The Human Rights Campaign’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
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, according to a Washington, 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 states. “The window received significant damage causing multiple cracks from the base of the window to the top of the window.”
The report concludes, “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.”
D.C. police reports of this type of crime typically 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 Washington 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 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 Sept. 4.
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.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
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