Just ahead of Washington, D.C.’s Black Pride weekend, a queer bar for people of color in the capital’s Adams Morgan neighborhood was broken into and vandalized.
The perpetrators spray-painted the word “fa***t” on the wall inside the entrance, where they had smashed the glass front door to gain entry to the bar last Thursday.
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Police characterized the crime, at Sinners and Saints on 18th St NW, as a second-degree burglary, and the graffiti as having “a hate bias or motivation” against sexual minorities who own and frequent the bar.
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“It was really scary,” co-partner Blair Nixon told the Washington Blade. “To know that somebody was in our space, vandalizing it — it was very scary and honestly, devastating.”
The co-partner and general manager said a large portion of the bar’s liquor inventory was spirited away in the burglary, but the greater concern was the graffiti that accompanied the theft.
“It does seem like it was targeted because of what they wrote on the wall.”
Nixon explained that the bar’s upstairs neighbors alerted Sinners and Saints to the crime.
“When the restaurant owners got there, they tried to figure out why there wasn’t any electricity. They went downstairs and saw the shattered glass, the door broken, and the slur on the wall.”
The thieves had broken into the building’s breaker box and shut off electricity to the entire premises, including the restaurant and apartments.
When Sinners and Saints staff arrived at the scene, they contacted police and posted images of the break-in to social media.
Nixon said the partners were “very appreciative” of the police response.
“They actually sent, like, the entire department,” he said. “There were multiple police officers, multiple detectives, and the LGBTQ liaison came a little bit later.”
MPD estimates the break-in happened sometime between 2 and 6 p.m. The building doesn’t have video surveillance.
“We did have some camera footage from the hostel next door, and we submitted that to law enforcement,” he said. “We’re just going to let them do their investigation, and I don’t want to make any suppositions about what might have happened.”
Just hours after the crime, Sinner and Saints was open for business and welcoming customers to their previously scheduled “Sapphic Sailor Moon” party.
The bar’s owners posted a statement emphasizing their refusal to live in fear.
“This space exists to protect and celebrate Queer and Trans BIPOC communities, and this attack only strengthens our resolve. We will NOT be silenced. We will NOT be intimidated. We will NOT back down.”
“To those who tried to harm us: hate fuels our defiance. To our community: we see you, we love you, and we will continue fighting for you.”
“Sinners and Saints is resistance. We will rebuild. We will STAY OPEN. And we will keep our doors—and hearts—wide open for all who need refuge.”
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