Local
Bowser says city looking into lawsuit filed by gay employee at D.C. jail
Staffer alleges anti-gay threats, discrimination by supervisors
When asked by the Washington Blade on Monday for her reaction to a lawsuit filed last week by a gay employee of more than 20 years at the D.C. Jail that accuses his supervisors and fellow employees of subjecting him to anti-gay slurs, discrimination, and threats, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she could not comment on the specifics of a pending lawsuit.
“Certainly,” the mayor said when asked if her office was looking into the issues raised by the lawsuit. “And especially when there is a lawsuit, you know there is not a lot I can say about it,” she said. “But we look at all allegations to make sure that we’re addressing anything acutely but also dealing with the lawsuit itself,” the mayor said.
The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of D.C. on behalf of Sgt. Deon Jones, a Department of Corrections employee who has worked for many years as a medical liaison at the D.C. Jail, alleges that Jones has endured years of verbal harassment, demeaning anti-gay slurs, and intimidation and threats by fellow officers and supervisors for being an out gay man.
The lawsuit also charges that Jones’ fellow employees failed to come to his assistance during at least one incident in which an inmate threatened to sexually assault Jones and “cut his throat.”
Filed in D.C. Superior Court on Nov. 17, the lawsuit names four of Jones’s supervisors and one co-worker along with the D.C. government as defendants in the case.
The Blade asked the mayor about the lawsuit at a Nov. 22 press conference on holiday safety tips for D.C. residents and stepped-up efforts by D.C. police to confiscate illegal firearms.
“But let me just say this,” Bowser said in response to the Blade’s question about Jones’s lawsuit. “Let me kind of take a step back about the jail and our approach to making sure that the jail is working for our residents who have to be there,” she said. “COVID, as I have said, has upended a lot, and the operation of the jail is no different. Our focus has been on the safety of our residents, and we have been able to keep outbreaks of COVID to a minimum at the D.C. Jail,” she said.
“But it’s also created a lot of strain,” the mayor continued. “And strain being in a locked facility restricted in a lot of ways from activity that had been normal in the jail,” she said. “Being able to have their lawyer visit, lawyers coming in and out or being able to walk around, go outside, take advantage of all the programs that we offer,” Bowser said. “That is significantly restricted to keep down incidents of COVID. So that presents a lot of strain.”
The mayor did not say whether she was suggesting that some of the concerns raised by Jones in his lawsuit may be related to stress and strain brought about by COVID-related restrictions placed on the jail.
“It’s also a lot of strain on our guards, who’ve also been impacted by COVID,” Bowser said. “And how we are able to make sure we have enough people on duty, that they have enough rest, they’re not working too many hours,” she said. “So, we’re looking forward to a time when we can roll back some of those COVID protocols in the jail and to keep the incidents of COVID down. And I know that will improve the operations.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, which oversees the operation of the jail, did not respond to a request from the Blade for comment on the lawsuit.
Under court rules, the city has 21 days to file court papers responding to the allegations made in the lawsuit, including the charge that the Department of Corrections employees and supervisors named in the lawsuit violated the D.C. Human Rights Act in their alleged discriminatory behavior toward Jones.
“I have been tormented and abused so badly, my life has changed,” Jones said in a statement released by the ACLU. “The discrimination and hostile work environment I faced has been devastating. I have suffered depression, PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] and anxiety attacks,” he said. “In spite of it all, I continue to do my job and lift my head up.”
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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