Maryland
Md. man charged with targeting male victims he met on Tinder
Rodney J. Richardson charged with rape, kidnapping, robbery and other offenses
Prince George’s County, Md., police announced on Thursday they have charged a 26-year-old man with multiple criminal offenses, including raping one male victim, and carjacking another male victim after meeting the two men on a dating app and luring them to locations where he attacked and robbed them.
A statement released by police says the suspect, Rodney J. Richardson of Brandywine, Md., has been charged with rape, kidnapping, handgun offenses, armed robbery and multiple additional charges in connection with his encounter with two adult males he met on the dating app that NBC Washington identified as Tinder.
The TV station said it obtained charging documents filed in the Maryland District Court for Prince George’s County in Upper Marlboro.
“On February 12, 2023, detectives were notified of a sexual assault that occurred on February 10, 2023, in Brandywine,” the police statement says. “The preliminary investigation revealed Richardson met the victim, an adult male, on a popular dating app. The two agreed to meet in Brandywine,” the statement continues.
“During that encounter, Richardson raped the victim at gunpoint,” it says. “In addition, he drove the victim to the victim’s bank and forced him to take out money.”
In the second case, the police statement says Richardson met the victim on the dating app and arranged for the two to meet in person, after which he carjacked the victim at gunpoint. The statement says the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Carjacking Interdiction Unit identified and charged Richardson with armed carjacking after conducting a “thorough investigation.”
The statement doesn’t say how police ultimately identified and located Richardson, but it calls on anyone who has information about Richardson to call the department’s Sexual Assault Unit detectives at 301-772-4908.
In obtaining court documents for the case, NBC Washington reporter Aimee Cho provided details in her broadcast report on Thursday that police did not include in their statement. She reported that police said Richardson invited one of the two victims to his own house on a date, where he raped him at gunpoint and demanded his phone, ID and Social Security number.
Cho’s news report says Richardson forced the victim to stay in a car trunk all night, threatened to kill him and his family, and drove him the next morning to the victim’s bank and made him withdraw $4,500 before eventually letting him go.
Concerning the carjacking incident with the second victim, which police say occurred on Feb. 2, NBC Washington reports that Richardson, after meeting the victim on the Tinder app, arranged for the two to drive to a dirt road, where he robbed him at gunpoint of his phone, wallet and car. Cho reported that Richardson also took the victim’s crutches, which he needed to walk, “leaving him stranded in the freezing cold.”
An off-duty police officer driving by saw the victim crawling on his hands and knees, NBC Washington reports, and immediately called for help.
Online court records show that police and prosecutors have charged Richardson with a total of 15 criminal offenses. He is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 15.
Maryland
Expanded PrEP access among FreeState Justice’s 2026 legislative priorities
Maryland General Assembly opened on Jan. 14
FreeState Justice this week spoke with the Washington Blade about their priorities during this year’s legislative session in Annapolis that began on Jan. 14.
Ronnie L. Taylor, the group’s community director, on Wednesday said the organization continues to fight against discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS. FreeState Justice is specifically championing a bill in the General Assembly that would expand access to PrEP in Maryland.
Taylor said FreeState Justice is working with state Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s County) and state Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Arundel and Howard Counties) on a bill that would expand the “scope of practice for pharmacists in Maryland to distribute PrEP.” The measure does not have a title or a number, but FreeState Justice expects it will have both in the coming weeks.
FreeState Justice has long been involved in the fight to end the criminalization of HIV in the state.
Governor Wes Moore last year signed House Bill 39, which decriminalized HIV in Maryland.
The bill — the Carlton R. Smith Jr. HIV Modernization Act — is named after Carlton Smith, a long-time LGBTQ activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in 2024. FreeState Justice said Marylanders prosecuted under Maryland Health-General Code § 18-601.1 have already seen their convictions expunged.
Taylor said FreeState Justice will continue to “oppose anti anti-LGBTQ legislation” in the General Assembly. Their website later this week will publish a bill tracker.
The General Assembly’s legislative session is expected to end on April 13.
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire from Congress
Md. congressman served for years in party leadership
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISA MASCARO | Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term.
Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, is set to deliver a House floor speech about his decision, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“Tune in,” Hoyer said on social media. He confirmed his retirement plans in an interview with the Washington Post.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
-
LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations5 days agoTask Force urges renewed organizing amid growing political threats
-
Federal Government5 days agoTop Democrats reintroduce bill to investigate discrimination against LGBTQ military members
-
Russia5 days agoRussia designates ILGA World an ‘undesirable’ group
-
Virginia5 days agoFrom the Pentagon to politics, Bree Fram fighting for LGBTQ rights
