The billionaire helped fund an effort to gin up fraud claims against the Democratic donation platform.
Trumpβs claim that he can order the Justice Department to investigate a fundraising platform used by his political foes based on vague allegations is part of hisΒ ongoingΒ effortΒ to use the governmentβs powers to target political enemies. Itβs not a particularly realistic accusationβthe fact sheet claims itβs targeting βstraw donorβ schemes, in which one person donates on behalf of another. Given the fairly strict limitations on campaign contributions, any straw donor scheme that wants to inject any noticeable amount of money into an electoral system that had $15.5 billion run through it is a great deal of tedious, high-risk work for a scammer.
On the other hand, in the post-Citizens UnitedΒ era, there are plenty of ways to inject unaccounted-for moneyβeven, theoretically, foreign moneyβinto the election. Super-PACs can accept unlimited donations from fairly easy-to-obscure sources, for instance, which makes the idea of anyone using a small-dollar conduit like ActBlue (or the GOP equivalent WinRed) fairly silly.
And notably, the funding for some of Trumpβs βdataβ on an alleged ActBlue βfraudβ seems to have come from just such a source: a super-PAC bankrolled by Elon Musk.
Last year, an opaque group called the Fair Election Fund beganΒ promisingΒ to pay βwhistleblowersβ who cited election fraud βwith payment from our $5 million fund.β That never panned out, but the same organization found more success with a claim that 60,000 people who were named as small-dollar donors in the Biden-Harris campaignβs July Federal Election CommissionΒ report did not recall making the contribution when contacted by the Fair Election Fund.
AsΒ Mother JonesΒ reportedΒ last year, the Fair Election Fund appears to have generated this finding by blasting out ominous-sounding texts and emails telling ActBlue donors that their donations had been βflagged,β then tallying people who respondedβaccurately or notβby checking a box saying they did not recall making the contribution.
More at the link above
Israel carrying out βlive-streamed genocideβ in Gaza, Amnesty says
Amnesty accuses US President Donald Trump of committing a βmultiplicity of assaultsβ on human rights.
Israel is perpetrating a βlive-streamed genocideβ in Gaza, committing illegal acts with the βspecific intentβ ofΒ wiping out Palestinians, Amnesty International has said.
IsraeliΒ forces in Gaza have violatedΒ the United Nations Genocide Convention with acts that include βcausing serious bodily or mental harm to civiliansβ and βdeliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destructionβ, the human rights organisation said in its annual report released on Monday.
Israeli air strikes have alsoΒ frequently hit civiliansΒ who were following evacuation orders, while its forces continued to βarbitrarily detain and, in some cases, forcibly disappear Palestiniansβ, the rights group said.
DOGE has made a big impact on Washington. But government spending is up.
Elon Musk and his shadowy βtech supportβ team have ripped through Washington, reshaping the government and culling the federal workforce with astonishing speed and scope.
Nearly a quarter of a million workers have or are expected to leave their federal jobs. That includes more than 112,000 federal workers who have opted into the deferred resignation program, according to a POLITICO analysis of previous reporting and conversations with administration officials. It also includes some 121,000 workers across agencies who have been fired, according to aΒ CNN analysis.
DOGE has hollowed out or shut down 11 federal agencies and says it has terminated more than 8,500 contracts and 10,000 grants. It has wiped out foreign aid and volunteerism in the U.S., slashed education spending and made sweeping changes to the way the government makes procurements, hires contractors and shares data.
DOGE, after promising $2 trillion in savings, now says it has saved the government $160 billion. But even these reported savings, so far, have not led to any meaningful decline in total government spending this year, according to the nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model, which tracks weekly Treasury data.
In fact, the government has actually been spending more compared to this time last year, the model found.
Total spending rose by 6.3 percent, or $156 billion since Trump took office, compared to the first four months of 2024, said Kent Smetters, a Wharton professor who directs the model. Even when accounting for inflation, the federal government has still added $81.2 billion more spending to its books compared to the same period last year, he added.
