A D.C. Superior Court jury on Aug. 15 ordered a company that owned and operated a McDonald’s restaurant franchise in Northwest Washington to pay $930,000 in damages to a transgender employee who charged in a lawsuit that she was subjected to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation because of her gender identity in violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act.

The lawsuit, which was filed in January 2021 by attorneys representing Diana Portillo Medrano, says Medrano was first hired to work at the McDonald’s at 5948 Georgia Ave., N.W. in 2011 as a customer service representative and was recognized  and promoted for good work until she began to transition as a trans woman two years later.

It says she was fired in 2016 after she filed a discrimination complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights on grounds that she did not have legal authorization to work in the U.S. as an immigrant from El Salvador. One of her attorneys, Jonathan Puth, said the jury agreed with the lawsuit’s allegation that the reason given for the firing was a “pretext” and the real reason was retaliation for her discrimination complaint.

Puth said evidence was presented during the eight-day civil trial that the McDonald’s had knowingly hired other immigrant employees who did not have legal authorization to work and never held that against them.

“Despite a successful five-year career with McDonald’s marked by raises, promotions, and awards and absence of discipline, Plaintiff Diana Medrano’s supervisors and co-workers subjected her to a barrage of taunts, laughter, ridicule, and harassment because she is a transgender woman,” the lawsuit states.

“Managers and supervisors routinely referred to her as male despite her expressed request that they respect her gender identity as female, encouraging co-workers to harass her relentlessly in like fashion,” it says. “When she complained to her managers, they claimed Ithat the harassment was justified because she hadn’t legally changed her name,” the lawsuit’s complaint continues.

“After she formalized and elevated her complaints, Defendants fired her on pretextual grounds. Defendants discriminated against Ms. Medrano because of her gender identity and retaliated against her in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act,” the lawsuit complaint states.

The lawsuit names as defendants International Golden Foods LLC and MCI Golden Foods LLC, two companies based in Burke, Va. that it says were owned and operated by Luis Gavignano, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The lawsuit says the two companies held the franchise rights to own and operate the McDonald’s where Medrano worked.

The Washington Blade’s attempts to reach a spokesperson for the two companies and for Gavignano as well as two of the attorneys that represented them in contesting the lawsuit through email and phone messages were unsuccessful. 

In a nine-page written answer to the lawsuit filed Feb. 12, 2021, on behalf of International Golden Foods, which is referred to as IGF, attorneys Amy M. Heerink and Kelvin Newsome dispute the allegations that Medrano was targeted for discrimination and harassment because of her gender identity.

The written answer to the complaint highlights the company’s claim that Medrano was fired because she didn’t have legal authority to work in the U.S. It refers to the company’s personnel official, Carla Vega, who informed Medrano that she could no longer work for the McDonald’s outlet.

“IGF admits that Ms. Vega informed Plaintiff that her employment had to be terminated due to Plaintiff’s voluntary and unprompted statement during the investigation that she was not authorized to work in the United States,” the written answer to the lawsuit states. “IGF admits that Plaintiff’s employment was terminated based on her ineligibility to work in the United States,” it says.

“The jury clearly found that IGF continually used unauthorized employees, hired and employed unauthorized workers knowingly,” Puth, Madrano’s attorney, told the Blade. “And they never fired anyone for that reason at any of their stores except for Diana,” Puth said.

“And so, the jury found that the reason given was a pretext for retaliation,” he said. “That was what was motivating them. They were motivated to retaliate against her because she kept complaining about discrimination.”

Puth noted that Medrano initially filed her complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights and was represented at that time by an attorney with Whitman-Walker Health’s legal clinic. He said Whitman-Walker later referred her to his law firm, Correia & Puth, after determining the case could not be resolved at the Office of Human Rights.

The jury’s verdict of $930,000 in damages included $700,000 in punitive damages and $230,000 in damages for the emotional distress Medrano suffered due to the discrimination and harassment to which she was subjected.

A statement released by the law firm representing her says the action by the jury is believed to be the first jury verdict in a transgender employment discrimination case under the D.C. Human Rights Act.

Attorney Puth and his law firm partner, attorney Andrew Adelman, were the attorneys of record representing Medrano in her lawsuit. 

 “When you are sure of what you have experienced, no matter how much time passes, the truth will come to light,” Medrano said in the statement released by her attorneys. “Our truth is our best weapon to achieve justice,” she said. “It is truth, justice, and faith in God that have helped me get here.”

