Maryland
Md. man guilty of hate crimes targeting same-sex couple
Frederick County jury convicts on trespassing, harassment outside victims’ house
A Frederick County, Md., Circuit Court jury on Jan. 25 found Michael David Burns, 53, a resident of Thurmont, Md., guilty of 10 charges, including three hate crimes, harassment, and trespassing related to his targeting a same-sex couple who are his neighbors.
A statement released by the Office of the Frederick County State’s Attorney says the conviction came after a three-day trial. The statement does not disclose the names or gender of the victims.
“The victims, a same-sex couple who are neighbors of the defendant, reported the trespassing and harassment last year directly to the State’s Attorney’s Office,” the statement says. “Beginning in March 2023, Assistant State’s Attorney, Carly Gibson, investigated the case by visiting the home of the victims and reviewing the evidence thoroughly,” it says.
“ASA Gibson’s findings warranted numerous charges, including the defendant’s continually trespassing onto the victims’ property while in possession of a rifle, verbally harassing the victims with hate-based threats, throwing large rocks on the victims’ driveway to prevent them from accessing their property, and physically blocking the entrance to the property,” the statement states.
It says defendant Burns has been placed on home detention, to be monitored by a monitoring device, until his sentencing, which is scheduled to take place on April 4, 2024.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their communities, regardless of race, sexual orientation, faith, or other status,” Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith said in the statement. “When hateful words turn into hateful actions, the State’s Attorney’s Office will work diligently to protect the public and secure a just outcome,” he said. “Hopefully, these convictions send a strong message that hate will not be tolerated in Frederick County.”
Frederick County Public Defender Service attorneys Meghana Vodela and Linda Beth Ziet, who court records show served as Burns’s defense attorneys, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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
D.C. Black Pride 2025: Events, parties, and empowerment
Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs
Frank Kameny’s legacy lives on
