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
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Girlfriends charged with Silver Spring murder to go on trial in 2027
Prosecutors charged both women with killing mother of one of them
Two women identified as a couple who are charged with the May 22, 2026, murder of the mother one of them in her Silver Spring home and who were arrested three weeks later in Ohio are scheduled to go on trial for murder April 19, 2027.
According to online records filed with Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson, 29, of Clarksburg, Md., and Samantha Raebel, 36, of Phoenix are being held without bond in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility until the time of their trial.
Statements from Montgomery County police show the two women were arrested June 10 in Genoa, Ohio, after fleeing from the scene of the murder in Silver Spring. Police statements and court records show they were extradited back to Maryland in July, where prosecutors with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office obtained indictments against them for murder.
Earlier statements from Montgomery County police say their investigation into the murder led to their decision to initially charge the two women with first-degree murder for the death of Hilde Henderson, 67, who was Tjongarero-Henderson’s mother.
“Through the course of the investigation, detectives identified Henderson’s daughter, Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson, and Vanessa’s girlfriend, Raebel, as the suspects,” one of the police statements says. It says police obtained arrest warrants for both women and launched a nationwide search seeking help from the public in in locating them.
One of the police statements says an autopsy determined the cause of Hilde Henderson’s death was blunt-force trauma injuries brought about by a murder. Police and the State’s Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, have yet to disclose whether they have determined a motive for the murder.
Court records show that prior to the start of the April 19, 2027, trial a “motion” hearing was scheduled for Oct. 30, 2026, a pre-trail conference was scheduled for Feb. 12, 2027, and another motion hearing and a status hearing were scheduled for March 12, 2027.
Court records also show that Tjongarero-Henderson is being represented by attorneys with the Montgomery County court system’s public defender service. The records show that Raebel initially had been represented by a public defender service attorney, but updated records show Aug. 14 is listed as the “removal date” for that attorney.
The docket shows that on Aug. 20, two new attorneys with the prominent D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling made their official appearance as her attorneys in the murder case. One of them, Daniel Solomon, told the Washington Blade in response to an inquiry that the defense has no comment at this time on the case.
He confirmed that Covington & Burling is representing Raebel on a no-cost, pro bono bass.
The office of the Montgomery County public defender service didn’t immediately respond to a phone message from the Blade asking for a comment on the Tjongarero-Henderson case.
Congress
Chris Van Hollen says the Democratic Party needs change. Is he the one to lead it?
Senator is backing anti-establishment Democrats across the country
By LEE O. SANDERLIN | The Democratic Party is having something of an identity crisis — losing to President Donald Trump twice in three elections will do that.
Should the party embrace anti-establishment figures who espouse progressive policy ideas like Medicare for all and rhetoric about unrigging the economy for the 1 percent? Or should Democrats try to appeal to moderates who want to return to semi-normalcy in a time of political upheaval?
Although he’s been in Congress since 2002, with key leadership roles throughout his tenure, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 67, counts himself firmly in the anti-establishment camp.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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