District of Columbia
D.C. house with rainbow Pride flag set on fire
Investigators seeking help from public in search for suspect
The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department has classified as arson a June 19 fire at a two-story row house on the 1800 block of 8th Street, N.W. in the city’s Shaw neighborhood that had an LGBTQ rainbow Pride flag prominently displayed on the front of the house.
A Fire & EMS Department spokesperson said the fire was ignited in a detached wooden garage in the rear of the house accessible only through an alley, and fire investigators have yet to identify a suspect or a motive for what evidence shows was an intentionally set fire.
Although the front of the brick rowhouse where the Pride flag was displayed was not damaged, the fire in the garage spread to the rear of the house, destroying a wooden outdoor deck, and caused extensive damage to the kitchen, bathroom, and second floor bedroom. Fire investigators have sealed the house, requiring its three occupants to find a temporary residence as the investigation continues.
One of the three occupants of the house, who was the only one at home when the fire started at about 2 a.m., escaped without injury, according to sources who know the occupants.
“The Pride flag on the front of the house was present at the time of the fire,” Jennifer Donelan, director of communications for the Fire & EMS Department, told the Washington Blade. “We do not have any information, at this time, that suggests the arson was related to the presence of the flag, however we are still working on the case,” she said.
“We are aggressively working to identify a suspect and a motive,” Donelan said. “Until such time, we won’t be able to make a determination as to whether or not this was a hate crime.”
She said the Fire & EMS Department is seeking help from the public in its effort to identify one or more suspects responsible for the fire. Anyone with information that could be helpful to the investigation is asked to call fire investigators at 202-673-2776.
The fire at the D.C. house with the Pride flag took place less than a week after Baltimore police said a house in that city’s Waverly neighborhood on which “Pride décor” was displayed was set on fire on June 15, causing extensive damage to the house and nearby houses.
Baltimore police and fire department officials said a Pride flag on a house across the street from the house set on fire was also ablaze when firefighters arrived on the scene. Two men were hospitalized in critical condition and a woman was listed in serious condition because of the fire ignited in the house.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott released a statement saying fire department officials had yet to determine a motive for the fire.
“At this point, we cannot confirm that this was a hate crime,” Scott said. “However, my agencies will bring every appropriate resource to bear to get to the bottom of this tragic event,” he said. “I continue to stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community.”
District of Columbia
D.C. mayor honors 10th anniversary of Team Rayceen Productions
LGBTQ entertainment, advocacy organization praised for ‘vital work’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser today issued an official proclamation declaring Monday, March 18, 2024, as Team Rayceen Day in honor of the local LGBTQ entertainment and advocacy organization Team Rayceen Productions named after its co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis.
“Whereas Rayceen, along with Team Rayceen Productions co-founder, Zar, have spent 10 years advocating for the Black LGBTQI+ community using various forms including in-person events, social media, and YouTube,” the proclamation states.
The proclamation adds that through its YouTube Channel, Team Rayceen Productions created a platform for “Black LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss various topics including spotlighting nonprofit organizations and small businesses, voter registration and participation, the state of LGBTQIA+ rights and resources in D.C, gender equality and equity, and the amplification of opportunities to bring the community together.”
It also praises Team Rayceen Productions for its partnership with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in helping to produce “exciting events like the District of Pride talent showcase held each June and the iconic 17th Street High Heel Race celebrated in October.”
“Whereas I thank Team Rayceen Productions for its vital and necessary work and am #DCProud to wish you all the best as you continue to support Black LGBTQIA+ residents across all 8 Wards,” the proclamation continues.
“Now, therefore, I, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., do hereby proclaim March 18, 2024, as TEAM RAYCEEN DAY in Washington, D.C. and do commit this observance to all Washingtonians,” it concludes.
