STATEMENT TO LGBT COMMUNITY

          The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia offers its deepest condolences in the wake of the unconscionable violence that occurred June 12, 2016 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Our office condemns this horrific terrorist attack against the LGBT community and its allies. We send our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of the victims.

           As Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates stated, “Words cannot express the depth of our sorrow or the measure of our grief for all those whom we lost and all those whose lives have been changed forever.  What happened in Orlando … was a horrifying act of evil and of terror.  For the LGBT community, Pulse was more than a place to celebrate and see friends. It was a place that promised safety, inclusion and the freedom for people to be themselves – the same promise our country has made to all of us.  This was an attack on that promise.  It was an attack on our values, on our country and on our national community.  It was an attack on who we are as a nation and as a people.  And our country as a whole stands united in its response to this cowardly and despicable act.”

            The U.S. Attorney has made a concerted effort, through our Hate Bias Task Force, our participation on the Mayor’s Office on LGBT Affair’s Violence Prevention and Response Team, and other outreach efforts, to build relationships with the LGBT community. We stand in staunch support and solidarity with LGBT communities in Orlando and here in Washington, D.C. 

            Together with our law enforcement partners, we will do all that we can to assist the LGBT community during this troubling time and to strengthen safety and security.