ICE is a thug unit run by a major thug.Β Β This family was badly mistreated, in some ways brutalized.Β Β I read earlier where the mother said the 20 ICE agents who broke into their home with no warring then wanted the women, one adult and the others teenagers to remove their clothing in front of them to get dressed before being forced outside in the rain.Β Β The report said the mother refused saying even her husband had not seen the children nude and she did not want them to do that in front of these men.Β They were ordered in their “underwear” outside in the rain where they were kept for hours.Β Β Is this the government / police any way people should be treated by law enforcement in the US.Β They so disrespected this family sure in the fact they were correct with no room for any doubt.Β They had no empathy, no common sense.Β In the time I was an axillary sheriff’s deputy we were trained never to act like that.Β We were taught to respect the rights of people but be aware they might be lying and the danger of the situation.Β Β Respect the rights of the people.Β All people on US soil, in the country regardless of status have due process rights.Β Β The right wing haters want to tell you that if you are here illegally you have no rights but SCOTUS has repeatedly said every person here does.Β HugsΒ Β
As for Marissaβs phones, electronics, and cash, they have no idea which agency has those belongings or how to get those items back.Β Β
At this time, there is not a fundraising campaign set up for the family. KFOR will share any details if that happens.
Original:
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) β A woman says her familyβs fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings β even though they were not the suspects the agents were looking for.
The agents had a search warrant for the home, but the suspects listed on the warrant do not live in the house.
The woman who actually lives in the house had just moved to Oklahoma City from Maryland with her family about two weeks earlier.
The woman, who News 4 will refer to as βMarisaβ, and her three daughters came to Oklahoma looking for a slower, more affordable pace of life.
They rented a house in a seemingly safe northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood.
Her husband stayed back in Maryland a couple of extra weeks, planning to join them this weekend.
βI was like, βokay, Oklahomaβs my home now,ββ Marisa said.
But any comfort they had disappeared Thursday morning when about 20 men, armed with guns, busted through the door.
βI donβt know who they were,β she said. βIt was dark. All the lights were off.β
Marisa said the men identified themselves as federal agents with the U.S. Marshals, ICE, and the FBI.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service denied having agents present during the raid, telling News 4 they were βaware of the operation before it happened,β but did not assist in any capacity.
βI keep asking them, βwho are you? What are you doing here? Whatβs happening,ββ she said. βAnd they said, βwe have a warrant for the house, a search warrant.ββ
She said they ordered her and her daughters outside into the rain before they could even put on clothes.
βThey wanted me to change in front of all of them, in between all of them,β she said. βMy husband has not even seen my daughter in her undergarmentsβher own dad, because itβs respectful. You have her out there, a minor, in her underwear.β
Marisa said the names on the search warrant were not hers or anyone in her family.
She recognized them as names listed on mail still arriving at the houseβlikely former residents.
βWe just moved here from Maryland,β she said. βWeβre citizens. Thatβs what I kept saying. Weβre citizens.β
She said the agents didnβt care.
βThey were very dismissive, very rough, very careless,β she said. βI kept pleading. I kept telling them we werenβt criminals. They were treating us like criminals. We were here by ourselves. We didnβt do anything.β
Marisa said the agents tore apart every square inch of the house and what few belongings they had, seizing their phones, laptops and their life savings in cash as βevidence.β
βI told them before they left, I said you took my phone. We have no money. I just moved here,β she said. βI have to feed my children. Iβm going to need gas money. I need to be able to get around. Like, how do you just leave me like this? Like an abandoned dog.β
Before they left, Marisa said one of the agents made a comment.
βOne of them said, βI know it was a little rough this morning,ββ she said. βIt was so denigrating. That you do all of this to a family, to women, your fellow citizens. And it was a little rough? You literally traumatized me and my daughters for life. Weβre going to have to go get help or get over this somehow.β
Now, Marisa said they have, quite literally, nothing.
βI said, βwhen are we going to get our stuff back?β They said it could be days or it could be months,β she said.
Marisa said she is left with nothing but questions.
