District of Columbia
D.C. man arrested for July 5 shooting death of trans woman
Prosecutors list first-degree murder as hate crime
D.C. police announced on Sept. 17 the arrest of a District man who was apprehended in North Carolina for the July 5 shooting death of D.C. transgender woman Daquane “Dream” Johnson, 28, as she walked along the 2000 block of Benning Road, N.E.
In a statement announcing the arrest, D.C. police said Edgar Arrington, 38, was charged with First Degree Murder While Armed, which it listed as premeditated under aggravating circumstances.
Although D.C. police did not initially list the murder as a hate crime, prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. filed a hate crime designation to the charge based on Johnson’s gender identity in charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court.
During his initial appearance in court for an arraignment on Sept. 18, D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Heide Harrmann found probable cause that Arrington committed the offense and ordered him held without bond until an Oct. 7 preliminary hearing.
The decision by prosecutors to file the hate crime designation was announced in a separate statement released by the U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.
“According to court documents, Arrington, a stranger to the victim, Daquan Johnson, ridiculed Johnson for being transgendered as Johnson walked by Arrington on the sidewalk,” Pirro’s statement says.
“Arrington continued his harassment of Johnson by hurling slurs at Johnson, ultimately retrieving a firearm from his clothing and shooting the unarmed victim multiple times throughout the body,” the statement says.
In a 21-page Affidavit In Support of An Arrest Warrant filed in court this week, police and prosecutors disclosed homicide detectives obtained a surveillance video from the location where the incident occurred “that captured the offense.”
The affidavit says investigators also spoke with at least five witnesses to the shooting, with most identifying Arrington as the shooter.
During the Sept. 18 arraignment, court appointed defense attorney Rachel Cicurel argued that she would present evidence showing that it was someone else that shot Johnson and that regardless of who did the shooting, at least one witness claimed the shooting was in self-defense because Johnson allegedly threatened to kill Arrington after the two got into an argument.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shauna Payyappilly, the lead prosecutor in the case, disputed those claims, saying witnesses and the video recording identify Arrington as the shooter and the one who started a confrontation with Johnson.
Among other things, Payyappilly told the judge that the video recording clearly shows Johnson as the shooter and helps to identify Johnson by clearly showing a distinct tattoo on Johnson’s arm that police found Johnson to have.
The prosecutor pointed to the video, which is described In the arrest affidavit, that she said supports the prosecution claim that Johnson did not threaten Arrington.
“The decedent did not appear to make any physically threatening gestures towards Suspect 1,” in referring to Arrington, “other than verbally arguing,” the affidavit states. “The decedent was not observed brandishing any weapons,” it says. “Suspect 1 then raised the firearm quickly and shot the decedent multiple times,” it describes the video as showing.
One of Johnson’s family members, Vanna Terrell, who identified herself as Johnson’s aunt, told the Washington Blade in July that Johnson used the first name of Dream and planned to legally adopt that name instead of Daquane but had not gotten around to doing so.
Terrell said the family fully accepted Johnson as a trans woman and were troubled that police did not initially list the case as a hate crime after family members learned from at least one witness that the then unidentified attacker appeared to target Johnson because of her status as a trans person.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats set to celebrate 50th anniversary
Mayor Bowser expected to attend March 20 event
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, and local and national Democratic Party officials are expected to join more than 150 LGBTQ advocates and supporters on March 20 for the 50th anniversary celebration of the city’s Capital Stonewall Democrats.
A statement released by the organization says the event is scheduled to be held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building at 702 8th St., N.W. in D.C.
“The evening will honor the people who built Capital Stonewall Democrats across five decades – activists who fought for rights when the odds were against them, public servants who opened doors and refused to let them close, and a new generation of leaders ready to carry the work forward,” the statement says.
Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to the Capital Stonewall Democrats.
Among those planning to attend the anniversary event is longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Kuntzler, 84, who is one of the two co-founders of the then-Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Kuntzler told the Washington Blade that he and co-founder Richard Maulsby were joined by about a dozen others in the living room of his Southwest D.C. home at the group’s founding meeting in January 1976.
He said that among the reasons for forming a local LGBTQ Democratic group at the time was to arrange for a then “gay” presence at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, at which Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for U.S. president and later won election as president.
Maulsby, who served as the Stein Club president for its first three years and who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said he would not be attending the March 20 anniversary event, but he fully supports the organization’s continuing work as an LGBTQ organization associated with the Democratic Party.
Steven McCarty, Capital Stonewall Democrats’ current president, said in the statement that the anniversary celebration will highlight the organization’s work since the time of its founding.
“Capital Stonewall Democrats has been fighting for LGBTQ+ political power in this city for 50 years, electing people, training organizers, holding this community together through some really hard moments,” he said. “And right now, with everything going on, that work has never mattered more. This gala is the first moment of our next chapter, and I want the community to be a part of it.”
The statement says among the special guests attending the event will be Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.
Other guests of honor, according to the statement, include Mayor Bowser; D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5, the Council’s only gay member; D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; Rayceen Pendarvis, longtime D.C. LGBTQ civic activist; and Phillip Pannell, longtime D.C. LGBTQ Democratic activist and Ward 8 civic activist.
Information about ticket availability for the Capital Stonewall Democrats anniversary gala can be accessed here: capitalstonewalldemocrats.com/50th
District of Columbia
Owner of D.C. gay bar Green Lantern John Colameco dies at 79
Beloved businessman preferred to stay ‘behind the scenes’
John Colameco, owner of the popular D.C. gay bar Green Lantern, has died, according to a March 7 announcement posted on the bar’s website and Instagram account. The announcement didn’t provide a date of his passing or a cause of death.
Green Lantern manager Howard Hicks said Colameco was 79 at the time of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that Green Lantern announces the death of our beloved owner, John Colameco,” the announcement says. “Most of our patrons might have heard John’s name, but might not have known his face,” it says.
“He was a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of guy who avoided the limelight,” the announcement continues. “He preferred to stay in the back of the house with staff and team ensuring everything was running smoothly so that everyone out front was having a good time.”
The announcement adds, “As a veteran and businessman, John wasn’t a member of the LGBTQ + community, but he was one of the best damn allies our community has ever had.”
It says he “long provided spaces for the queer community to come together” since the 1990s when he owned and operated a popular restaurant on 17th Street, N.W. called Peppers.
According to the announcement, Colameco and his then business partner Greg Zehnacker opened the Green Lantern in 2001 in an alley off of 14th Street, N.W., between Thomas Circle and L Street, N.W.
The announcement points out that the Green Lantern first opened in the same location in the early 1990s before it later closed when the original owners decided to purchase and open other bars, one of which was the gay bar Fireplace near Dupont Circle. Colameco and Zehnacker were able to reopen the bar with the Green Lantern name.
“When Greg died unexpectedly in February 2014, John remained steadfastly committed to carrying on their vision and ensuring that Green Lantern remained part of the fabric of D.C.’s queer community,” the announcement says.
“Over the years, through Green Lantern, John has provided support to many community organizations, most notably Stonewall Sports, the Gay Men’s chorus of Washington, and ONYX Mid-Atlantic with Green Lantern serving as a gathering hub for their activities,” it states.
The announcement adds that Colameco’s family was planning a memorial for him in his hometown of Philadelphia.
“His Green Lantern family will celebrate his life by operating the bar as usual and we encourage you to stop by and join us,” it says. “Community coming together and having a good time – it’s exactly what John would want.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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