Local
‘Outrage’ as killer gets 12 years
Court records unsealed; gay victim shot 5 times at point-blank range
The United States Attorney’s office this week reversed an earlier decision to seal court records showing the outcome of its case against two young men charged with first-degree murder while armed for the January 2010 shooting death of gay Maryland resident Gordon Rivers in Southeast Washington.
At the request of the U.S. Attorney’s office, a D.C. Superior Court judge on Wednesday unsealed records showing that District resident William X. Wren, 18, had been sentenced on Jan. 26 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting Rivers five times at point-blank range inside Rivers’ car during a botched robbery.
Wren, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was charged as an adult.
The unsealed records show that Wren agreed to plead guilty last October in exchange for a government offer to lower the charge against him from first-degree felony murder while armed to second-degree murder while armed. Wren also agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to kidnap Rivers while armed with co-defendant Anthony Hager, 23, and conspiracy to rob Rivers while armed with a firearm. Hager was 22 at the time of the murder.
Judge Herbert Dixon also sentenced Wren to seven years on the two conspiracy charges but agreed to a request by Wren’s defense lawyer to allow the two sentences to run concurrently, limiting the total time served to 12 years.
The U.S. Attorney’s office moved to have the court records unsealed following inquires by the Washington Blade, which discovered through unsealed court records that the government dropped its case against Hager, who was also charged with first-degree murder while armed in the River’s killing.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office determined that there was probable cause to arrest Anthony Hager in the murder of Mr. Rivers,” said William Miller, a spokesperson for the office. “However, the office later concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to meet the higher legal standard that is required to obtain and sustain a conviction.”
Miller noted that at the government’s request, the court dismissed the case “without prejudice,” which allows prosecutors to reinstate charges against Hager in the future if more evidence surfaces.
“The murder case remains under investigation,” he said.
Miller declined to disclose why prosecutors chose to seal the court records in the case against Wren, saying issues surrounding the sealing of cases are considered confidential. However, knowledgeable sources familiar with criminal cases before the D.C. Superior Court said cases are often sealed when defendants agree to cooperate with the government in the prosecution of another person charged with a crime. Such cooperation could potentially place a defendant at risk for retaliation, according to the sources, and sealing a case can sometimes protect the safety of the cooperating defendant.
Victims’ rights groups have sometimes complained that the sealing of cases also prevents the public from learning whether violent criminals are being prosecuted and sentenced appropriately.
Chris Farris, former co-chair of the D.C. group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, said he was “outraged” that Wren could receive just 12 years for committing a murder and that Hager could get off “completely free” in the Rivers’ murder.
“Take away the gay angle, take away the history of hate crimes against our community, take away everything else, and I just find it incredibly stunning that one person in the case of a murder of someone who was fired on at point blank range five times gets 12 years in jail,” Farris said.
Court documents filed by the government and the defense in the case show that Hager allegedly conspired with Wren to force Rivers at gunpoint to drive the two to Rivers’ house in Maryland, where they planned to rob him of his valuables and steal his two vehicles. But the documents show that that Wren shot Rivers before Hager had a chance to enter the car.
Court records also show that authorities revoked Hager’s parole from an unrelated conviction for armed robbery in 2005 after learning of his arrest in the Rivers case. Miller said the parole revocation resulted in Hager being ordered to serve two more years for the earlier conviction.
Under the D.C. criminal code, Wren faced a possible maximum sentence of 70 years in prison for second-degree murder while armed with a firearm. First-degree murder while armed carries a maximum sentence of 90 years in prison under D.C. law.
Separate sentencing memorandums submitted by the defense and the U.S. Attorney’s Office asked Judge Dixon to consider mitigating factors that would justify a sentence significantly lower than the maximum sentence provided by law. Among other things, the two pointed to Wren’s cooperation with the government in the prosecution of Hager before the U.S. Attorney’s office decided to drop its case against Hager.
