Michigan Gay Sex Sting Was 'Bag-a-Fag' Operation, Email Reveals

In May, community members in Lansing, Michigan alleged that a gay sex sting at the Fenner Nature Center, which resulted in two arrests and a warrant for a third, unfairly targeted gays. New evidence appears to show that was the case. The sting was prompted by an email request from Board of Police Commissioners member Jan Kolp.

The request was revealed in an email from Lieutenant Larry Kraus to his Special Ops unit.

Said Kraus:

"I’d also like to get Police Commissioner, Jan Kolp off my back and help out Lt. Nosotti. Apparently the fella’s are out in full force at Fenner looking for male love. I’d like to set up some surveillance and see if we can catch a couple of them servicing one and other, so they can be charged with Gross Indecency."

The Michigan Messenger reports: The email seems to run counter to earlier statements by Kolp who has argued she did not call in her capacity as a police commissioner but only 'as a person who has lived on Forest Road for 40 years and president of Forestview Neighborhood Association … I would hope they would handle anyone’s complaint the same way.' Kolp declined to comment Tuesday when reached for comment."

The Michigan Messenger reports: "Triangle Foundation, which monitors and reports on hate crimes and discrimination against the LGBT community, has long criticized what they have characterized as 'Bag-a-Fag' or gay sting operations. The term was coined by Michigan State Police troopers involved in operations at state highways, according to a report by former judge and lawyer Rudy Sierra."

Candlelight Vigil Planned as Police Chief Floats 'Gay Panic' Defense in Violent Bar Raid in Fort Worth, Texas

Here's an update on activity following the Stonewall-style raid on the recently-opened Rainbow Lounge bar in Fort Worth, Texas which resulted in seven arrests for "public intoxication" and a massive head injury to one of the patrons of the bar.

Tonight, there is a candlelight vigil at 8:30 pm at the Rainbow Lounge (651 South Jennings Ave), where the raid occurred, in honor of injured victim Chad Gibson (more on his condition below). Gibson's arrest pictured, below right.

Gibson's mother speaks out, AFTER THE JUMP...

Here's the sickest bit of news about it I've read so far, a statement by Fort Worth police chief Jeff Halstead (via Dan Savage): "Monday, police chief Jeff Halstead said the officers' actions are being investigated. However, he also said that officers that entered the bar during the scheduled inspection were touched inappropriately. 'You're touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that's offensive,' he said. 'I'm happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that.'"

Read that last sentence again. As Savage translates: "Them faggots in that thar bar touched mah officers and now they're complainin' about some rough stuff and one little ol' faggot with a brain injury? Those perverts should be grateful they're alive."

Classic gay panic defense.

The Fort Worth Police also say that Gibson, at the time of his arrest, was in the custody of a State Police officer, not one of the FWPD.

The Rainbow Lounge Raid's Facebook page is growing at a steady rate. An article in the Star-Telegram highlights new media's role in getting the word out about this incident.

Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks has called for an immediate and comprehensive investigation:

"I join with Councilman Joel Burns in wanting all citizens of Texas and Fort Worth to know and be assured that the laws and ordinances of our City will be applied fairly, equally and without selective enforcement or targeting. As an African American I understand the distrust and fear that grows throughout a community when the belief that there is no recourse or protection is allowed to grow and fester."

Equality Texas has demanded that Mayor Moncrief and all Fort Worth City Council members call for an investigation. They have provided a FORM LETTER that will be sent to municipal officals.

An update on Chad Gibson, the man who sustained a head injury during the raid, from his sister Kristy Morgan:

"Kristy said the most recent CAT scans have shown that the blood clot on Chad’s brain has stopped growing, which is good news, but he is not out of the woods yet. She said doctors told the family that as long as the clot remains — whether it is growing or not — there is the chance that all or some of it could break loose and cause severe damage or death, or that the bleeding could start up again. At this point, Kristy said, doctors are not talking about having to do surgery to repair the bleed or remove the clot. They believe that the clot will eventually dissolve and be reabsorbed into the body, but that could take anywhere from six months to two years. Chad will likely be hospitalized at least for the rest of this week, and will then have to have follow-up appointments and consultations with a neurosurgeon."

Chad Gibson's mother speaks out, AFTER THE JUMP...

There was a public forum with Fort Worth Police Department chief Halstead:

"After the meeting had started, Chief Halstead announced that the director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission had just issued a statement acknowledging that Chad Gibson, who has been hospitalized with a head injury since the incident, was injured while in the custody of TABC agents. Chief Halstead said that determining who was responsible for Gibson’s injury has been the priority of his department’s investigation so far. Now that that is settled, the chief said, the focus for his department will turn to getting as much information as possible regarding the actions of FWPD officers during the incident. To that end, he is asking that anyone and everyone who was at the bar that night and was an eyewitness to the events contact Capt. Garcia at 817-392-4270 to give their account. He said it is vital to a thorough investigation to get as much information as possible from those who were there."

Chad Gibson's mother speaks out, AFTER THE JUMP...

