Local
‘Eyes on Chechnya’ protest targets Russian ambassador
Demonstration comes day before Tillerson meets with Russian official
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2017/05/Chechnya_protest_460x470_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
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Protesters demonstrate in “Eyes on Chechnya” protest. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Protesters gathered before the D.C. residence of the Russian ambassador to the United States on Tuesday to call on Russia to investigate reports of anti-gay abuses and concentration camps in Chechnya and bring them to an end.
An estimated 75 people gathered before the residence of Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a demonstration organized by the Human Rights Campaign intended to highlight the arrests and detentions of gay and bisexual men in the semi-autonomous Republic.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, spoke at the āEyes on Chechnyaā demonstration and called on the Russian government to take the lead to end the reported abuses.
āInstead of rounding up gay men, Russia must pressure Chechnya to arrest the real criminals, the torturers, the jailers and the executioners,ā Griffin said.
Griffin said he also carried a message for the U.S. government: Let the victims of the reported abuses seek asylum in the United States. On the day before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Griffin said the Trump official must raise the issue with his Russian counterpart.
āHe must show the same leadership that German Chancellor Merkel did when she met with Putin just last week,ā Griffin said, referencing a meeting in which Merkel publicly raised the issue of anti-gay abuses with the Russian leader.
The demonstration was the result of ongoing concern over reports from Chechnya that local authorities have arrested more than 100 gay menĀ andĀ sent them to secret prisons for torture. At least four menĀ have reportedly died as a result.
Chechnya is led by Ramzan Kadyrov, who has denied the atrocities are happnening by asserting gay people donāt exist there. British Minister of state for the Foreign Office Sir Alan Duncan said on the floor of parliament he was told of alleged plans in Chechnya to āeliminateā the countryās gay community by the start of Ramadan,Ā which begins May 26.
Rob Berschinski, senior vice president for policy at Human Rights First, said the reported attacks on gay men are āpart and parcel of the Russian governmentās program of repression.ā
āFrom a propaganda law that targets members of the LGBT community and their allies, to an NGO law that says anyone critical of the Putin regime is an enemy of the state to invasions of Russian neighbors to support for the brutal Assad regime in Syria, to action at the United Nations hoping to tear down an international system based around human rights and international law, our eyes are on Russia,ā Berschinski said.
At the protest, participants chanted, āStop the Violenceā¦Stop the Hateā¦Russia Must Investigate.ā One sign read, āSay Something Don! Pooty Got Your Tongue!ā a reference to Trumpās suspected ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom intelligence agencies said assisted the president’s election efforts with illegal hacking.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has spoken out against the atrocities, but President Trump himself and Tillerson have said nothing. (For that matter, mainstream media reporters havenāt asked Trump about the matter even though he has participated in several interviews with the press.) The Washington Blade has repeatedly sought comment from the White House on the atrocities.
The protest concluded just minutes before news broke that President Trump had terminated FBI Director James Comey, who was investigating potential Trump collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.
Jeremy Kadden, HRC’s senior international policy advocate, said the process by which gay people in Chechnya could seek asylum in the United States starts with the U.S. government signaling theyāre welcome to come here, but that hasnāt happened yet.
āWhat we understand is happening now is that folks who are trying to get out need the U.S. government to say they are welcome to come here,ā Kadden said. āThatās a step that speeds things along a lot faster.ā
Kadden said Russian authorities may seek to reclaim the persecuted gay men if they escape to nearby countries, which is why U.S. asylum for them is important.
āThe Chechnen families that are trying to track them down wonāt go that far,ā Kadden said. āBut the farther the refugees can get from Russia, the safer they are, and so I think they definitely want to get to the United States.ā
The Blade has placed a request with the State Department seeking comment on the status of allowing persecuted gay men in Chechnya to come to the United States.
Ellen Kahn, a 54-year-old lesbian resident of Silver Silver, Md., was at the demonstration and said she came to encourage greater action from the Trump administration on the reported hostilities.
āGiven the atrocities in Chechnya, and the silence of our administration ā with the very small exception of Nikki Haley mentioning it ā we have to push our government to speak up,ā she said. āThis is like when I think about our friends dying of AIDS very early in the epidemic 30 years ago and Ronald Reagan not saying a word, and we had to take to the streets. To me, this is the same urgency.”
The Blade has placed a request with the Russian embassy seeking comment on the protest.
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/Justin_Wayne_Hendricks_mugshot_insert_courtesy_Fairfax_County_Police_Department.jpg)
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
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Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
āYou know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.ā
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/20240629_Iya_Dammons_at_street_naming_ceremony_in_Baltimore_insert_courtesy_Iya_Dammons.jpg)
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimoreās 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
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