Defense attorney Spencer Hecht also states in his sentencing memorandum that Wren recounted that Rivers paid him for sexual encounters at Rivers’ house in Brandywine, Md., during a one-year period prior to the murder. Hecht’s sentencing memo says the sexual encounters began when Wren was 16.
“While the defendant unequivocally accepts responsibility for his extremely serious and dangerous conduct, and is extremely remorseful for taking the life of another, he offers the nature of his relationship with the decedent in mitigation,” Hecht says in his sentencing memo.
“The decedent was someone who preyed on the defendant’s youth, immaturity, and impressionability for a substantial period of time,” the memo says. “On frequent occasions, the decedent would contact the defendant and pay him to perform sex acts upon him. This is nothing less than child sexual abuse and rape – offenses which carry significant prison sentences.”
Hecht provides no evidence or substantiation of the alleged sexual encounters between Rivers and Wren other than Wren’s claim that they occurred. The sentencing memo doesn’t say where the two met or under what circumstances, only that the two met after Wren’s mother kicked him out of her home “because her live-in girlfriend believed the defendant a troublemaker.” His estrangement with his mother resulted in his having no fixed address, the memo says.
“It was during this period of time that the defendant began using and selling drugs and committing robberies of known drug dealers to support himself,” according to Hecht’s sentencing memo. “It was also during this period of time that the defendant met the decedent Gordon Rivers (aka ‘Mr. G’), when he (‘Mr. G’) propositioned him (the defendant) for paid sex,” it says.
The memo also states that Wren moved into a row house where his girlfriend lived at 2409 S St., S.E., seven months prior to the murder, saying his girlfriend’s residence provided him with a stable home. It says he has two children with his girlfriend, Breana Smith, with whom he had been in a relationship for two years at the time of the murder.
Gay activists have long complained that defendants who target gay men for assault, robbery and murder have often claimed, after being charged with such crimes, that the victim made a sexual pass at them that prompted them to assault or kill the victim in self-defense. Gay rights attorneys, who describe such a claim as the “gay panic defense,” have said prosecutors often lack the training or understanding to adequately contest this defense tactic.
Hecht did not return calls to his office seeking comment on the case and on his client’s allegations of sexual encounters between Wren and Rivers.
Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said he could not comment on whether his office considered Hecht’s allegations in the sentencing memo as an attempt to invoke the gay panic defense.
In its own sentencing memorandum, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended that the court sentence Wren to the “middle range” of sentences available to a court for the offenses to which Wren pleaded guilty. The government sentencing memo recommends that Dixon sentence Wren to some jail time but doesn’t object to the defense recommendation that he be sentenced under the D.C. Youth Rehabilitation Act.
The act allows judges to waive a required minimum sentence of five years in jail for a conviction or guilty plea to second-degree murder while armed. The memo adds, “The government does not oppose a motion by the defendant for a downward departure under the sentencing guidelines.”
In his sentencing order, Dixon did not indicate that he approved the defense request for a Youth Rehabilitation Act sentence.
The government’s sentencing memo describes Rivers as “an accomplished, well-loved man with family and friends who dearly miss him.” It says he was born in Alabama and was a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy who, at the time of his death, worked as an executive assistant with Raytheon Corporation in Arlington, Va., in a job he held for five years.
The government sentencing memo says Wren’s effort to express remorse over his action and the prospects that he could turn around his life in the future don’t offset the consequence of his behavior toward Gordon Rivers.
“The defendant preyed upon Mr. Rivers by taking advantage of the trust they shared, however inappropriate the foundation of the relationship,” the memo says. “And it was the defendant, not Mr. Hager, who got in the car, put the gun to Mr. Rivers, and pulled the trigger five times.”
The memo notes that Wren was “no newcomer to armed robberies,” referring to his own admission that he committed armed robberies against drug dealers in the months prior to his arrest in the Rivers case.
District of Columbia
New LGBTQ bar Rush set to debut
14th & U picks up a queer lounge, dance spot with a tech focus
(UPDATE: Rush owners told the Blade they have postponed the opening of the new bar to Nov. 28.)