βWhat if I would have been armed,β she said. βYouβre breaking in. What am I supposed to think? My initial thought was we were being robbedβthat my daughters, being females, were being kidnapped. You have guns pointed in our faces.Can you just reprogram yourself and see us as humans, as women?A little bit of mercy. Care a little bit about your fellow human, about your fellow citizen, fellow resident. We bleed too. We work. We bleed just like anybody else bleeds. Weβre scared. You could see our faces that we were terrified. What makes you so much more worthier of your peace? What makes you so much more worthier of protecting your children? What makes you so much more worthy of your citizenship? What makes you more worthy of safety? Of being given the right that they took from me to protect my daughters?β
Marisa told News 4 the agents wouldnβt even leave her a business card.
She said she has no idea who to contact to get her things back.
Marissa told KFOR the U.S. Marshalβs Service and the FBI were involved in this raid.
However, a representative for the U.S. Marshalβs Service says their team was not involved.
News 4 reached out to the FBI. Last week, a spokesperson said they were assisting on this case and directed inquiries to Homeland Security.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security told News 4 they are looking into it and will get back to us, but we have not heard from them.
As for Marissaβs phones, electronics, and cash, they have no idea which agency has those belongings or how to get those items back.
Ten years after the far-right Law and Justice Party was elected to power in Poland, and two years after their defeat in national elections, a last vestige of the partyβs state-sanctioned anti-LGBTQ+ policies has finally been eliminated.
On Thursday, a council in the southeastern Polish town of ΕaΕcut officially abolished the countryβs last remaining βLGBT-freeβ resolution.
Gay, lesbian and bisexual people are twice as likely as their straight peers to attempt suicide or have thoughts of taking their own life, new figures have revealed.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday (9 April) revealed that not only is suicidal ideation higher among LGB+ people, but also that the risk of intentional self-harm is almost three times as high.
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Trump administration opens a βsnitch lineβ to report trans kids getting health care
The new portal launch coincides with an investigation into a major children’s hospital.
In twin actions this week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continued its efforts to end gender-affirming care for trans youth with the new whistleblower portal and the launch ofΒ an investigationΒ ofΒ βa major pediatric teaching hospitalβΒ over the alleged firing of a nurse because she sought a religious exemption to avoid administering puberty blockers and hormones to minor patients.
That order has been blocked by multiple federal judges with temporary restraining orders, but the Trump administration continues to invoke it in its crackdown on doctors and hospitals.
The Trump administration continues to characterize evidence-based trans healthcare as βmutilationβ, despite every major medical association, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Endocrine Society, supporting the practice.
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Corporations are scaling back Pride support to avoid right-wing backlash
Fortune 1000 companies fear backlash amid Trump’s executive orders on DEI and transgender Americans.
A new survey of Fortune 1000 companies reveals that corporations are dramatically scaling back their public expressions of support for the LGBTQ+ community. Itβs a trend LGBTQ+ organizations across the country haveΒ already reportedΒ in the lead-up to Pride celebrations this year.
Nearly two-fifths of corporations plan on reducing engagement for Pride Month this June, according to a survey of corporate executives by Gravity Research.
Among 49 Fortune 1000 executives surveyed, those who said they were scaling back financial and public support cited pressure from conservative activists and the president, whose executive orders have guttedΒ diversity, equity, and inclusionΒ initiatives andΒ targeted the transgender community,Β ForbesΒ reports.
Among 49 Fortune 1000 executives surveyed, those who said they were scaling back financial and public support cited pressure from conservative activists and the president, whose executive orders have guttedΒ diversity, equity, and inclusionΒ initiatives andΒ targeted the transgender community,Β ForbesΒ reports.
Hungary passes constitutional amendment banning Pride as protesters hold βGray Prideβ protest
Supporters of the law said that it would protect children from knowing that LGBTQ+ people exist
Tens of thousands of Hungarians filled the countryβs capital Saturday to protest a constitutional amendment that would allow the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, including Pride celebrations.
The Assembly Act declares that a childβs rights to moral, physical, and spiritual development supplant any right other than the right to life, including peaceful assembly.
Like Russia, its ally in a politically motivated campaign against the βdegenerate West,β Hungary has institutedΒ βgay propagandaβ lawsΒ prohibiting the βdepiction or promotionβ of homosexuality to minors.
