District of Columbia

D.C. man convicted of assaulting gay man sentenced to 18 months

Judge rejects defense claim that victim provoked attack near Logan Circle

Published

3 years ago

May 9, 2023

(Bigstock photo)

A D.C. Superior Court judge on Tuesday handed down a sentence of 18 months of incarceration for a man convicted of Assault with Significant Bodily Injury for fracturing the nose and breaking several teeth of a gay man while shouting anti-gay slurs during a May 2022 attack near Logan Circle.

Judge Lynn Leibovitz also sentenced the man charged in the case, D.C. resident Anthony Duncan, 42, to three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term and ordered him to pay a fine of $100 for the Victim of Violent Crime Compensation Act program.

Court records show Leibovitz gave Duncan until May 9, 2025, to pay the fine.

The sentencing took place two and a half months after a Superior Court jury on Feb. 27, at the conclusion of Duncan’s trial, found him guilty of the assault charge but not guilty of committing the assault as a hate crime based on the victim’s sexual orientation.

During the May 9 sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared English, the lead prosecutor in the case, pointed to charging documents alleging that the attack against the victim was unprovoked and was clearly linked to Duncan’s display of hatred toward the victim based on his perceived sexual orientation.

In a written sentencing memorandum that English filed in court, the prosecutor pointed out that under legal precedent, the judge could still take into consideration Duncan’s homophobic action in considering the sentence, even though a jury acquitted him on the charge of committing a hate crime.

An arrest affidavit filed by police and prosecutors at the time of Duncan’s arrest says the victim “was wearing a Stonewall Bocce shirt, which is a well-known LGBTQ sports league” at the time Duncan allegedly confronted him as the two men crossed paths while walking along 15th Street, N.W., at the intersection of V Street at about 4:50 p.m. on May 21, 2022.

Charging documents say Duncan allegedly punched the victim in the face and head, fracturing the victim’s nose in several places and breaking three of the victim’s teeth while shouting the words “fag” and “faggot.” He was taken by ambulance to a hospital for emergency treatment, court records show.

Quo Mieko Judkins, Duncan’s attorney, argued during the sentencing hearing that Duncan became angry during the incident, which she says Duncan believes was a fight, when the victim allegedly touched himself in a way that Duncan interpreted as a provocation.

Police charging documents quote Duncan as claiming at the time of his arrest that the victim “grabbed his nuts at me,” which police interpreted to mean he accused the victim of making a sexual gesture toward him.

The charging documents say the victim strongly disputed that assertion, saying he attempted to walk away from Duncan after Duncan began calling him a “faggot” and punched him in the back of his head.

In a development that LGBTQ activists have said further confirmed Duncan’s hostile motive, the charging documents say Duncan used his phone to make a video recording of his assault of the victim, which police obtained and used as evidence. One of the charging documents says Duncan can be heard on the recording yelling the word “fag” as he assaulted the victim.

Judkins asked Leibovitz to hand down a sentence that did not include incarceration or a sentence of 180 days at most. She said Duncan had a troubled childhood that led to some earlier convictions, as English pointed out, but that since the time of his arrest in this case he has started his own business with a working website. He is productive in his community, Judkins said.

“The defendant was offended by a gesture of the complainant,” Judkins told the judge. “This was not completely unprovoked,” she said. “There was something that set this off. I’m not saying this was right,” Judkins argued.

Leibovitz disputed that argument before handing down her sentence. She said it was “not reasonable” for Duncan to have punched the victim with a metal object in his hand, referring to charging documents that said Duncan was holding a metal object at the time of the attack.

“He made angry, homophobic statements,” Leibovitz said, adding that the victim may have adjusted his pants in the area of his private parts, but that did not justify Duncan committing an assault.

“This was unprovoked,” Leibovitz said.

Duncan had been released pending his trial and sentencing shortly after the time he was arrested.

Immediately after Leibovitz handed down her sentence of 18 months incarceration at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, two U.S. Marshals placed Duncan in handcuffs and escorted him out of the courtroom as his sentence was to begin at that time.

Before handing down her sentence, Leibovitz said she had read a community impact statement submitted by the victim, who did not attend the sentencing hearing, and an impact statement by at least one LGBTQ organization, the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissions’ Rainbow Caucus, which consists of LGBTQ ANC commissioners.

“The effect this case has had on the LGBT community in the District of Columbia cannot be understated — rising violence scares all Washingtonians, but attacks against LGBT individuals scares other LGBT people even more so,” the Rainbow Caucus impact statement says.

“In this particular case, the assailant recorded his crime for future purposes — including possibly celebrating it publicly and taunting and terrorizing other gay people,” the statement continues.

“Your Honor, calling someone homophobic slurs is one thing and it is something that all LGBT individuals experience,” the statement says, adding that going on to break the victim’s nose and three of his teeth “takes this crime to an entirely new and terrifying level for our community.”

It calls on Leibovitz to “take the fears of the broader LGBT community into account in sentencing and acknowledging this attack’s impact not just on the victim, but on his entire community.”

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District of Columbia

Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm

Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program

Published

3 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Whitman-Walker Health’s Pro Bono Excellence award is named for Dale Edwin Sanders. (Photo courtesy of the family)

Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.

“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40^th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.

“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.

“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.

“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.

“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.

The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”

It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.

Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/

District of Columbia

Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel

Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.

Published

4 days ago

April 10, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.

A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).

District of Columbia

D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group

Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award

Published

6 days ago

April 8, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Wanda Alston Foundation Director Cesar Toledo presents the Wanda Alston Legacy Award to DC Councilmember Doni Crawford at an April 7 award event at Crush Bar. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.

Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”

Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.

To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.

Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.

“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”

Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.

Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.

A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.

“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”

Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.

“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.

“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”

At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.

Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.