An Alexandria, Va., General District Court judge on Monday, Nov. 8, issued a verdict of not guilty for 57-year-old Thomas Wood on a charge of misdemeanor simple assault against a gay man that police and prosecutors listed as a hate crime.
Following a four-and-a-half-hour nonjury trial, Judge Thomas Kelley Jr. ruled that two video and audio recordings that captured Wood repeatedly shouting anti-gay slurs at his two next door neighbors, Kyle Metz and Metz’s husband, Leo Liu Metz, in a July 3 incident did not provide sufficient evidence to prove Wood physically assaulted either of the two gay men or committed a simple assault under Virginia law.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Cahoon, who acted as the lead prosecutor in the case, argued that both Kyle and Leo Metz testified at the trial that Wood raised and swung his arms over a fence that separated the properties of Wood and the Metz’s. He said Wood would have struck Leo Metz if Kyle Metz had not pulled Leo away from the fence.
In a separate verdict, Judge Kelley found Wood guilty of disorderly conduct, the second of the two charges filed against him by prosecutors in connection with the July 3 incident. The misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge was not classified as a hate crime under Virginia law.
Under Virginia law, misdemeanor cases such as simple assault or disorderly conduct are brought to trial before a judge without a jury.
While finding Wood not guilty of the hate crime assault charge, Kelley stated from the bench while delivering his verdict that he disagreed with arguments made by Wood in his testimony as a witness and by Wood’s attorney that the altercation was only and exclusively about a dispute over Wood’s parking space in an alley that separates Wood’s house from the house where Kyle and Leo Metz live.
“There is nothing that is said about parking,” Kelley said in referring to the two video recordings with full sound that captured Wood shouting the word “faggots” and asking which of the two gay men was the “wife,” among other insults.
“Are you the wife?” Wood is heard yelling on the video and audio recording. “Are you fucking him every night?” Wood shouts multiple times as captured by the recording.
“It is all about sexual orientation,” Kelley said from the bench while announcing his verdict, even though the hate crime designation ended when Kelley found Wood not guilty on the assault charge.
Minutes later, Kelley handed down a sentence for Wood on the disorderly conduct conviction that includes a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail with all 90 days suspended, one year of unsupervised probation, and a requirement that Wood undergo counseling for anger management.
Under court rules, Wood could be ordered to serve some or all of the suspended 90 days of incarceration if he violates the terms of his probation.
At the request of Kyle and Leo Metz, and without objection from Wood’s attorney, B.R. Hicks, Kelley approved a stay-away protection order that prohibits Wood from threatening, intimidating or approaching the two gay men.
The dispute between Wood and Wood’s wife, Mary Wood, and the Metz’s began in April of this year, according to testimony at the Nov. 8 trial. Thomas and Mary Wood testified during the trial that the dispute began when the Metz’s moved into the house in Old Town Alexandria on Duke Street next door to the house they had been renting.
According to the Woods, the Metz’s placed a large planter at the edge of their property line that made it very difficult for the Woods to park their car in a space on their own property. Both Woods testified that in the weeks prior to the July 3 incident, they repeatedly and politely came to the front door of the Metz’s house to ask them if they could move the planter to make more room for them to park their car.
But the Metz’s testified that Thomas Wood yelled both anti-gay and anti-Asian slurs at them for at least a month or more prior to the July 3 incident that led to the assault and disorderly conduct charges against Thomas Wood. Leo Metz is Asian American.
The July 3 incident received widespread publicity on social media and on local TV news broadcasts when the Metz’s released the video and audio recording of the incident captured on their Ring camera video surveillance system. A second video of the incident was taken by another nearby neighbor, Julia Kennedy, who testified at the trial that she witnessed what she believed to be Thomas Wood subjecting Kyle and Leo Metz to homophobic slurs during the July 3 incident.
Prosecutor Cahoon played both videos on a large video screen several times during the trial. He noted that Thomas Wood’s loud and prolonged shouting of anti-gay slurs and other insults that the Metz’s interpreted to be threats reverberated across the neighborhood, creating a disturbance that clearly constituted disorderly conduct.
Defense attorney Hicks pointed to Thomas Wood’s testimony in which Wood claimed he was shouting the word “maggot” and not “faggot” most of the time when he became outraged that he could barely park his car in the space on his own property because of the Metz’s planter blocking access to his parking space. The Metz’s have said the planter was completely within their property line.
They testified that the incident began about 9:30 p.m. on July 3 when they heard a loud crashing sound outside their house and became worried that someone hit their own car. Before going outside, they said they watched the video from the Ring camera linked to their cell phones and saw Thomas Wood shouting insults over the fence that separates the two houses.
The two gay men testified that they then went outside to find out what was happening, and immediately were subjected to anti-gay insults by Wood.
In response to questions from defense attorney Hicks, Wood insisted he is not homophobic and his anger on the night of the incident was based completely on the parking dispute and not on the sexual orientation of Kyle and Leo Metz.
“He is not a homophobe at all,” defense attorney Hicks told the Washington Blade after the trial.
A friend of the Metz’s who attended the trial told the Washington Blade that the parking space on the Wood’s property was too small for their car and that they, not the Metz’s, were responsible for their parking problems.
Although Kyle and Leo Metz testified that Wood reached over the fence and attempted to assault Leo, which prosecutor Cahoon said constituted a simple assault under Virginia law, defense attorney Hicks argued that nowhere on the two videos was there any image showing an assault or an attempted assault.
Prior to the judge’s verdict, Hicks argued that Wood should not be convicted of a hate crime because his words of “anger” were protected under the free speech provisions of the U.S. Constitution, even though his words were not “politically correct.”