“We thank Mayor Bowser for this special proclamation, which highlights where it all began, with the Black LGBTQIA+ community of Washington, D.C,” Team Rayceen Productions says in a statement. “Starting with The Ask Rayceen Show, Reel Affirmation, and events with D.C. Public Library to Art All Night, Silver Pride by Whitman-Walker, and events with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we are #dcproud of what we have accomplished in the Nation’s Capital,” the statement says.
“For TEAM RAYCEEN DAY, we thank the diverse group of individuals who have made everything we have done possible by volunteering their time and talents over the past decade – as online co-hosts, event staff, performers, DJs, photographers, and more,” says the statement.
District of Columbia
GLSEN to ‘Rise Up’ in support of LGBTQ youth
Fundraiser planned for March 14 in D.C.
The LGBTQ youth advocacy organization GLSEN is hosting its annual Rise Up fundraiser in D.C. this Thursday.
The organization has worked for more than 30 years to support students and educators to ensure that educational spaces are safe for LGBTQ people.
“GLSEN really believes that every student should have the right to a safe and affirming education,” said Michael Chavez, director of events and experiences for GLSEN.
The Human Rights Campaign reported in May 2023 that more than 500 anti-LGBTQ were introduced in state legislatures.
In addition, 15 laws were enacted banning gender affirming care for transgender youth.
“Our stance at GLSEN is we know that education is the bedrock of democracy,” said Chavez.
He continued to explain that in order to protect education, GLSEN’s supporters need to get out and vote.
“Making sure everyone is aware of how critical this year is and the importance of getting out the vote, not just on the national level,” said Chavez. “Extremely local areas like their school boards and participating in what’s happening in their own communities is really important,” he said.
Chavez admitted that this task can feel overwhelming, but that prioritizing the safety of education for LGBTQ students is an ever guiding light.
This is why, he said, GLSEN is excited to bring Rise Up to D.C.
The event will be hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Jonathan Capehart. GLSEN will also honor Rocío Inclán with the Trailblazer for Justice Award.
“We want to highlight our allies who are doing the work in legislative worlds. Our policy makers, our champions,” said Chavez.
This event comes just weeks after non-binary student, Nex Benedict, died after being beaten by three older students. Their family believes that Benedict had been targeted and bullied for identifying as non-binary.
Chavez said it is important “now more than ever” to rise up in support of LGBTQ youth.
Rise Up will be held at the Hotel Washington with a cocktail reception and awards program at 6 p.m. If supporters cannot attend the event, there are multiple ways to take action available on the GLSEN website.
District of Columbia
Judge releases Ruby Corado seven days after arrest
Former Casa Ruby director charged with fraud, money laundering
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the release of Ruby Corado, founder and former executive director of Casa Ruby, into the custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., after agreeing with arguments by Corado’s defense attorney that she is not at high risk of fleeing to El Salvador.
The decision by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather to order Corado’s release at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13, came seven days after the FBI arrested Corado shortly after she returned to the U.S. from El Salvador. She has been charged with bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges, related to allegations that she embezzled at least $150,000 from Casa Ruby that the LGBTQ community services group had obtained from federal COVID-19 relief programs.
Corado had been held in jail since the time of her arrest on March 5. She appeared before Meriweather last Friday, March 8, for a detention hearing in which the judge said she was not ready to rule on whether Corado should continue to be held until the time of her trial or released.
Meriweather scheduled a second detention hearing on Tuesday, March 12, to give Corado’s defense attorney more time to submit a release proposal, which was expected to call for Corado to be released into the custody of a family member that would include conditions assuring that Corado would not be a flight risk.
The niece to whom Corado will be released, Jessica Dieguez, told the court Corado would be staying at her and her husband’s home in Rockville. After being called by the judge to the witness stand to testify, Dieguez said she would do her best to ensure that Corado complies with the terms of her release, which the judge said consists of home detention. The release terms require that while she awaits her trial, Corado must remain at Dieguez’s home except for court appearances or medical related visits to a health care facility.