Itβs βa clear messageβ for transgender and intersex people, DΓΆbrentey said: βIt is definitely and purely and strictly about humiliating people and excluding them, not just from the national community, but even from the community of human beings.β
Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads
Anecdotal evidence suggests a rise in requests to take books off shelves, particularly LGBTQ+ titles
Requests to remove books from library shelves are on the rise in the UK, as the influence of pressure groups behind book bans in the US crosses the Atlantic, according to those working in the sector.
Most of the UK challenges appear to come from individuals or small groups, unlike in the US, where 72% of demands to censor books last year were brought forward by organised groups, according to the American Library AssociationΒ earlier this week.
However, evidence suggests that the work of US action groups is reaching UK libraries too. Alison Hicks, an associate professor in library and information studies at UCL, interviewed 10 UK-based school librarians who had experienced book challenges. One βspoke of finding propaganda from one of these groups left on her deskβ, while another βwas directly targeted by one of these groupsβ. Respondents βalso spoke of being trolled by US pressure groups on social media, for example when responding to free book giveawaysβ.
The types of books targeted may also differ. βAlmost all the UK attacks reported in my study centred on LGBTQ+ materials, while US attacks appear to target material related to race, ethnicity and social justice as well as LGBTQ+ issues,β said Hicks.
This supports the findings of anΒ Index on Censorship surveyΒ last year, in which 28 of 53 librarians polled reported that they had been asked to remove books from library shelves, many of which were LGBTQ+ titles. In more than half of those cases, books were taken off shelves.
Tennessee county sued for banning books without even reading them
They’re accused of just using an anti-LGBTQ+ organization’s book ban list to deny students access to tomes like Toni Morrison’s “Beloved.”
The plaintiffs in this case are three families, who wish to remain anonymous, of two freshmen and a senior who will attend a Rutherford County school next year. Joining in on the lawsuit is PEN America, a nonprofit freedom of expression advocacy group for writers. Thirty-two writers in the organization have seen 53 of their books included in the ban.
More than 145 books have been removed from school libraries in the district. The Board of Education began banning material in early 2024 through informal requests by school board members initially, without any public discussion or input from members of the board, according to the ACLUβs lawsuit.
Concerningly, the lawsuit claims that the board had indicated that, rather than reading any of the material they were suppressing, they relied on a rating system created by individuals with ties to the far-right group Moms for Liberty. Through this system, books are classified as inappropriate material if they include LGBTQ+ characters, racial, social, or religious commentary, profanity, and written depictions of nudity.
Trump DOJ Ordered ICE to Invade Homes Without Search Warrant
The Justice Department quietly authorized immigration agents to seize power in arresting people under the Alien Enemies Actβno warrant required.
The Justice Department quietly invoked the Alien Enemies act last month to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents the power to conduct warrantless searches of peopleβs homes as long as they suspect them to be an βalien enemy.βΒ USA TodayΒ obtainedΒ the memo that contained this order on Friday.
In the memo, the Justice Department defined an βalien enemyβ as anyone who is 14 years of age or older, not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, a citizen of Venezuela, and βa member of the hostile enemy Tren de Aragua,β per the Alien Enemy Validation Guide, a document that has already been slammed by immigration experts.
This type of order will likely lead to more indiscriminate arrests and wanton racial profiling. The memo, which is from March 14, is another massive departure from the U.S. immigration norms.
White House Confirms Trump Is Exploring Ways To βDeportβ U.S. Citizens
The administration could try removing American citizens if it identifies a pathway it can claim to be legal.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that PresidentΒ Donald TrumpΒ is exploring legal pathways to βdeportβ U.S. citizens to El Salvador, where the administration has already arranged to house deported immigrants in a prison known for its human rights abuses.Β (Watch the video, above.)
TrumpΒ told reportersΒ aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he βlove[s]β the idea of removing U.S. citizens, adding that it would be an βhonorβ to send them to El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele β an eagerΒ partnerΒ in Trumpβs schemes.
βI look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,β Trump wrote. βPerhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!β
Shocking report reveals HIV deaths will explode due to Trumpβs foreign aid cuts
Nearly 500,000 children could die from AIDS by 2030 without PEPFAR funding.