Hicks couldn’t immediately be reached after the trial to determine if Wood plans to appeal the verdict finding him guilty of disorderly conduct.
District of Columbia
Anti-LGBTQ violence prevention efforts highlighted at D.C. community fair
Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs organized May 8 event
Detailed advice on how LGBTQ people can avoid, defend themselves against, and prevent themselves and loved ones from becoming victims of violence, with a focus on domestic and intimate partner violence, was presented at a May 8 LGBTQIA+ Safety in Numbers Community Fair.
The event, organized by the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, included five workshop sessions and information tables set up by 14 LGBTQ-supportive organizations and D.C. government agencies or agency divisions, including the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s LGBT Liaison Unit and the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center.
Also playing a lead role in organizing the event was the D.C. LGBTQIA+ Violence Prevention and Response Team, or VPART, a coalition of D.C. officials and leaders of community-based organizations that work with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The event was held in meeting space in the building where the Office of LGBTQ Affairs is located at 899 N. Capitol St., N.E.
The workshop topics included de-escalation training on healthy relationships, bystander intervention, self-defense training, violence prevention grants, and suicide prevention.
“This will be a public safety and violence prevention event where community partners will educate attendees on various methods of violence intervention and trauma-informed practices,” according to a statement released by the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs prior to the start of the event.
The statement adds, “We will have live demos, interactive games, and workshops focused on strategies for self-defense, protecting vulnerable communities, increasing access to mental health resources, providing tools for recognizing domestic violence/intimate partner violence signs in intimate relationships, and assistance for substance abuse.”
Sonya Joseph, associate director of engagement for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, told the Washington Blade that studies have shown rates of domestic or intimate partner violence are higher in the LGBTQ community than in the community at large.
“Domestic violence and intimate partner violence are two very big prevalent issues in the LGBTQ community,” she said, adding that some of the workshops at the event would be providing “training on healthy relationships and how to recognize and prevent intimate partner violence and the signs of it.”
About 35 to 40 people attended the workshop sessions.
Experts specializing in violence impacting the LGBTQ community have said domestic violence refers to violence among people in domestic relationships that can include spouses but also siblings, parents, cousins, and other relatives. Intimate partner violence, according to the experts, refers to violence perpetuated by a partner in a romantic or dating relationship.
These D.C. based organizations or agencies that participated in the LGBTQIA+ Safety in Numbers event, and which can be contacted for assistance, include:
• Defend Yourself
• DC LGBTQ+ Community Center
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• Joseph’s House
• Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc.
• MCSR (formerly known as Men Can Stop Rape)
• MPD LGBT Liaison Unit
• Volunteer Legal Advocates
• DC SAFE
• Destination Tomorrow
• D.C. Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants
• Life Enhancement Services
• ONYX Therapy Group
• U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
Celebrated performer Rose Levine plays Rehoboth on May 15
Freddie’s to host Fire Island legend
Rose Levine is a celebrated entertainer best known for her longstanding performances in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, since 1955 where she has become a beloved fixture of the community’s vibrant arts and nightlife scene. With a career spanning decades, Levine has captivated audiences with her cabaret singing shows full of charisma, classic numbers, humor, and unmistakable stage presence—proving that some stars don’t fade, they simply get better lighting.
Levine is also closely associated with the legendary Fire Island Invasion of the Pines, the annual Fourth of July spectacle in which performers and revelers make their grand (and gloriously over-the-top) entrance by boat from Cherry Grove to Fire Island Pines, now a 50-year tradition. Her role in launching and sustaining this tradition has helped make it one of the most iconic—and entertaining—events of the summer season.
A consummate storyteller, Levine brings audiences along for a glittering ride through entertainment history. Rose will sing her Broadway melodies by Jerry Herman, Irving Berlin, Cy Coleman, Cole Porter, and others. With music direction by Mark Hartman the one-night-only event will celebrate Levine’s legendary life in drag, featuring signature crowd-pleasers and celebrity stories. A friend of Broadway composer Jerry Herman, she shares delicious stories of legends like Ethel Merman and recalls a young Barbra Streisand before she became Barbra Streisand while both performing at the famed singing contests at Greenwich Village’s famed Lion nightclub before her big break at the Bon Soir. Her shows are a mix of music, mischief, and memories of old New York and Fire Island — back when Cherry Grove didn’t even have electricity, but somehow still had better nightlife than most cities today.
Her legendary Fire Island home, Roseland, has hosted its fair share of unforgettable gatherings (and likely a few stories that can’t be printed in a family newspaper), making it a cornerstone of the community’s social scene. Levine splits her time between Manhattan and her summer perch on Fire Island—though audiences across the country are grateful she travels.
In fact, she performs at The Green Room and 54 Below in Manhattan, Cherry Grove in Fire Island, Act 2 and The Palm in Puerto Vallarta, Red Dot Cabaret in Hudson, N.Y., and now Freddie’s in Rehoboth Beach—because retirement, frankly, sounds boring. Her place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest continuously performing drag queen in the world only adds to the legend and gives her bragging rights she fully intends to use.
And now, Rehoboth—consider yourself warned.
Don’t miss Rose Levine live on May 15 at Freddie’s Beach Bar. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., with the show at 7 p.m. Come for the cocktails, stay for the stories, and leave wondering how one person can have that many fabulous decades.
Levine’s legacy is defined not only by her remarkable career, but by her ability to connect with audiences across generations—usually while making them laugh, gasp, and occasionally blush. Don’t miss this show.
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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