Police Deny Targeting Gays in Violent Fort Worth, TX Bar Raid

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead tells the Star-Telegram that police officers did not target the Rainbow Lounge, a gay nightclub, because of the sexuality of its customers or the date (the 40th anniversary of Stonewall), calling it a "routine bar inspection."

Seven were arrested for public intoxication and one person remains hospitalized for a head injury which may yet require surgery.

The paper reports: "Some customers made 'sexually explicit motions,' according to a police statement, and one grabbed an officer’s crotch. A police spokesman later identified that person as Gibson. 'My brother would not do that,' [Kristy] Morgan said. Gibson, a high-tech worker who is about 5-feet-8 and weighs about 150 pounds, was at the club with friends, including a designated driver, she said. 'He’s not a big drinker, a big partyer,' she said. The police statement said one patron was so drunk he was vomiting. Morgan said her brother threw up because of his head injury. She also questioned police efforts to summon medical help. The time on Gibson’s ticket for public intoxication is 2:10 a.m. An ambulance wasn’t called until 2:25 a.m. Club Manager Randy Norman said Gibson didn’t seem drunk and was walking from the men’s room, holding a bottle of water, when an officer pushed him against a wall and then pushed him to the ground. Some patrons said they heard Gibson ask the officer a question, but that he didn’t fight back. At least three officers were involved in handcuffing him."

A columnist at the Dallas Morning News is demanding answers. As are local politicians: "Council members Joel Burns and Kathleen Hicks are requesting the probe into Sunday's raid at the Rainbow Lounge, where about a half dozen people were arrested. Hicks says she's disturbed by the raid that sent at least one person to the hospital."

Fort Worth police statement identifying involved officers, and local news report,
AFTER THE JUMP...

Cops Arrest Host, Use Pepper Spray at Candidate's Fundraiser

A fundraiser at the home of a lesbian couple in Encinitas, California for Francine Busby, a Democrat seeking the 50th Congressional District seat in 2010, was interrupted on Friday night over an apparent noise complaint:

"It ended with Barman, 60, being arrested and jailed on suspicion of battery on a peace officer, and resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer. Pam Morgan, 62, a Rancho Santa Fe resident and one of the guests, also was arrested and taken to the Encinitas Sheriff's Station, where she was cited for resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer. Other partygoers were doused with pepper spray, and seven deputies, a sergeant and a helicopter were dispatched to the neighborhood of expensive homes."

The incident is under review.

There were between 30 and 50 people at the fundraiser, and the only noise came from a megaphone Busby said she used for approximately half an hour. Neighbors said they slept through it.

However: "During Busby's speech, Barman said in a statement yesterday, a man on the property behind her house shouted 'disparaging remarks' about Busby and gay people. Barman lives in the house with her partner, Jane Stratton, 55. After her talk, Busby said, people chatted. 'It was a quiet home reception, disrupted by a vulgar person shouting obscenities from behind the bushes,' Busby said."

But it was Deputy Marshall Abbott who attacked guests once he responded:

"When Abbott arrived, [Sgt. Thomas] Yancey said, he told Barman about the complaint, and she uttered an expletive about a neighbor. Abbott asked Barman for her birth date so he could issue a noise warning, but Barman refused to give it, he said. Barman tried to walk away, Yancey said, and Abbott grabbed her. The guests took Barman away, and Abbott used pepper spray on them. In the chaos, someone kicked the emergency response team member, a woman who is 5-foot-2, Yancey said. 'He was pepper-spraying the faces of anyone who tried to talk to him,' Busby said. 'People were stunned. It was something that none of us has experienced.' In her statement, Barman said she asked the deputy why he needed her birth date, because he knew her name and where she lived. 'He told me I was under arrest, grabbed my right arm, twisted it behind me and threw me on the ground,' she said."

Apparently the use of tasers was threatened as well.

Busby said she will demand an investigation.

Nine Pages of New Stonewall Riots Police Reports Published

A fascinating new look at nine pages of NYPD records created early on the morning of June 28, 1969:

"Reproduced in facsimile with transcriptions, these sometimes hard-to-read but historic documents provide an immediate sense of what the police called an 'Unusual Occurrence' at the Stonewall -- the rebellion that has come to symbolize the start of the modern, militant LGBTQ movement for civil rights and liberation."

NYC Activists and Leaders Protest False Arrests of Gay Men by NYPD

On Saturday afternoon, activist Brendan Fay, NYC Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, Stonewall Veteran Yvonne Ritter, Candidate for City Council Danny Dromm, NYCLU Representative Matt Faiella, NGLTF Representative Cynde Horne, and AVP Local Organizer Jennifer Ramírez, spoke out about the false arrests of gay men by the NYPD at a rally in New York's Sheridan Square.

An earlier statement from the Coalition to Stop the Arrests explains: ""In an overzealous and illegal effort to close down adult video stores in Manhattan, the New York Police Department has been found to be engaging in the false arrests of gay male patrons of these stores, charging them with prostitution. The cops then cite the establishments for condoning illegal activity and the City sues to shut them down as public nuisances. Scores of innocent men have been swept up in these false arrests, documented in the Gay City News."

Watch the demonstration on Saturday, AFTER THE JUMP...