Nearly half a million children could die from AIDS-related causes by 2030 without restoration of PEPFAR programs cut by the Trump administration,Β a new studyΒ published in theΒ LancetΒ reveals.
The new health policy analysis estimates that one million children could become infected with HIV and nearly half a million could die from AIDS by 2030. Additionally, 2.8 million children could experience orphanhood in sub-Saharan Africa (because their parents died from preventable HIV-related illnesses) if the PEPFAR funding isnβt restored.
A study releasedΒ by UNAIDS in March showed an uptick in new HIV infections has already started as local HIV prevention programs funded by PEPFAR have been thrown into chaos.
Men who have sex with men, girls, and young women between the ages of 15 and 24 not pregnant or breastfeeding, and sex workers and people who inject drugs βcan notβ be offered PrEP during the pause or βuntil further notice,β Trump administration officials wrote.
βThey were shouting at me, threatening to rape me, chanting βdeath to Arabsβ. I thought the police would protect me from the mob, but they did nothing to intervene,β she said.
At one point, she and the police officer were nearly cornered against a building, the video shows. βI felt sheer terror,β the woman recalled. βI realized at that point that I couldnβt lead this mob of men to my home. I had nowhere to go. I didnβt know what to do. I was just terrified.β
After several blocks, the officer hustled the woman into a police vehicle, prompting one man to yell, βGet her!β The crowd erupted in cheers as she was driven away.
Committee calls figure a βconservative estimateβ and warns Musk may seek to use his influence to avoid legal liability
βWhile the $2.37 billion figure represents a credible, conservative estimate, it drastically understates the true benefit Mr Musk may gain from legal risk avoidance alone as a result of his position in government,β the report states.
UPDATED: Super Hornet Assigned to USS Harry S. Truman Lost at Sea
The single-seat Super Hornet assigned to the βKnighthawksβ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136, βwas actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,β reads the statement.
βSailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.β
DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets
Two members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency were given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America’s nuclear weapons, two sources tell NPR.
Luke Farritor, a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern, and Adam Ramada, a Miami-based venture capitalist, have had accounts on the computer systems for at least two weeks, according to the sources who also have access to the networks. Prior to their work at DOGE, neither Farritor nor Ramada appear to have had experience with either nuclear weapons or handling classified information.
Karoline Leavitt Boasts Trump Wouldnβt Hesitate to Arrest SCOTUS Justices
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested the Trump administration would consider arresting high-ranking judgesβincluding Supreme Court justicesβat a press briefing Monday.
βAs you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge or even a Supreme Court justice?β Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked.
Leavitt said no judge is safe from the administrationβs crackdown on the judiciary.
βThe first time, I had two things to do β run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys,β Trump said in theΒ interview published Monday. βAnd the second time, I run the country and the world.β
Johnson says itβs βgame timeβ as House committees draft first piece of Trump agenda
The $150 billion in defense programs includes $25 billion for Trumpβs βGolden Domeβ for missile defense, $34 billion in ship building and more than $20 billion in munitions purchases. The House Armed Services Committee plans to begin voting on Tuesday on this aspect of the bill.
On border security, the House Homeland Security Committee proposes $46.5 billion for new border barriers, $5 billion for new Customs and Border Protection facilities and $4 billion for new Customs officials and border personnel.
The committee proposes several billion dollars more in new technology to tighten security measures at the border and also includes $1 billion for security and planning for the 2028 Olympics, as well as $625 million for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Rev. William Barber arrested in Capitol Rotunda after praying against Republican-led budget
Reached for comment, a Capitol police spokesperson said Barber and two others were charged with βcrowding, obstructing and incommoding,β explaining demonstrations in congressional buildings are βnot allowed in any form, to include but not limited to sitting, kneeling, group praying, singing, chanting, etc.β
Some quickly argued that Barberβs arrest appeared incongruous with President Donald Trumpβs efforts to eliminate βanti-Christian biasβ in federal agencies.