The LGBTQ nightlife hotbed at 14th and U is about to get another member. Rush, a bar years in the making, is set to open its doors next week.
Filling the hole left by Lost Society, Rush will be a tech-forward, two-story bar featuring fully integrated light and sound to deliver “an immersive experience,” according to owner Jackson Mosley.
Mosley began conceptualizing such a bar back in 2017. His career linking tech and hospitality stretches even further back, beginning his career at LivingSocial and Uber. And even before that, he moonlighted at Town during his college years, where he developed a passion for drag and LGBTQ nightlife.
Rush is this manifestation of both tech and nightlife coming to fruition, but it hasn’t been without setbacks. Mosley originally planned to open farther east, on 9th and U streets, but received pushback from the building in which it was supposed to be housed. “It was the universe telling me it wasn’t the right spot,” he says. Earlier this year, coming across the Lost Society vacancy, Mosley finally found his host. As the center of LGBTQ nightlife has shifted to 14th Street – as reinforced by this week’s Shakers shuttering – Mosley was eager to join the festive fray.
Rush is in the same building as Bunker, settling on the top two levels of the structure. Across a flexible, indoor-outdoor combination and 6.000 square feet, Rush entirely shakes up its two floors – “a real reimagining so that it feels entirely new,” he says, with new equipment and a new vision and a capacity of at least 300.
The lower floor leans into a lounge vibe. Relaxed seating and a huge bar dominate the area. It will feature a sound booth, furniture with built-in lighting, and plenty of places to chat.
Upstairs is the club, dance-forward space. It has a “proper drag stage,” Mosley says, one of the largest among fellow LGBTQ bars, at 7.5 feet deep by 22 feet wide. Set up for live performances and painted in matte black, this rooftop level can open the doors to the deck allowing the entire level to participate in performances.
Rush will also boast a full kitchen, distinct from many other LGBTQ bars. Set to start serving in a couple of months, it will serve a large menu of bar food and more, as well as a lively brunch on the rooftop.
“It’s long overdue to have a brunch with good food at a bar,” he says.
Mosley emphasizes sound and lighting as part of his tech focus. Dropping more than $150,000 on this multi-sensory experience, he realized his “life dream to build out a sound system I love,” he says. “Enough lighting to power Echostage,” he joked. Lasers, hazers, smoke machines, and CO2 cannons are just a few elements. “One piece lacking at a drag show has been integrated light and sound with the performers’ choreo,” he says, like when a queen performs a death drop, there should be a light and sound crescendo.
Rush also differentiates itself with its unique business model. All Rush employees are full-time exempt with benefits like healthcare and PTO. Mosley takes up the CEO position of his firm Momentux, which will operate Rush. Mosley envisions growth to open Rush locations in other cities along the same model. Patrons will swipe their credit cards at the door, reducing the number of swipes for bar staff (and reducing credit card fees), and wear wristbands to track purchases. The approach negates the need – and request – for tips. Service charges will only be levied when patrons don’t close their tabs. “I’m rethinking the role of staff, down to the barback,” he says.
As for what the staff will pour, Rush will slowly roll out an eclectic, cheeky signature cocktail list to be served beyond the usual vodka-sodas. Such drinks might include the “14th & Unhinged,” with tequila, mezcal, tamarind, and lime; the “Power Vers,” with gin, elderflower, lemon, and pink peppercorn foam; and the “Flight Attendant,” which comes with a spread based on the ever-popular in-flight cookie, Biscoff.
The bar’s opening is set for Friday, Nov. 28, with a promising lineup — popular DJ Sidekick, and a trio of local drag favorites: Cake Pop, Druex Sidora, and Mari Con Carne. A social media post promised “good energy, controlled chaos, and hot strangers.”
Rush, says Mosley, might be like “if Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga had a baby, plus drag queens,” he says.