In his law firm’s statement, Puth called the jury’s verdict a vindication of Medrano’s 11-year battle for her legal rights.

“Diana is our hero,” he said. “She stood up for her rights in the face of terrible harassment and kept fighting even after she was fired for doing so. This verdict puts other employers on notice that tolerating harassment of transgender employees is both unlawful and costly.”

Puth said earlier this year Medrano was approved for U.S. political asylum based on discrimination and harassment she faced in El Salvador. He said she is currently working full-time as a counselor for Empoderate, an LGBTQ health organization providing services for the Latina/Latino community that is affiliated with the D.C.-based La Clinica del Pueblo.

An unidentified male suspect on Aug. 4 threw a baseball-sized rock into a large glass window located next to the main entrance door of the Human Rights Campaign’s headquarters building at 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., according to a D.C. police report.

The report, which lists the incident as a misdemeanor crime of Destruction of Property, provides a description of the suspect but does not say whether anyone witnessed him breaking the window. It says police received a call for the destruction of property at the eight-story tall HRC building at approximately 2:15 a.m.

“At 0212 hours [2:12 a.m.], Suspect 1 approached the outside perimeter of 1640 Rhode Island Avenue, NW at the Human Rights Campaign building and threw a baseball sized rock at a window next to the door to the building,” the police report says. “The window received significant damage causing multiple cracks from the base of the window to the top of the window,” it says.

“Suspect 1 then walked away from the location heading eastbound on Rhode Island Avenue NW wearing a white t-shirt, tan baseball cap, black pants, black and white shoes while carrying a dark colored bookbag,” the report concludes.

D.C. police reports for this type of crime almost always state whether one or more witnesses were present at the time the crime was committed. The fact that no witnesses are mentioned in the report while a detailed description of the suspect is given suggests that police had access to a video recording of the incident taken by a security camera on or near the HRC building.

The report also states that the incident has not been classified as a suspected hate crime.

In response to a Blade inquiry, D.C. police spokesperson Paris Lewbel said he was reaching out to police officials who know something about the incident, but he did not provide additional information as of Wednesday morning, Sept. 4.

In response to a request by the Blade for comment from HRC, including whether HRC provided police with video footage of the incident, HRC spokesperson Jarred Keller said he was reaching out to HRC officials for information about the incident. But he also did not provide a response as of Wednesday morning.

The Blade learned about the HRC window-breaking incident a little over a week ago, more than two weeks after it happened on Aug. 4, through a tip from an HRC volunteer.

On its website HRC says its headquarters building, which first opened in 2003, “provides ample workspace for HRC’s staff of more than 150,” also houses HRC’s Equality Center, a meeting and event space available for rent, as well as the HRC Media Center, a multimedia production facility.

“This building is an important symbol for all who visit the nation’s capital – a constant reminder to our LGBTQ+ community, as well as anti-LGBTQ+ activists, that HRC will not stop until the LGBTQ+ community is ensured equality,” a statement on the website says.

D.C. police are investigating as a suspected hate crime an incident in which a gay man says he was attacked and beaten by four or five employees of the Dupont Circle Shake Shack restaurant on Saturday, Aug. 17, after he and his male partner kissed each other while waiting for their food order.

District resident Christian Dingus, 28, told the Washington Blade the attack came after he tried to defuse an argument between his partner and one of the Shake Shack employees who told the two men not to kiss each other. Dingus said it started inside the popular food establishment and moved outside a side door where several employees knocked him down onto the sidewalk and repeatedly punched and kicked him.

He says after he was knocked down, he positioned himself in a “fetal position” on the sidewalk and remembers being repeatedly punched and hit in the head and body by four or five attackers.

The incident was captured on video taken by another Shake Shack customer on her cell phone, and which has been posted on social media, including Facebook. Although the faces of the attackers and of Dingus and his partner are not clearly visible on the dramatic video, it provides a vivid view of a man being knocked to the ground and being assaulted by several other men who are seen running out the door and attacking Dingus.

Dingus said he declined an offer to take him to a hospital when an ambulance arrived after police also arrived on the scene. But he said a friend took him to a hospital later that day after he experienced intense pain in his jaw, which was severely bruised but was not broken. He said he was released from the hospital the next day and continues to recover from multiple bruises to the head, face, and body.

A D.C. police report says one of the alleged attackers, identified as Suspect 1, told police that Dingus, identified in the report as Victim 1, “placed his hands” on the suspect’s neck. “Suspect 1 advised that he was defending himself,” the report says.

Dingus called that claim by the suspect a complete falsehood, saying he never touched any of the employees who attacked him.

