District of Columbia
Medical Examiner: Two beloved D.C. gay men died of accidental drug ‘toxicity’
Christmas week deaths prompted response by LGBTQ community
The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has confirmed for the Washington Blade that the cause of death of two widely known and beloved gay men found unconscious at one of their homes in Northwest D.C. on Dec. 27 was an accidental consumption of several drugs that created a fatal ‘toxic’ effect.
D.C. police and Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department reports show that prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate Brandon Roman, 38, and historic preservation expert and home renovation business owner Robert “Robbie” Barletta, 28, were found unconscious when police and emergency medical personnel arrived on the afternoon of Dec. 27.
The reports show that Roman was declared deceased at the scene shortly after D.C. police and an ambulance arrived at the house in response to a 911 call. According to one of the reports, Barletta was taken to Washington Hospital Center where he died on Dec. 29.
The D.C. gay bar Shakers hosted a celebration of life for the two men on Feb. 3, And people who knew them told the Blade their sudden and unexpected deaths prompted many in the community, including several gay bars, to take steps to address the overdose problem in the LGBTQ community, even though the cause of death of Roman and Barletta had not been confirmed at that time.
The Medical Examiner’s office lists the cause of death for Barletta as, “Cocaethylene, cocaine, fentanyl, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethanmphetamine toxicity.” It lists the manner of death as “Accident/Intoxication.”
It lists the cause of death for Roman as, “Combined toxic effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethanphetamine, cocaethylene, cocaine, fentanyl, ketamine, and xylazine.” Like Barletta, it lists the manner of death for Roman as “Accident/Intoxication.”
A spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request by the Blade for an explanation of whether one or more of the multiple drugs found in the two men’s bodies may have been the main cause of death.
The D.C. Department of Health and officials with health departments in other locations have said one of the leading causes of drug overdose deaths is fentanyl, which victims often do not know is present in other drugs, such as cocaine.
The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration state on their websites that cocaethylene is formed within the human body when someone consumes both cocaine and an alcoholic beverage. The write-ups say cocaethylene has a longer lasting and more intense psychoactive effect than just cocaine.
According to the NIH and DEA write-ups, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy or MDMA, acts as a stimulant and hallucinogen, producing feelings of euphoria and is often used as a so-called party drug. The write-ups say ketamine has been used medically as an anesthetic but is also used as a party drug for its hallucinogenic and “dissociative sensations.”
The NIH and DEA write-ups say Xylazine, often called “tranq” or “tranq dope,” is a non-opioid sedative or tranquilizer approved for veterinary use but not for humans. The write-ups say it has been linked to a large number of drug overdose cases in humans, especially when used, most likely unintentionally, with fentanyl as a party drug. Because it is a non-opioid drug, the life-saving opioid overdose prevention medication naloxone or Narcan does not work to stop an overdose of Xylazine, the NIH write-up says.
Johnny Bailey, Community Outreach Coordinator for HIPS D.C., an LGBTQ-supportive organization that provides services and support for those who use recreational drugs, said he strongly believes that Barletta and Roman did not intentionally consume some of the drugs found in their system.
“I’m going to say I do believe this was a poisoning,” Bailey told the Blade. “I think it unfair to call some things an overdose because an overdose is when you do too much of a drug and you die from that drug,” he said. “This is like if you have a few glasses of wine every night and someone puts arsenic in your wine, no one would be like, ‘oh, they drank themselves to death.’ They were poisoned. And that’s what I think is happening here,” he said in referring to Barletta and Roman.
D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch told the Blade in February that police were investigating the Barletta and Roman deaths, but investigators had to wait for the Medical Examiner’s official determination of the cause and manner of death before the investigation could fully proceed. He said the deaths were not being investigated as a homicide at that time.
Police and court records in D.C. and other jurisdictions show that police and prosecutors have filed criminal charges against drug dealers and suppliers in cases involving drug overdose deaths. In some cases, when the drug dealer is found they have been charged with manslaughter, reckless endangerment, or related charges.
When contacted this week to ask about the status of the D.C. police investigation into the Barletta and Roman deaths now that the Medical Examiner has determined the cause and manner of death, Lynch declined further comment.
“The investigation into these deaths remains open,” he said. “There are no updates on the investigation that we are ready to release to the public.”
Bailey said in January that one development that has emerged from the Barletta-Roman deaths is a stepped-up effort to raise awareness of the problem and support by LGBTQ bars in D.C. to host training sessions and to distribute the lifesaving Narcan treatment nasal spray as well as fentanyl test kits.
“It’s horrible when it takes a tragedy for things to come together,” Bailey said. “But this tragedy has truly triggered a powerful response. It was a real wakeup call for a lot of people.”
He said the local gay bars Trade, Pitchers, and JR.’s are among the LGBTQ bars that have hosted training sessions or tables set up by HIPS to provide related information along with test kits and Narcan.