“Defendant is to be released on 3/13/2024 to a 3rd party custodian,” the court docket for the Corado case states. “Defendant and custodian sworn to conditions of release,” it states. The judge said Corado will be placed on GPS monitoring and will not have access to her passport.
The docket shows Corado’s next court appearance for a status hearing is scheduled for April 12 at 1 p.m. before another judge, Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui.
“The government has failed to set forth sufficient facts to find that Ms. Corado is a serious risk of flight,” Federal Public Defender Service attorney Diane Shrewsbury stated in an amended motion in support of Corado’s pretrial release. “Ms. Corado asks the court to find that there are conditions that will reasonably ensure her appearance and ensure the safety of the community and to release her under those conditions,” Shrewsbury stated in her court memorandum.
Meriweather’s decision came after prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. called on the judge to order Corado held in custody until the time of her trial on grounds that she would be a flight risk. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert, the lead prosecutor in the case, stated in oral arguments on March 8 and in a 12-page Memorandum in Support of Pretrial Detention, which he later updated, that Corado poses “a unique and serious flight risk.”
Among other things, he said Corado fled to El Salvador in 2022 shortly before Casa Ruby shut down its operations, after news media reports surfaced that Corado was under investigation for financial improprieties at Casa Ruby that led to its shutdown. He also pointed to a criminal complaint and arrest affidavit charging Corado with Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, Laundering of Monetary Instruments, and Failure to File Report of Foreign Bank Account – all related to allegations that she embezzled funds from Casa Ruby that came from at least two federal COVID pandemic relief programs.
“Without question, the offenses described in the complaint are serious and carry substantial penalties,” Borchert states in his memo in support of pretrial detention. “The amount of federal money stolen by the defendant – at least $150,000 – and deposited into her personal bank accounts in El Salvador is both substantial and troubling, particularly given that these funds were intended for the benefit of District youth in need of housing and other services,” he said, referring to Casa Ruby’s longstanding programs in support of LGBTQ youth.
Shrewsbury argued that a preponderance of factors shows that Corado would not be a flight risk. The attorney disclosed that Corado returned to the U.S. from El Salvador in February 2024 to remain in the D.C. area permanently after having lived in the D.C. area for 35 years. She said Corado went to El Salvador in 2022 to start an international arm of Casa Ruby and did not go there to flee from law enforcement.
“She was prepared to resume her life in the United States when she returned in February,” Shrewsbury states in her court memo. “At the time of her arrest, Ms. Corado did not have a return ticket to go back to El Salvador,” she said. “She was in the process of securing a new job in the United States. Additionally, Ms. Corado has significant family and friends in the D.C. area, including her sisters, her father, her sister-in-law and numerous friends,” the pre-trial release memo continues.
“She is married to a U.S. citizen, who grew up in the D.C. area and continues to have family here,” the memo says. “In approximately 2007, Ms. Corado received legal permanent resident status” in the U.S., it says, further confirming her intention of remaining in the U.S. Shrewsbury said at the time of her arrest, Corado’s passport from El Salvador was confiscated, further ensuring that she would not flee to another country if released.
The attorney also argued that Corado’s status as a transgender woman placed her in danger of possible sexual assault at the D.C. Jail, where she was placed in protective custody in the male housing section of the jail.
Shrewsbury’s motion and memo calling for Corado’s release, first filed in court on March 8, used the male pronouns of “he,” “him” and “his” in four separate pages of the memo to identify Corado. Court records show that on Monday, March 11, one day before the follow-up detention hearing, Shrewsbury filed a second amended version of the memorandum that changed the misgendered pronouns to female pronouns.
After the court hearing on Tuesday, Shrewsbury told the Washington Blade the misgendered pronouns were typographic mistakes as she wrote her motion late at night. She said she was sorry about the mistake, which she said was quickly corrected with the updated document.
Corado, who was escorted into court at both hearings wearing an orange prison jump suit, did not speak at the hearings.
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