In response to a request from the Blade for comment, a Shake Shack spokesperson sent the Blade a statement saying employees have been suspended as Shake Shack continues to cooperate with a D.C. police ongoing investigation into the incident.

“We are aware of the incident on Saturday, Aug. 17, involving team members and a guest at our Dupont Circle location and are taking it very seriously,” the statement says. “At Shake Shack, the safety and well-being of our guests and team members are our top priority, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violence,” it says.

“We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation and have suspended the team members involved pending further review,” the statement continues. “We are committed to taking the appropriate action based on the findings.”

The Shake Shack where the incident took place is located at 1216 18th St., N.W., which is at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue, 18th Street, and Jefferson Place. The police report says the assault took place on Jefferson Place, where a Shake Shack’s side door entrance is located. 

The police report lists the incident as a “simple assault” and “suspected” hate crime. It shows that no arrests had been made as of the time the report was prepared on Aug. 17. Dingus said police asked him if he wanted to press charges against the men who assaulted him and he told them yes, “definitely,” he told the Blade.

With all the attackers being Shake Shack employees, Dingus said he was concerned that no arrests were made while police were on the scene speaking with him and witnesses.

D.C. police spokesperson Paris Lewbel told the Blade on Monday the incident remains under investigation. “All facts and evidence in the case will be presented to the United States Attorney’s Office for a determination on charges,” he said.

Dingus said the Shake Shack employees targeted him after he tried to defend his partner, who he believed was being threatened by the employees. “I started yelling at them, saying you have no right to do this. Leave him alone,” he said. “At that point I was pushed very forcefully, and really from that moment all five of them were coming at me. They were pushing me and punching me in my head,” he said.

“And then I got pushed, thrown to the ground,” he told the Blade. “At that point I covered my head and kind of went into the fetal position. And they just continued to punch me in my head and my side and my face.”  

Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now-defunct LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

The charge to which she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for D.C. says she diverted at least $150,000 “in taxpayer-backed emergency COVID relief funds to private off-shore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Court records show that U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who is presiding over the case, has scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 10, 2025.

Corado’s guilty plea came a little over six weeks after prosecutors on May 31 filed a one-count criminal information charge of wire fraud against her that replaced an earlier criminal complaint charging her with bank fraud, money laundering, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and failure to file a required report of a foreign bank account.

The earlier complaint was filed at the time the FBI arrested Corado on March 5 of this year at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. from El Salvador. The initial complaint, like the new criminal information that replaced it, accused Corado of diverting at least $150,000 of federal pandemic relief funds to her own bank accounts in El Salvador. The charges say the funds were intended for use by Casa Ruby to support indigent LGBTQ clients in need of housing and other support services.

At the request of Corado’s court-appointed attorney and against the wishes of federal prosecutors, who said Corado would be a flight risk, another judge agreed to release Corado into the custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order. The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail since the time of her arrest on March 5.

In addition to a prison sentence, the charge of wire fraud also includes a possible penalty of financial forfeiture for which Corado could be required to pay restitution to the government. The plea agreement filed in court includes this statement to Corado’s attorney: “Specifically, your client agrees to the entry of a forfeiture money judgment in an amount ordered by the court, which is equal to the value of any property which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offense in Count One of the Information in which your client is pleading guilty.”

However, legal observers have said that under a plea agreement like the one offered to Corado, prosecutors most likely will ask the judge for a lesser sentence. Corado’s attorney is also expected to point out that this is a nonviolent, first-time offense for Corado, which merits a lesser sentence.

Corado has denied wrongdoing in her operation of Casa Ruby in response to a separate civil complaint filed against her and Casa Ruby by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General. That complaint is still pending in D.C. Superior Court.

In its July 17 statement the U.S. Attorney’s office refers to court documents showing that Corado, “on behalf of Casa Ruby, received more than $1.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.” The statement adds, “Instead of using the funds as she promised, Corado stole at least $150,000 by transferring the money to bank accounts in El Salvador, which she hid from the IRS.”

The statement says that in 2022, “when financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public, Corado sold her home in Prince George’s County and fled to El Salvador.” It says FBI agents arrested her at the hotel in Laurel, Md. on March 5 “after she unexpectedly returned to the United States.”

WASHINGTON – The Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. has announced that federal prosecutors on June 13 obtained an indictment against one of two D.C. brothers previously charged with multiple counts of illegal drug distribution that now charges him with “distributing cocaine and fentanyl” on Dec. 26, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of D.C. gay men Brandon Roman and Robert “Robbie” Barletta.