According to Bailey, HIPS is partnering with Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive health care center, to officially launch on April 5 a new Harm Reduction Vending Machine Project, “that seeks to put free harm reduction/overdose prevention supplies in areas with high rates of overdose deaths and other barriers to care.” The launch event will take place at Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center in Southeast D.C.
District of Columbia
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
Whitman-Walker joins nationwide recognition of efforts to develop vaccine
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, will join health care advocates from across the country to support efforts to develop an HIV vaccine on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18.
“HIV Awareness Day, observed annually on May 18, was established to recognize and thank the volunteers, scientists, health professionals, and community members working toward a safe and effective prevention HIV vaccine,” Whitman-Walker said in a statement.
“Led by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the critical importance of preventive HIV vaccine research,” the statement says.
It adds, “The reality is that any new vaccine discovery must be built community by community, institution by institution, and then it must reach everyone – especially the communities who have carried the heaviest burden of this epidemic.”
On its own website, the National Institutes of Health says HIV Vaccine Awareness Day also highlights its longstanding efforts, coordinated by its Office of AIDS Research, to support researchers’ efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
“Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine,” it says in a statement on its website.
A Whitman-Walker spokesperson said Whitman-Walker was not holding a specific event to observe HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, but it will recognize the day as a way of encouragement for its ongoing work to address the AIDS epidemic and support for vaccine research.
“Today, no one has to die from HIV,” said Whitman-Walker’s Health System division’s CEO, Dr. Heather Aaron in the Whitman-Walker statement. “We have the treatments, the technology, and the research to change outcomes, and yet people in our community are still dying from HIV//AIDS,” she said in the statement.
“That is unacceptable, and it is exactly why our work continues,” she added. “Here in D.C. with more focus on Southeast D.C., the Whitman-Walker Health System remains committed to making a difference through cutting-edge research, policy advocacy, and philanthropy, because fair access to life-saving treatment is not a privilege. It is a right.”
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats endorses Janeese Lewis George for D.C. mayor
Group also backed D.C. Council, Congressional delegate, AG candidates
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, announced on May 14 that it has endorsed D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) for mayor in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George along with former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) are considered by political observers to be the two leading candidates among the seven candidates competing in the Democratic primary election for mayor.
Both have strong, long-standing records of support on LGBTQ issues, indicating Capital Stonewall Democrats members, like LGBTQ voters across the city, are likely choosing a candidate based on non-LGBTQ related issues.
In a May 14 statement, the group announced its endorsements in seven other Democratic primary races, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who is running unopposed in the primary. Also endorsed is D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large), who is one of five Democratic candidates competing for the position of D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) is among the four candidates competing with White for that post, and who like White has a strong record of support on LGBTQ issues.
In the At-Large D.C. Council race for which incumbent Anita Bonds is not running for re-election, Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed community activist and LGBTQ ally Oye Owolewa in a nine candidate race.
For the Ward 1 D.C. Council election, in which five LGBTQ supportive candidates are competing, the group did not make an endorsement because none of the candidate received a required 60 percent of the endorsement vote cast by Capital Stonewall Democrats members, according to the group’s former president, Howard Garrett.
The statement announcing its endorsements shows that it decided to list its “Preferred Ranking” of each of the Ward 1 Democratic candidates as part of the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system. It lists gay candidate Miguel Trindade Deramo as first, bisexual candidate Aparna Raj second, Jackie Reyes Yanes third, Rashida Brown fourth, and Terry Lynch fifth.
In the remaining ward Council races, Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Councilmember Matt Fruman (D-Ward 3), who is running unopposed for re-election; Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member who is being challenged by two opponents; and Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who is running unopposed for re-election.
The group also chose not to make an endorsement in the special election for another At-Large D.C. Council seat that became vacant when then-Independent Councilmember McDuffie resigned to enable him to run for mayor as a Democrat. Under the city’s Home Rule Charter adopted by Congress, that at large sweat is restricted to a “non-majority party” candidate, meaning a non-Democrat.
The three candidates running for the seat, all Independents, include incumbent Doni Crawford, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year; former D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman; and Jacque Patterson. All three have expressed support on LGBTQ related issues.
“The organization’s endorsement process included candidate questionnaires, public forums, and direct voting by active CSD members,” the statement announcing its endorsements says. “Each endorsement reflects the collective voice of 173 LGBTQ+ Democrats who voted in the process and are committed to building lasting political power in the District,” according to the statement. “Candidates that reached 60 percent support received the endorsement.”
Garrett, the group’s former president, acknowledged that with nearly all candidates running in D.C. elections expressing strong support for the LGBTQ community, many if not most of the group’s members most likely chose a candidate based on issues other than LGBTQ related issues.
He said he believes Lewis George, who he is supporting and is viewed as a progressive candidate who self-identifies as a Democratic Socialist, compared to McDuffie, who is viewed as a moderate Democrat, captured the group’s endorsement based on the view that she is the best person to lead the city going forward.