βArresting Rev. Barber and others at the Capitol after announcing a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias in government is an absolute travesty,β Anthea Butler, a professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a text message. βSeems like this administration only wants Christians who are supporters of Trump to have access to pray in the Capitol and express their faith.β
Justice Dept. skirts judgeβs deadline on plans to return wrongly deported man
A government lawyer argued that a Friday deadline was not enough time to detail steps for the return of Kilmar Abrego GarcΓa, who was sent to a Salvadoran mega-prison despite another judgeβs protection order.
Trumpβs D.C. U.S. attorney pick appeared on Russian state media over 150 times
Nominee Ed Martin did not initially disclose his RT and Sputnik appearances from 2016 to 2024 to the Senate. The State Department has said the networks act like arms of Russian intelligence.
Starmer told UK must repeal hate speech laws to protect LGBT+ people or lose Trump trade deal
βGood chanceβ of agreement, says JD Vance β but a source close to the administration says his concerns over Britainβs hate speech laws βare still a red lineβ
Australian with working visa detained and deported on returning to US from sisterβs memorial
Man who says he had previously left and re-entered the country multiple times alleges border officials called him βretardedβ and boasted βTrump is back in townβ
Β Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a weekβs worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summerβs World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of leadership at one of the nationβs premier cultural institutions.
Multiple artists and producers involved in the centerβs Tapestry of Pride schedule, which had been planned for June 5 to 8, told The Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. And in the wake of the cancellations, Washingtonβs Capital Pride Alliance has disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center.
βWe are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate,β said June Crenshaw, deputy director of the alliance. βWe are finding another path to the celebration β¦ but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing.β
The Kennedy Centerβs website still listsΒ Tapestry of Pride on its websiteΒ with a general description and a link to the World Pride site. There are no other details.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to a request from the AP for comment.
The move comes on the heels of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, with President Donald TrumpΒ firing both the president and chairmanΒ in early February. Trump replaced most of the board with loyalists, who then elected him the new Kennedy Center chairman.
The World Pride event, held every two years, starts in just under a month β running from May 17 through June 8 with performances and celebrations planned across the capital city. But Trump administration policies on transgender rights and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances have sparked concern about what kind of reception attendees will receive.
βI know that D.C. as a community will be very excited to be hosting World Pride, but I know the community is a little bit different than the government,β said Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, which had its June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center abruptly canceled within days ofΒ Trumpβs takeover.
Roest told the AP he was in the final stages of planning the Kennedy Center performance after months of emails and Zoom calls. He was waiting on a final contract when TrumpΒ posted on social mediaΒ Feb. 7 of the leadership changes and his intention to transform the Kennedy Centerβs programming.
Immediately the Kennedy Center became nonresponsive, Roest said. On Feb. 12, he said, he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer stating, βWe are no longer able to advance your contract at this time.β
βThey went from very eager to host to nothing,β he said. βWe have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but thatβs not going to stop us.β
In the wake of the cancellation, Roest said he managed to move the International Pride Orchestra performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland.
Crenshaw said some other events, including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be moved to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown.
Monica Alford, a veteran arts and culture journalist and event planner, was scheduled to organize an event June 8 as part of Tapestry of Pride, but said she also saw communication abruptly end within days of Trumpβs takeover.
Alford has a long history with the Kennedy Center and organized theΒ first-ever drag brunchΒ on the Kennedy Center rooftop in 2024, and said she regarded the institution β and its recent expansion known as The Reach β as βmy home baseβ and βa safe space for the queer communityβ
She said she was still finalizing the details of her event, which she described as βmeant to be family-friendly, just like the drag brunch was family-friendly and classy and sophisticated.β
She said she mourns the loss of the partnership she nurtured with the Kennedy Center.
βWeβre doing our community a disservice β not just the queer community but the entire community,β she said.
Roest said he never received an explanation as to why the performance was canceled so late in the planning stages. He said his orchestra would no longer consider performing at the Kennedy Center, and he believes most queer artists would make the same choice.
βThere would need to be a very, very public statement of inclusivity from the administration, from that board, for us to consider that,β he said. βOtherwise it is a hostile performance space.β
