Maryland
College Park mayor arrested on child pornography charges
LGBTQ community stunned as Wojahn taken into custody

Prince George’s County, Md., police announced on Thursday morning that they have arrested the gay mayor of the City of College Park, Patrick Wojahn, 47, on 56 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.
“On February 28, 2023, PGPD detectives served a search warrant at Wojahn’s College Park Home,” a statement released by PG police says. “Investigators recovered multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet and a computer,” the statement says. “Following additional investigation, PGPD obtained criminal charges against Wojahn and investigators took him into custody early this morning.”
The statement says Wojahn was in the custody of the county’s Department of Corrections and the matter remains an open and active investigation.
“Last night, after business hours, Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn submitted his letter of resignation as Mayor of the City of College Park, effective immediately on March 2,” the city announced Thursday morning in a statement. “Mayor Wojahn has served in this position since 2015 and on the Council since 2007. The City of College Park thanks Mayor Wojahn for his many years of dedicated service,” the statement says.
College Park officials released the full text of the Wojahn resignation letter.
“On February 28, 2023, a search warrant was executed on my residence as part of an ongoing police investigation,” Wojahn states in his letter. “I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement,” he wrote.
“While this investigation does not involve any official city business of any kind, it is in the best interests of our community that I step aside and not serve as a distraction,” his letter continues.
“Many of you have already reached out with well wishes and thoughts, and I am eternally grateful,” he said. “I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health. I ask that you continue to keep me and my family in your prayers.”
The PG County police statement says their investigation into Wojahn’s alleged illegal actions began with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informing police that it learned of a social media account operating in P.G. County that possessed and distributed suspected child pornography.
“The images and videos had been uploaded to the social media account in January of 2023,” the PG County police statement says. “Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn,” it says.
“Wojahn is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material,” the statement continues, adding that Wojahn as of Thursday was in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
The statement concludes by saying the investigation remains open and active and members of the public are asked to provide information about the case to PG police detectives at 301-772-4930,
Longtime D.C. gay activist Robert Dardano, who has been friends with Wojahn for many years, expressed a sentiment that appears to be shared by many in the LGBTQ community locally and nationally who know Wojahn.
“I am totally stunned and am literally shaking,” Dardano told the Washington Blade in an email on Thursday. “This news seems too unbelievable; it has come as a thunderclap,” he said.
“I have known Patrick for decades. He has not only been such a wonderful and dedicated public servant but has always been a kind and caring individual,” Dardano said. “I was always proud to call him my friend and I hope that he can deal with whatever mental health issues he may have.”
Wojahn couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. His attorney, David H. Moyse, said it is too early in the case for him to make a formal comment.
“I will tell you how I responded to someone just a moment ago,” Moyse told the Blade. “Patrick resigned his position yesterday and has been cooperating fully with law enforcement throughout this process and will continue to do so.”
A court hearing originally scheduled for Friday afternoon, March 3, to determine whether Wojahn could be released from custody while the case continues in court was postponed until Monday morning, March 6, resulting in him remaining in jail until at least Monday.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
“F—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,” a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands
Superintendents opt for cooperation over confrontation

By LIZ BOWIE | Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.
The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.
Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
FreeState Justice: Transgender activist ‘hijacked’ Moore’s Transgender Day of Visibility event
Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs describes Lee Blinder’s comments as ‘call to action’

FreeState Justice on April 11 released a statement criticizing the way that Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder treated Gov. Wes Moore during a Transgender Day of Visibility event.
FreeState Justice was extremely disappointed with the criticisms of Moore on the Transgender Day of Visibility, saying it was “hijacked by public hostility” by Blinder. The Baltimore Banner reported how Blinder “laid out how the Democratic governor has let down transgender Marylanders by not putting money in the budget and not backing needed policy changes.”
The Washington Blade interviewed Blinder after the March 31 event.
“The intention of what I shared is to show to the governor that this is a community in distress. You know, we are in a real state of emergency for the trans community and there are very few opportunities that the community has to share this directly with the governor.” Blinder told the Blade. “We’re really grateful to the governor for everything that he’s done in the past for this community, but the circumstances have changed and we really need to see very specific actions taken in order to ensure this community has the ability to exist in public space.”
FreeState Justice said Moore did not deserve such criticisms during the event and added in a Blade oped it is “time for new leadership on the Maryland LGBTQIA+ Commission. Leadership that values and prioritizes coalition over conflict. Leadership that invites feedback and shares power. Leadership that understands how Annapolis operates, how budgets are constructed, and how community victories are won.”
“We’re not saying don’t challenge power. We’re saying do it with purpose. Do it with facts. Do it with a strategy. If you’re going to call yourself a leader in this movement, show us the policy platform. Show us the data. Show us the budget line. Show us the work,” wrote FreeState Justice.
The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs has met to address FreeState Justice’s statements.
“During the Transgender Day of Visibility ceremony at the State House, the commission’s chair offered remarks reflecting the real fears, concerns, and hopes of the trans community. These remarks were not a call-out, but a call to action,” the commission said in their call to action statement it sent to the Blade. “The chair’s words echoed the thousands of voices we’ve heard across the state through phone calls, emails, and messages on social media to our staff, commissioners, and their affiliated organizations.”
The statement outlines what the call to action entails, addressing what the commission found to be the most pressing issues for transgender Marylanders. They include a lack of dedicated funding, barriers to affirming healthcare, housing insecurity and homelessness, discrimination in education and employment, and escalating violence, harassment, and hate.
“We remain deeply committed to working in partnership with the Moore-Miller administration, the General Assembly, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners to ensure LGBTQIA+ Marylanders are seen, protected, and supported in policy, budget, and in practice,” reads the statement.
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