In a June 13 press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Jevaughn ‘Ledo’ Mark, 32, is charged in a new “secondary superseding indictment” linked to the Roman and Barletta deaths. It says he and his brother, Angelo Mark, 30, “previously were charged on April 9 in a 17-count superseding indictment for participating in a conspiracy that distributed large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in the metropolitan area.”

The press release says Jevaughn Mark is currently being held without bond on charges that include eight counts of unlawful distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin and distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl between Jan. 10, 2024, and March 13, 2024. According to the press release, the charges were based on six illegal drug purchases from Jevaughn Mark by undercover U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and undercover D.C. police officers.

Court records show that Angelo Mark was charged in a criminal complaint on March 22 with multiple counts of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and is also being held without bond.

D.C. police and Fire and Emergency Medical Services reports show that Roman, 38, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate, and Barletta, 28, a historic preservation expert and home renovation business owner, were found unconscious when police and emergency medical personnel responded to a 911 call and arrived at Barletta’s home on Dec. 27. The reports show that Roman was declared deceased at the scene and Barletta was taken to Washington Hospital Center where he died on Dec. 29.

A police spokesperson told the Washington  Blade in February that police were investigating the Roman and Barletta deaths, but investigators had to wait for the D.C. Medical Examiner’s official determination of the cause and manner of death before the investigation could fully proceed.

Both men were patrons at D.C. gay bars and their passing prompted many in the LGBTQ community to call for stepped up prevention services related to drug overdose cases, even though the cause and manner of death for the two men was not officially determined until early April.

In April, the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner disclosed that the cause of death for both men was an accidental consumption of several drugs that created a fatal “toxic” effect. The Medical Examiner’s office said Barletta’s death was linked to the consumption of at least four different drugs and Roman’s death was caused by the “combined toxic effect” of six drugs. The Medical Examiner’s office disclosed that cocaine and fentanyl were among the drugs found in the bodies of both men. And for both men, the manner of death was listed as “Accident/Intoxication.”

When the cause and manner of death were disclosed by the Medical Examiner, D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the police investigation into the deaths remained open but said, “There are no updates on the investigation that we are ready to release to the public.”

But the Medical Examiner’s findings prompted Johnny Bailey, the community outreach coordinator for HIPS D.C., an LGBTQ supportive organization that provides services and support for those who use recreational drugs, to say he strongly believed that Barletta and Roman did not intentionally consume some of the drugs found in their system.

“I’m going to say I do believe this was a poisoning,” Bailey told the Blade. “I think it is unfair to call some things an overdose because an overdose is when you do too much of a drug and you die from that drug,” he said. “This is like if you have a few glasses of wine every night and someone puts arsenic in your wine, no one would be like, ‘oh, they drank themselves to death.’ They were poisoned. And that’s what I think is happening here,” he said in referring to Barletta and Roman.

In announcing the new charges against Jevaughn Mark that link him to Barletta and Roman’s deaths, the U.S. Attorney’s press release discloses that he supplied fentanyl in the drugs he sold unknowingly to the undercover DEA and D.C. police officers when one of the officers, posing as a drug buyer, did not ask for fentanyl.

“In each instance, the DEA/MPD agents requested to buy ‘Special K’ or Ketamine from Jevaughn Mark,” the press release says. “In every instance, Jevaughn Mark supplied a mixture of fentanyl and other substances, including heroin, but not ketamine,” it says.

The release says that after the earlier indictment against Jevaughn Mark was issued, law enforcement agents conducted a search of his Southeast D.C. home and “recovered two firearms, cocaine, fentanyl, about $38,000 in cash, body armor vests, and drug trafficking paraphernalia.” It says on that same day authorities executed another search for a second residence linked to Jevaughn Mark, where they located a bedroom used by his brother Angelo Mark.

“From Angelo Mark’s bedroom, law enforcement recovered seven firearms, 900 rounds of ammunition, dozens of pills, cocaine, fentanyl, drug trafficking paraphernalia, and about $50,000 in cash,” the press release says, adding, “Based on the evidence, both brothers were indicted in the first superseding indictment.” 

WASHINGTON – Douglas Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who has the title of Second Gentleman, was among the speakers at a press conference on Saturday, June 8, at the location of the start of D.C.’s Capital Pride Parade that was called by Capital Pride organizers.