“I believe that Capital Stonewall members voted for Janeese Lewis George because we’re tired of the status quo and we need a new, bold leader to not only move our city forward but also to stand up to Donald Trump and his administration,” Garrett told the Washington Blade.
McDuffie’s LGBTQ supporters, including former Capital Stonewall Democrats presidents David Meadows and Kurt Vorndran, have argued that McDuffie’s positions on a wide range of issues, including LGBTQ issues, show him to be the best candidates to lead the city at this time and In future years.
The group’s endorsement of Lewis George comes one week after GLAA DC, a nonpartisan LGBTQ advocacy group, awarded her its highest candidate rating of +10.
District of Columbia
Pride faith services in Washington, D.C.
Almost half of all LGBTQ adults in the U.S. are religious
Are you an LGBTQ person of faith or someone exploring spirituality? It is more common than people realize. According to a Williams Institute study published in October 2020, almost half of all LGBTQ adults in the United States are religious. This may seem counterintuitive as any LGBTQ people have complicated relationships with faith because of very real histories of abuse, trauma, and violence.
This violence still continues in the United States, especially following the Supreme Court’s March 2026 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, who ruled Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violates the First Amendment, but not everyone has encountered this violence, nor do people who have faced it, separate themselves completely from religion. Many people may seek out affirming faith traditions which are prevalent in the DMV area.
For individuals seeking out faith services during Pride 2026, please check out the list below, which will be updated as more events are publicized.
Memorial Service for SaVanna Wanzer
May 17th at 1 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church (400 I St SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Westminster Presbyterian will host a celebration of life for legendary DC trans rights activist and founder of DC Trans Pride and Black Trans Pride SaVanna Wanzer who was a long-time member of the church. Live music will begin at 12:15 pm before the start of the memorial service. The service will be livestreamed on the Westminster DC Facebook page. A meal will follow the Sunday service.
There will also be a celebratory vigil held on Saturday, May 16th from 6:30-8 pm for friends and family at the church led by LGBTQ organizer Rayceen Pendarvis.
May 23th at 11 am
Downtown Westin (999 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001)
This intimate conversation is hosted by Janeé Lee, founder of Queer Ministry, between Black trans and queer people who are surviving religious trauma and navigating their relationship with the church. The workshop, hosted as part of Trans Pride DC, is a chance for people to share their stories at the intersection of queerness and spirituality and to walk away with a spiritual healing guide with affirming scriptures and inclusive theology.
DC Black Pride Worship Service
May 24th at 10 am
Remnant Christian Center (120 West Hampton Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD)
Hosted by The Community Church of Washington DC-UCC, this service will feature speakers and sessions on Black queer faith and unity, including host and speaker Robert D. Wise Jr. for a powerful Pentecost Unity Service. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in and white.
June 5th at 7 pm
Sixth & I (600 I Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001)
Join Rabbi Jenna will be leading an inclusive, musical service celebrating the diversity of Jewish life in Washington, DC. Happy Hour, which is limited to people 21 and older, will start at 6 pm. The service will start at 7 pm, with dinner at 8:15 pm. The service is free but registration is required, and the kosher-style pescatarian meal does cost money. Register online here.
June 14th at 5 pm
Black Cat (1811 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009)
Muslim Pride is a community-led and funded grassroots performance series centering queer and trans Muslim artists through music, drag and dance. The series was originally founded in 2020 as a way to create affirming spaces where faith, culture, and queerness can coexist. This year’s series features Mercedes Iman Diamond. This year, Muslim Pride expands to Washington, DC, New York City, and Los Angeles. Buy tickets here.
Pride Celebrations and Sunday Worship Service
June 14th all day
Riverside Baptist Church (699 Maine Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Join Riverside Baptist Church for a day-long Pride celebration beginning with Pride Weekend/Musical Theater Sunday worship service at 10 am. Later that morning and early afternoon, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, the church will be hosting a Pride Pageant, a technicolor celebration featuring a runway showcase, line dancing, food, and refreshments.
June 22nd at 7 pm
St. Mark’s Episocpal Church (301 A Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003)
Join this interfaith service celebrating affirming faith traditions and intertradition dialogue hosted by queer and trans faith leaders. The interfaith service has been hosted annually for over 40 years, and first began back in the 1980s with faith leaders and queer people of faith coming together to mourn and pray at the site of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall. Learn more about the history of the interfaith service here.
June 23rd at 6 pm
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (3513 N St NW, Washington, DC 20007)
Holy Trinity will be hosting its 6th annual Pride Mass. After its debut this past summer, the Pride Mass choir will be singing at the Pride Mass in June, and following the Mass, there will be an annual reception with ice cream and other goodies. Learn more about attending the reception and Holy Trinity’s LGBTQ+ Ministry.
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