On Thursday, news of the invasion began to spread when crushed glass, broken doors and homophobic slur were posted on the bar’s Instagram with images of the destruction of Adams Morgan Queer Bar Sinner and Saint (2309 18th St. NW).
Washington Blade sat down with one of the co-partners and general managers of Sinner and Saint Blair Nixon to discuss the invasion and overwhelming response from the LGBTQ community.
“Our door was broken, so the glass was shattered,” Nixon told Blade as he explained the damage caused to the space. “They wrote slur on our wall, and unfortunately, I don’t know if that’s the case, but our liquor closet doesn’t have a lot of stock. It appears they were targeted because of what they wrote on the wall.”
Nixon, who was with only Qtbipoc in Washington (queer, trans, black, indigenous, people of color), explained that fear was his first reaction when he learned of the invasion since opening last August.
“It was really scary,” Nixon said. “We’ll destroy it to know that someone was in our space – it was very scary, honest, devastating.”
He went on to say that if it weren’t for the sinners, saints, or restaurants above La Grotta, they wouldn’t have known until a few hours later.
“We found it for a restaurant we’re affiliated with,” he said. “The electricity throughout the building was off, including the apartment and the restaurant above us. The broken people went outside the building and entered a closet that turned off the lights throughout the building. When the restaurant owner got there, they went downstairs and went down the stairs, shattered glass, broken doors, and saw the slur on the wall.
When the staff of the sinners and saints arrived to investigate the damage, they posted images on their Instagram and were called the Metropolitan Police Station. Nixon was grateful to both the mayor’s office on MPD and LGBTQ issues.
“We were really pleased with the reaction,” Nixon said. “The mayor’s office reached out relatively quickly, I had a conversation with them, and the police came right away, and they did a really good job. So we’re very grateful for the response. They made a statement.
“They actually sent the whole department,” he added. “We had multiple police officers, multiple detectives, but the LGBTQ liaison came a little later. In general, we really appreciated the response overall.”
Blade obtained a copy of the police report submitted. This explained that the break-in was specifically described as a felony. The MPD report categorized the invasion and subsequent graffiti as having “hatred bias or motivation” against sexual minorities who own and frequently have bars.
Unfortunately, there were no cameras on the premises at the time of the break-in, but the MPD estimates it occurred between 2 and 6pm, but the sinners and saints were able to obtain footage from nearby businesses.
“I had camera footage from the hostel next door and I submitted it to law enforcement,” he said. “We’re just trying to get them to investigate them, and I don’t want to make assumptions about what happened.”
When asked what he believed to motivate the attacker, Nixon did not provide a definitive answer. He suggested he was likely antagonistic to the LGBTQ business in Washington, but assured the blade that sinners and saints would not retreat, and that the LGBTQ community would stand firm behind them.
“We don’t want to make a statement about what we think has happened. We’ll have the police do our job. But as the only QTBIPOC bar in DC, I think it’s important to note that we’re still here. We appreciate the support of our community. The community spaces we serve are extremely proud to serve those communities.”
Nixon received one criticism of the MPD, but overall he was quick to respond.
“We hope that law enforcement has a greater presence at Adams Morgan,” he said. “I think there’s definitely some more issues with Adams Morgan, especially since talking to other facility owners and bar owners. I hope that won’t last. We spoke to the mayor’s office and police when they had a bigger presence at Adams Morgan.”
Nixon said he felt that support from QTBIPOC and the broader LGBTQ community was strong since the opening, but that connection only became stronger after the invasion.
“We opened last August, and I think DC has been really responding to our mission in general. The community has really come out for us, like the same way we showed up for them.”
Nixon said that community support for sinners and saints passes through a diverse group of people in Qtbipoc, buying shots and tilting 20% ​​each night. Some of the city’s LGBTQ organizations have appeared and offered to help. One member of the community who reached out has owned a popular gay bar on 18th Avenue.
“The response is really strong and we definitely appreciate the support. Some of the other LGBT bar owners at Adams Morgan actually stopped in person. We are truly grateful that pitcher Dave Perzza has come in and the community has come all around us.”
On Thursday night, the Sinners and Saints opened as planned and held a “Sufficient Sailor Moon” party. Despite the invasion, the LGBTQ community has come out to support them.
“I was actually a bartender,” Nixon said. “I wasn’t supposed to have worked in the first place, but I thought it was important that all of our partners are there. So, everyone involved in the sinner and saint leadership team came out. Clearly, we were dealing with that incident, but we thought the response from the community was really strong. We thought it was really important to make sure we were there, still open and still available.”
Nixon said the community includes members of the often overlooked LGBTQ population.
“In general, as one of the cities with the largest strange population, I think DC adopts the LGBT community in general. But that’s great. But the adoption of people of color and the entire QTBIPOC community has not been the same in the trans community. There will be a safe space for marginalized and underrepresented communities. And I hope that the acceptance of the communities we serve will continue.
If you have any information about break-in, please contact MPD at (202) 727-9099. Sinners and Saints have set up a GoFundMe page for repairs. You can access it here.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