Emhoff and nationally acclaimed singer Billy Porter, who performed the next day at the Capital Pride festival and concert, and who also spoke at the press conference, each emphasized the importance of the LGBTQ rights movement at a time when lawmakers in states across the country are pushing legislation to curtail LGBTQ rights.

“It’s great to be here again to enjoy the ambiance and to celebrate with the generations of LGBTQ+ Americans who have fought for their right to live openly and proudly and authentically,” Emhoff told those attending the press conference, which included Capital Pride officials and supporters.

“I love coming to Pride,” Emhoff said. “I was here with my wife, your vice president, in 2021, when she became the first sitting vice president ever to march in a Pride parade. We go to Pride parades all over – San Francisco, L.A., and love doing it,” he said.

Porter joined Emhoff at the press conference urging people to vote “blue” in the November election.

“I don’t care who you are. I don’t care where you come from,” he said. “It’s an election year and our democracy is at stake, period,” he continued. “There is one choice. That choice is for democracy. Vote blue down the ticket,” he said, referring to Democratic Party candidates.

 “The one thing I will say as a 54-year-old Black queer man who came out in the ’80s at the beginning of the AIDS crisis, is that I’ve lived long enough to know that love always wins,” said Porter. “I’ve lived long enough to have seen the circle of life play out in our favor,” he said.

Others who spoke at the press conference included Kenya Hutton, deputy director of the Center for Black Equity, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual Black Pride events; Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C.s Pride events; Ashley Smith, chair of the Capital Pride Alliance Board; and Bernie Delia, co-chair of the World Pride Steering Committee.

Bos and Smith provided details about the parade, festival, and concert during the 2024 Capital Pride weekend, while Delia provided details about World Pride 2025, the international Pride celebration that D.C. and Capital Pride Alliance were selected to host in June 2025.

Hutton said the Center for Black Equity is excited to be working with Capital Pride Alliance on plans for World Pride 2025, when the Black Pride events will be the kickoff events for World Pride. “We are especially proud of partnering with Capital Pride Alliance in organizing the World Pride Human Rights Conference,” he said.

Also speaking at the press conference were Theresa Belpulsi, Senior Vice President of Tourism, Sports, and Visitor Services for Destination D.C.; and Angie Gates, president and CEO for Events D.C. The two organizations promote tourism and business events such as conventions in D.C. and are playing a lead role in helping to promote World Pride 2025, the two said.

“Right now, our estimations are that we will see over two million visitors coming to Washington, D.C. for World Pride,” Belpulsi said at the press conference. “And that does not include our local families that are here,” she said. “What that actually means is and why this matters is the economic impact is over $787 million to Washington, D.C. over two weeks.”

Delia, who introduced D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation executive director June Crenshaw as his co-chair of the World Pride Steering Committee, said the committee has been “working diligently to guarantee the World Pride celebration showcases the best of the national capital region and the best of the United States.”

He said that in addition to the parade, festival, and concert, World Pride events will  include the human rights conference mentioned by Hutton, a sports festival, a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, a march on Washington, a music festival, and an international choral festival managed by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.

In his remarks at the press conference, Emhoff told of his wife’s long record of support for the LGBTQ community in her past role as District Attorney in San Francisco, as California’s Attorney General, and as a U.S. senator from California.

Covering the @CapitalPrideDC Capital Pride Parade for @washblade . Billy Porter speaking at a press conference before the parade. #Pride #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/pkYaenQ0n2

— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 8, 2024

“And now as vice president, she and Joe Biden are responsible for the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in history,” he said. “And all that goes away if Donald Trump wins in November. We can’t let that happen, right?” Many in the crowd of Capital Pride supporters and volunteers attending the press conference shouted, “That’s right.”

“So, make no mistake,” Emhoff replied. “The upcoming election is about your freedom and your rights,” he said, adding, “My message today is simple. You are not alone. We are here for you. …We love you for who you are and we’re fighting right beside you. And together we are going to win this election and we are going to protect our freedoms. Thank you.”

By Amber Laenen | WASHINGTON – The nation’s capital on Sunday hosted a series of events coordinated by Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality to honor the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

One of the day’s main events was the TRANSform the Vote rally, which took place on the National Mall. 

Organized by the National Center for Transgender Equality in partnership with Queer Equity Institute, the rally aimed to bring together individuals from all walks of life to celebrate transgender liberation, address issues of violence against the trans community and promote civic engagement. Elected officials, activists, and artists who participated emphasized the importance of unity and advocacy within the trans community.

