Maryland
Silver Spring man charged with assault of male victims he met on dating app
Police seek public’s help in locating additional victims
Police in Montgomery County, Md., announced on April 6 that they have arrested a 27-year-old Silver Spring man on assault and robbery charges after they identified him as the suspect who targeted two men he met on a dating app last October in separate incidents.
Police identified the suspect as Brandon Darryl Kane, who has been charged with two counts of robbery and one count of first-degree assault for allegedly targeting the two men he met on a dating app for robbery.
A statement released by Montgomery County police says the first of the two incidents occurred on Oct. 10, 2022, and the second incident occurred on Oct. 22, 2022.
“Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Third District Investigative Section – believe that there may be more victims and are asking for them to come forward,” the statement says.
The announcement by Montgomery County police of Kane’s arrest came one day before police in Takoma Park, Md., announced yet another similar incident took place on April 7. According to Takoma Park police, an unidentified male suspect who the victim met on social media “lured the victim to an isolated location where additional suspects were waiting to commit the robbery.”
One of the suspects was “armed with what appeared to be a white rifle with a scope and another suspect armed with a baseball bat,” the statement says. “The suspects demanded property from the victim to which he complied,” it says. “The suspects put the victim on the ground, tied his hands and told him to remain there until they were gone,” the statement continues. “The suspects fled on foot in an unknown direction.”
It says the victim, who freed himself and called police, was not physically injured during the armed robbery incident.
“The suspects are described as Hispanic males, one approximately 5’9, thin, curly hair, clean shaven and last seen wearing a black sweater and black pants,” the Takoma Park police statement says, adding, “nothing further on the other two suspects.”
It calls on anyone with information about the incident or who may know the identity of one or more of the three suspects to call Takoma Park police at 301-270-1100.
The statement released by Montgomery County police says the first of the two victims in that jurisdiction reported meeting a man known to him as “Tommy” on a dating app. It says the two men spoke by phone and the victim paid for an Uber to pick up Kane and bring him to the victim’s residence.
“Following a disagreement, Kane physically assaulted and stole money from the victim,” the statement says.
It says the second male victim, who also met the man later identified as Kane on a dating app, told police he agreed to meet the man at an address given to him by that person.
“Shortly after arriving at the address given to him, the victim was physically assaulted by Kane, who then stole the victim’s wallet and forced the victim out of the apartment,” the police statement says.
The police statement does not disclose how police identified the attacker in both cases in Montgomery County as Kane to enable them to arrest Kane about six months after the two incidents occurred. The statement also does not disclose the name of the dating app that Kane used to target his two victims.
Online Maryland court records show that Montgomery County police arrested Kane on or around Dec. 28, 2022, in what appears to be two unrelated incidents that occurred on Oct. 9, 2022, and Oct. 22, 2022. He was charged with robbery and first-degree assault in each of the two incidents.
Montgomery County police are urging anyone else who may have been a victim of Brandon Darryl Kane or who knows something about his attempts to target male victims through a dating app to call police at 240-773-6870.
Sean Hickman, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., said the department’s Special Liaison Branch, which includes the police LGBT Liaison Unit, is not aware of any similar incidents occurring in D.C. recently.
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.
Let love and compassion guide our response to Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis
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Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs
Frank Kameny’s legacy lives on
