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Fire set at Arlington gay bar listed as arson

Freddie’s Beach Bar one of three businesses hit with early morning fires

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1 year ago

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Freddie’s Beach Bar was one of three businesses targeted with fires on Wednesday.

Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant, a gay establishment in the Crystal City section of Arlington, Va., was one of at least three restaurants to be hit with small fires on the same block between 5-5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan 9.

Freddie Lutz, owner of Freddie’s, told the Washington Blade someone set the front door of his bar and restaurant on fire during that time on Jan. 9. The door was partially blackened by the flames, but the restaurant itself did not catch fire, Lutz said.

He said two nearby bars and restaurants on the 500 block of South 23rd Street were also hit with small fires around that same time. They were the Crystal City Sports Pub and McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant.

According to Lutz, the small fire at Freddie’s took place the day before and the day after Freddie’s received a threatening phone call from what sounded like the same unidentified male caller.

“He said I’m going to fuck you up and I’m going to fuck the women up,” Lutz said the person told Freddie’s manager, who answered the two calls.

Lutz said the fact that the calls came just before and just after the fire was set on his front door, prompted him to speculate that the caller could be the same person who started the fire.

He said the two calls came from two different phone numbers, which Lutz gave to police who arrived on the scene with an Arlington Fire Department official to investigate the three fires.

A statement released Jan. 9 by the Arlington Fire Department says the department initially responded at about 5:30 a.m. to a reported fire at 529 S. 23rd Street, which is the location of the Crystal City Sports Pub. The statement says firefighters found a fire in an enclosed patio at the restaurant that was “contained” by a sprinkler system and was extinguished by firefighters.

“The preliminary investigation conducted by the Office of the Fire Marshall determined the fire to be suspicious in nature,” the statement says. “During the investigation, additional fire damage was discovered to adjacent businesses,” it says. “These fires are also being investigated and are deemed suspicious in nature.”

Capt. Nathaniel Hiner, a Fire Department spokesperson, told the Washington Blade in an email on Jan. 10 the fires have now been designated as arson.

The Jan. 9 statement did  not mention Freddie’s, or one of the other two restaurants hit by a small fire at that time, McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant, which is located two doors away from Freddie’s. But Lutz said a deputy fire marshal who spoke with him said each of the three fires was being investigated.

Lutz said someone attempted to set the rear metal door of McNamara’s on fire, which blackened part of that red-colored door.

“I have a feeling that we got targeted because we are a gay bar,” Lutz told the Blade. “I just have that feeling.”

But he said he told a police officer who stopped by Freddie’s in response to the fire that it may not be a hate crime “because they hit the other two restaurants. And he said it could be possible that they were targeting me because I’m a gay bar.”

“The Office of the Fire Marshall is asking anyone with additional  information to contact Lieutenant Wandekha Kanthula at 751-357-0769 or [email protected],” the fire department says.

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Virginia

McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates

Gay Alexandria City Council member becomes 8th LGBTQ member of legislature

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3 days ago

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February 12, 2026

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Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike. (Photo courtesy Alexandria City Council)

Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike emerged as the decisive winner in a Feb. 10 special election for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria.  

McPike, a Democrat, received 81.5 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Mason Butler, according to the local publication ALX Now.

He first won election to the Alexandria Council in 2021. He will be filling the House of Delegates seat being vacated by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), who won in another Feb. 10 special election for the Virginia State Senate seat being vacated by gay Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria). 

Ebbin is resigning from his Senate next week to take a position with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.

Upon taking his 5th District seat in the House of Delegate, McPike will become the eighth out LGBTQ member of the Virginia General Assembly. Among those he will be joining is Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who became the Virginia Legislature’s first transgender member when she won election to the House of Delegates in 2017 before being elected to the Senate in 2023.

“I look forward to continuing to work to address our housing crisis, the challenge of climate change, and the damaging impacts of the Trump administration on the immigrant families, LGBTQ+ Virginians, and federal employees who call Alexandria home,” McPike said in a statement after winning the Democratic nomination for the seat in a special primary held on Jan. 20. 

McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights advocate, has served for the past 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and has remained in that position during his tenure on the Alexandria Council. He said he will resign from that position before taking office in the House of Delegates.

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Virginia

Spanberger signs bill that paves way for marriage amendment repeal referendum

Proposal passed in two successive General Assembly sessions

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1 week ago

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February 6, 2026

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(Bigstock photo)

Virginians this year will vote on whether to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Friday signed state Del. Laura Jane Cohen (D-Fairfax County)’s House Bill 612, which finalized the referendum’s language.

The ballot question that voters will consider on Election Day is below:

Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to: (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?

Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.

A resolution to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2025. Lawmakers once again approved it last month.

“20 years after Virginia added a ban on same-sex marriage to our Constitution, we finally have the chance to right that wrong,” wrote Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman on Friday in a message to her group’s supporters.

Virginians this year will also consider proposed constitutional amendments that would guarantee reproductive rights and restore voting rights to convicted felons who have completed their sentences.

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Virginia

Hashmi speaks at Equality Virginia Lobby Day

Lt. gov. is a vocal LGBTQ ally

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2 weeks ago

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February 3, 2026

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi (YouTube screenshot)

Lieutenant Gov. Ghazala Hashmi on Monday opened Equality Virginia’s annual Lobby Day in Richmond.

The Lobby Day was held at Virginia’s Capitol and was open to the public by RSVP. The annual event is one of the ways that Equality Virginia urges its supporters to get involved. It also offers informational sessions and calls to action through social media.

Hashmi, a former state senator, has been open about her support for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups. Her current advisor is Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, and the group endorsed her for lieutenant governor. 

Hashmi historically opposes anti-transgender legislation.

She opposed a 2022 bill that sought to take away opportunities from trans athletes.

One of the focuses of this year’s Lobby Day was protecting LGBTQ students. Another was protecting trans youth’s access to gender-affirming care.

Advocates spent their day in meetings and dialogues with state legislators and lawmakers about legislative priorities and concerns. 

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