TRANSform the Vote initiative is a nationwide movement of trans people and allies who want to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

Queer Equity Institute Executive Director Leigh Finke and Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins were among those who spoke at the rally. Renowned actress, advocate, singer and TRANSTech CEO Angelica Ross also took the stage. 

“Today we are here to transform the vote, there are so many trans people who are right now preparing to run, who have been running for office and we as a community have to be prepared to propel them into office,” said Ross.

Cassils, a trans artist, also participated in the event. 

Cassils presented “Etched in Light,” a Trans Justice Art Action featuring the collaborative work of more than 100 trans and nonbinary artists. Accompanied by vocal invocations and musical scoring by the ensemble Blood Is Here, the performance resulted in the live creation of one of the world’s largest cyanotype images. 

Miss Trans USA 2023 Anya Marino, who is the director of LGBTQI equality at the National Women’s Law Center, spoke with the Washington Blade about the importance of visibility for trans people. 

“The fear that you’re feeling is reasonable, the fear that you’re feeling is real, and one can only respond that way, especially given the hostility that many of us are encountering every single day of our life,” said Marino. “Living openly and authentically as an act of faith. It’s an act of courage. And it’s an act of defiance against those of those in power who would do us harm.”

In addition to the TRANSform the Vote rally, the Blossom Gala took place at Hook Hall.

Monica Beverly-Hillz from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” was among the notable personalities who participated in the event. The night ended with CHERRY BOMB, an all-trans drag showcase featuring internationally renowned entertainers and local stars.

Miss Trans DC 2023 Katja Attenshun, who performed at the Blossom Gala, stressed the importance of events like these on the International Transgender Day of Visibility as a tribute to past struggles and a declaration of determination to shape the future. 

“Visibility matters,” said Attenshun. “It’s a tribute to those who came before us, who fought for our rights. It’s also a statement about our determination to shape the future, to confront the challenges we still face, and to advocate for the changes we seek.”

These events on Sunday served as demonstrations of solidarity within the trans community and as a call to action for continued advocacy and visibility. 

“I’ve talked to so many youth, so many young adults, what I’m hearing is they’re scared, like, am I going to be able to grow up to be a trans adult? So, what I’ve been telling people is, while I’m proud of my visibility, I’m also tired, and I need allies to step up and be visible too,” said Mr. Trans USA 2023 Trey C. Michaels, program coordinator at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. 

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Amber Laenen is a senior at Thomas More Mechelen University in Belgium. She is majoring in journalism and international relations. Amber is interning with the Blade this semester as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.

WASHINGTON – A United States District Court Judge on Friday postponed a decision on whether Ruby Corado, 53, the founder and former executive director of Casa Ruby, should be held in custody while she awaits a trial following her arrest on March 5 on multiple charges related to allegations that she embezzled at least $150,000 from Casa Ruby.

The decision by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather to postpone this decision came during a dramatic detention hearing in which Corado’s court appointed Federal Public Defender Service attorney and the lead prosecutor with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. presented opposing arguments over whether Corado should be held in custody or released while awaiting trial.

Meriweather said she needed more information about a proposal by defense attorney Diane Shrewsbury that Corado, if released, could be placed in the custody of a family member in Maryland. The judge ordered that the detention hearing would resume on Tuesday, March 12, when she expects to issue her final ruling.

The judge ordered that Corado, who has been held in custody since her arrest on March 5, remain in custody until at least the Tuesday hearing.

The Friday hearing came one day after prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a 12-page Memorandum In Support of Pretrial Detention that called for Corado to be detained on grounds that chances are significant that she would flee to El Salvador if she were to be released.

“Defendant Ruby Corado poses a unique and serious flight risk,” the prosecutors’ memorandum states.

It points out that the charges pending against her include Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, Laundering of Monetary Instruments, Transportation with Criminally Derived Proceeds, and Failure to File Report of Foreign Bank Account – all related to allegations that she embezzled funds from Casa Ruby that came from at least two federal COVID pandemic relief programs.

The memorandum also states that Corado fled to El Salvador in 2022 shortly after news media reports surfaced that she was being investigated for financial improprieties and the Office of the D.C. Attorney General filed civil charges against her for alleged violations of the DC Nonprofit Corporations Act.

The March 7 memo says prosecutors believe Corado fled to El Salvador in 2022 knowing she would face criminal charges related to absconding with Casa Ruby funds. 

“On February 25, 2024, the defendant returned to the United States from El Salvador,” the prosecutors’ memorandum says. “Law enforcement promptly sought the instant arrest warrant for the defendant, which this Court issued on March 1, 2024,” it says.

