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 Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed a bill that decriminalizes HIV in the state.
State Dels. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) and Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) are among the lawmakers who sponsored House Bill 39 or the Carlton R. Smith Act, which is named after the long-time activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in May 2024.
Smith was a member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland that advocated for the bill. FreeState Justice, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, was also part of the coalition.
“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry in a statement. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society.”
Maryland is the fifth state to decriminalize HIV.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, in March signed a bill that decriminalized HIV in his state.
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.
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