Maryland
‘Horrendous crimes:’ Former College Park mayor pleads guilty to 140 counts of child porn
Deal with prosecutors calls for 30-year jail sentence

Patrick Wojahn, the gay former mayor of College Park, Md., pleaded guilty in Prince George’s County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Aug. 2, to 140 counts of child pornography related charges as part of a plea agreement offered by prosecutors.
The agreement calls for Wojahn, 47, to be sentenced to 150 years in prison, with 120 years to be suspended, requiring that he serve 30 years.
Prince George’s County Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Garth, the lead prosecutor in the case, announced the terms of the plea agreement during the Circuit Court hearing, which was listed as a plea hearing.
Garth told news reporters after the hearing that under Maryland’s sentencing rules Wojahan will be eligible to apply for release on parole after serving 25 percent of the 30-year sentence, which could result in his release after seven and a half years.
She said that under the plea agreement Wojahn will receive a mental health evaluation and treatment while in jail and upon being released; he must register as a Tier Two sex offender upon his release; and he will be prohibited upon release from holding a job or a volunteer position involving children. Garth said the plea agreement calls for Wojahn’s probation to last for five years.
As part of the plea agreement, Wojahn pleaded guilty to each of the 140 counts against him handed down in the second of two grand jury indictments. The 140 counts include 60 counts of distribution of child pornography, 40 counts of possession of child pornography, and 40 counts of possession of child pornography with intent to distribute it.
The first indictment against Wojahn came just under four weeks after Prince George’s County police announced on March 2 of this year that they had arrested him on 56 counts of possession and distribution of “child exploitive material.”
Shortly before his arrest and just after police raided his College Park house and confiscated multiple cell phones, a storage device, and a tablet and computer, Wojahn released a statement announcing he had resigned from his position as College Park mayor, for which he had served since 2015.
In his statement Wojahn also said he was cooperating with authorities in their investigation into the charges against him.
“I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate fully,” he wrote. “I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health,” he said. “I ask that you continue to keep me and my family in your prayers.”
The initial police charging documents said Wojahn allegedly had uploaded and/or shared at least 56 videos or still images on the social media app Kik depicting explicit sexual acts between adult men and prepubescent boys, depicting prepubescent boys engaging in sex with each other, or engaging in masturbation.
The police charging documents did not include any evidence or allegations that Wojahn had any direct contact with the juveniles depicted in the pornographic videos or still images he possessed or distributed. And the charging documents also did not include allegations that he was distributing the video or still images of child porn by selling them for profit, only that he was allegedly sharing them with others through the Kik app.
The drama surrounding the Aug. 2 court hearing in which Wojahn pleaded guilty was heightened by an announcement by a court clerk that the hearing, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., would be delayed by at least 45 minutes or more because of a mix-up by jail officials who were supposed to transport Wojahn from the jail where he has been held since his arrest on March 2 to the courthouse, located in Upper Marlboro.
It wasn’t until 3:25 p.m. when a uniformed guard escorted Wojahn into the courtroom while the former mayor was handcuffed and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.
During the Aug. 2 plea hearing, Judge Karen Mason, who is currently presiding over the case, asked Wojahn to rise from the defense table where he was seated beside his attorney, David Moyse, to answer a series of questions that the judge said must be answered to confirm that he has willingly and knowingly chosen to waive his right to a trial and to plead guilty to all charges.
As part of her questioning, Mason read each of the 140 indictment counts, including their allegations of possession or distribution of child pornography, asking Wojahn if he understands the impact of his guilty plea.
“Yes, your honor,” Wojahn replied repeatedly.
Assistant State’s Attorney Garth told reporters after the hearing that the 30-year sentence called for in the plea agreement is one of the most severe sentences handed down in a Prince George’s County court for a case like the one involving Wojahn.
Judge Mason scheduled a formal sentencing hearing in the Wojahn case for Nov. 20, 2023. Garth said the judge has indicated that she will accept the terms of the plea agreement, including the 30-year sentence with eligibility for parole at 7 and a half years.
Defense attorney Moyse said after the hearing that he prefers not to comment on the plea agreement or the status of the case at this time.
“This is a horrific case,” P.G. County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said in a statement released after the court hearing. “I am truly pleased that Mr. Wojahn has pled guilty and accepted responsibility for his actions and these horrendous crimes,” Braveboy said.
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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