“On March 5, 2024, the defendant was arrested on that warrant in a hotel located in Laurel, Maryland. The defendant was alone at the hotel,” it says. “At the time of the arrest, the defendant was in possession of a passport issued by the Republic of El Salvador which had been issued on February 23, 2024.”

Prosecutors have not disclosed whether they know why Corado returned to the U.S. and how the FBI, which is leading the investigation that led to Corado’s arrest, learned of her return and her lodging at the hotel in Laurel, Md.

“Today, the defendant owns no property – not even a vehicle – in the United States,” the memorandum continues. “The defendant has no employment or other source of income,” it says, adding that Corado maintains citizenship in El Salvador. “She has bank accounts of unknown balances in El Salvador which she has failed to disclose to the U.S. government,” it says.

“And her spouse lives and works in El Salvador. The Court simply cannot be confident that the defendant will not flee the country again should the Court release her pending trial,” the memorandum concludes.

But in a court motion she filed on Friday and in her arguments at the Friday hearing, defense attorney Shrewsbury disputed the prosecutors’ claims, saying Corado would absolutely not be a flight risk. Shrewsbury disclosed that Corado returned to the U.S. last week with the intention of remaining in the D.C. area, where she has lived for at least 35 years.

The attorney said Corado came back to the D.C. area to take a job, the details of which Shrewsbury did not disclose. But the attorney said Corado has long standing family ties and many friends in the D.C. area and very much wants to fight the charges against her in court.

One more reason for releasing Corado from jail while she awaits trial is that she has been currently placed in the D.C. Jail’s male residential section under rules, according to Shrewsbury, that require inmates to be placed in a residential section based on their birth gender. This placement has endangered Corado’s safety, the attorney’s court document says.

Corado identifies as a transgender woman and for many years since founding Casa Ruby became known as an outspoken and admired advocate for LGBTQ rights. Under her leadership, Casa Ruby, as a nonprofit organization, among other things, provided transitional housing and related support services to LGBTQ youth with an outreach to transgender women of color.

However, local transgender rights advocates Earline Budd and Jeri Hughes told the Washington Blade the D.C. Jail has changed its policy and now allows transgender inmates to choose which section of the jail they prefer to be placed. Budd and Hughes, who are members of a special jail committee that reviews placement of trans inmates, said Corado was scheduled to come before the committee on Monday, March 11, to present her preferences on where to be placed.

An arrest affidavit filed in court on March 6 says the federal charges pending against Corado came about after FBI investigators learned that Corado received through Casa Ruby more than $1.3 million over a two-year period from the federal Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Both were COVID-19 pandemic related programs. 

The arrest affidavit says she allegedly stole at least $150,000 of those funds by transferring the money to bank accounts she held in El Salvador that she opened under her birth name of Vladamir Orlando Artiga Corado.  

Casa Ruby shut down its operations in July 2022 after Corado’s departure to El Salvador and after it failed to pay its employees and was being evicted from its headquarters building and several of its other properties for failing to pay rent.

WASHINGTON – Ruby Corado, the founder and longtime executive director of the now defunct D.C. LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday at a hotel in Laurel, Md., on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses based on allegations that she embezzled at least $150,000 from Casa Ruby before it closed its doors in 2022.

The Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. announced the arrest in a statement released Wednesday, stating that Corado was being held until at least Friday when she will appear for a detention hearing at U.S. District Court for D.C., when a judge will decide whether can be released while awaiting trial.

Corado had been living in El Salvador for at least the past two years or more following her decision to step down as executive director of Casa Ruby in 2022. Charging documents filed in federal court in D.C. on Wednesday do not say why Corado returned to the U.S., when she returned and how FBI investigators learned of her return.

“According to court documents, Corado received more than $1.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program,” a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office says. 

The two federal programs were put in place at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist businesses and community organizations adversely impacted by the pandemic. 

“Instead of using the funds as she promised, Corado stole at least $150,000 by transferring the money to bank accounts in El Salvador, which she hid from the IRS,” the statement says. “During 2022, when financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public, Corado sold her home in Prince George’s County and fled to El Salvador,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement continues. 

“FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., after her unexpected return to the United States,” the statement says. “Corado is being held pending a detention hearing on Friday.”

Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, pointed to court documents for the Corado case released on Wednesday that say they were held under seal until Corado’s initial court appearance. 

In addition to the FBI, the criminal case against Corado is being investigated by D.C. Office of the Inspector General, court documents show. 