Local
Most D.C.-area cities receive highest score in HRC Equality Index
‘Record breaking’ 132 jurisdictions nationwide receive top ranking
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation on Nov. 18 released its 14th annual Municipal Equality Index report showing that a record number of 132 cities across the country, including nine in Virginia and seven in Maryland, received the highest score of 100 for their level of support for LGBTQ equality through laws, policies, and services.
Among the D.C.-area cities and municipalities receiving a perfect score of 100 were Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County in Virginia and College Park, Bowie, Gaithersburg and Rockville in Maryland.
The city of Rehoboth Beach is listed as the only city or municipality in Delaware to receive a score of 100. Rehoboth city officials released a statement hailing the high score as a major achievement over the previous year’s score of 61, saying the improvement came through a partnership with the local LGBTQ advocacy and services group CAMP Rehoboth.
The HRC Foundation, which serves as the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, includes the District of Columbia in a separate State Equality Index rating system under the premise that D.C. should be treated as a state and receive full statehood status.
In its 2024 State Equality Index report, D.C. and 21 states, including Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, were placed in the “highest rated category” called Working Toward Innovative Equality, which does not use a numerical score.
“The 2025 MEI shows a record breaking 132 cities scoring the highest possible marks on the index, representing a combined population of approximately 49 million people,” the HRC Foundation said in a statement announcing the 2025 report.
“This high-water mark is critical as pressure continues from states that pass laws and policies that seek to shut transgender people – particularly trans youth – out of public life,” the statement continues. It adds that many cities that have put in place trans supportive laws and policies, including health insurance benefits, “are in many cases no longer able to provide that coverage in a meaningful way as a result of discriminatory decisions made by state legislatures.”
The statement goes on to say, “However, more cities than ever are doing what the MEI characterizes as ‘testing the limits of restrictive state laws’ – pushing back against various checks on municipal power or discriminatory state laws – with nearly 70 cities doing so.”
The HRC statement notes that this year’s Municipal Equality Index rated a total of 506 cities. It says that number includes the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the U.S., the five largest cities or municipalities in each state, the cities that are home to the state’s two largest universities, and the 75 cities or municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples.
The report shows this year’s index rated 11 cities or municipalities in Virginia with the following rating scores: Alexandria, 100; Arlington County,100; Fairfax County, 100, Richmond, 100; Charlottesville, 100; Chesapeake, 80; Hampton, 100; Newport News, 100; Norfolk, 91, Roanoke, 100, and Virginia Beach, 100.
In Maryland a total of 10 cities were rated: Annapolis, 100; Baltimore, 100; Bowie, 68; College Park, 100; Columbia, 100; Frederick, 100; Gaithersburg, 100; Hagerstown, 75; Rockville, 100 and Towson in Baltimore County, 85.
A total of eight cities were rated in Delaware: Rehoboth Beach, 100; Bethany Beach, 51; Milford, 83; Dover, 69; Wilmington, 76; Newark, 72; Smyrna, 59; and Middletown, 64.
The full 2025 HRC Foundation Equality Index Report can be accessed at hrc.org.
Virginia
Repealing marriage amendment among Va. House Democrats’ 2026 legislative priorities
Voters approved Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006
Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates on Monday announced passage of a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman is among their 2026 legislative priorities.
State Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) has introduced the resolution in the chamber. State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) is the sponsor of an identical proposal in the state Senate.
Both men are gay.
Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again this year.
Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot.
Democrats on Election Day increased their majority in the House of Delegates. Their three statewide candidates — Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi, and Attorney General-elect Jay Jones — will take office in January.
“Virginians elected the largest House Democratic Majority in nearly four decades because they trust us to fight for them and deliver real results,” said House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) on Monday in a press release that announced his party’s legislative priorities. “These first bills honor that trust. Our agenda is focused on lowering costs, lifting wages, expanding opportunity, protecting Virginians rights, and ensuring fair representation as Donald Trump pushes Republican legislatures across the country to manipulate congressional maps for partisan gain. House Democrats are ready to meet this moment and deliver the progress Virginians expect.”
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