The U.S. Attorney’s statement points out that the charges filed against Corado are serious. Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and money laundering also carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Among the details disclosed in a 19-page affidavit in support of Corado’s arrest filed in U.S. District Court initially under seal on March 1, Casa Ruby effectively ceased operating in July 2022 when it closed its transitional housing facilities for homeless LGBTQ youth, it had not paid its employees and was being evicted from several of its properties for failing to pay rent. 

Corado was outspoken in identifying as a transgender woman and provided services for trans youth and spoke out for trans rights in her role as director of Casa Ruby. But in what may come as a surprise to those who knew her, the arrest affidavit states that Corado transferred the money she is now accused of embezzling from Casa Ruby to a bank account in El Salvador she opened using her birth name. 

Corado’s arrest comes close to two years after the Office of the D.C. Attorney General filed a civil suit against Casa Ruby and Corado on grounds that Casa Ruby, under Corado’s leadership, violated the D.C. Nonprofit Corporations Act in its alleged improper financial dealings. 

The local LGBTQ youth services organization Wanda Alston Foundation, which a D.C. Superior Court judge named to take over Casa Ruby as a court appointed receiver, has also filed a lawsuit against Corado and Casa Ruby’s former board members seeking monetary damages to compensate former employees and former Casa Ruby clients who lost services when Casa Ruby closed its doors. 

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WASHINGTON – Less than a week after the D.C. LGBTQ café and bar As You Are located in the Barracks Row section of Capitol Hill issued a GoFundMe appeal on Feb. 5 seeking emergency financial support to prevent it from closing, the popular business reached its goal of $150,000 to get out of debt.

And as of Sunday night, the fundraising appeal had pulled in $171,471 from more than 3,000 individual donations, according to As You Are’s GoFundMe site.

In comments posted on the GoFundMe site, many of the donors said they were motivated to contribute to As You Are because they view it as a special, safe space that offers a welcoming, accepting place for them and their LGBTQ friends or family members.

In their GoFundMe message, As You Are co-owners Jo McDaniel and Rachel “Coach” Pike describe how they view their business as offering community center type programming beyond just a bar and café.

“AYA is a café, bar and dance floor that hosts diverse programming nearly every night of the week, including social sport leagues, Queer youth socials, weekly karaoke, book clubs, open mics, Queer author events, dance parties and much more,” the two said in their message.

“We have faced some particularly tall and costly hurdles that have set us back significantly since the beginning,” the two said in their GoFundMe message. “As we are tapping every resource we can imagine with creativity and open minds we need urgent assistance,” they said. 

“Rach and Jo are truly loved, and AYA is so important to so many people and everyone knew that,” said gay D.C. civic activist Mike Silverstein, who is one of the GoFundMe donors. “The response was absolutely amazing,” Silverstein said. “From every part of our community. People put everything aside, worked together and focused on saving a space that means so much.”

As You Are opened for business in March 2022. McDaniel and Pike have said the financial problems were caused, in part, by a delay in their planned opening due to complications associated with getting their required occupancy permit from the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. The two said negotiations with the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which demanded certain soundproofing structures be installed for the interior walls of their building, also added to the delay and increased costs.

Like other bars and restaurants across the city, McDaniel and Pike said their rent became a financial burden during a slow period for business last summer. They told the Washington Blade their landlord declined a request to renegotiate the lease to make an allowance based on sales. The two told the Washington Post that their rent is $27,000 per month, which they had to begin paying before they were able to open for business, and they spent $40,000 on soundproofing the walls, all of which contributed to a debt of about $150,000.

McDaniel and Pike, who spoke to the Blade at the time they launched their GoFundMe appeal, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the success of their fundraising and their future plans for As You Are. They told the Post now that they are no longer in debt, they plan to take up several offers of financial advice and they’re looking into possibly buying a property rather than renting. They said they also plan to apply for D.C. government business grants now that they have caught up on back tax payments.

Among those who posted comments on the As You Are GoFundMe site after making a contribution was Megan Mowery, who wrote, “AYA gives us a place to feel community, it is so rare to find a queer space where I can have fun and feel safe.” Mowrey added, “The programming AYA puts on absolutely has something for everyone. I love you AYA!!!”

Helena Chaves, another donor, stated in a GoFundMe post, “As You Are has been a monumental addition to the LGBTQIA+ community in Washington, D.C. They hold so many events and fundraisers, provide beautiful accommodations for us disabled folk, and have protocols in place to diminish harassment in the space.” 

Among the larger donors shown on the As You Are GoFundMe site is the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride festival and parade, which donated $2,500.