New York City police arrested Ameen Keshavjee this week for allegedly sending fake anthrax and threatening letters to an employee of the popular gay bar Nowhere in Manhattan. The reason: he’d been kicked out of the establishment.
Keshavjee began sending threats last February after an employee told him to stop emailing the bar with crazy notes. He stopped frequenting the establishment but sent the threats to the employee instead. “After the way you 3 sh*ts repeatedly harassed, bullied and intimidated me YOU LOW LEVEL HUMAN garbage decide that **I** crossed a line????,” he wrote. “DIE OF AIDS, you leftie, hypocrite, democrat-voting FU–S!!!!! I sincerely hope (the employee’s partner) gives it to you, you f–king disgrace to the planet! I will be there to pee on your individual coffins!”
The threats continued each month thereafter, with one in April reading “I would LOVe to attend a funeral featuring you 3 pieces of HUMAN SH*T!!! A. Are u f*cking bullying 3 dead yet? Please reply YES! You in particular, (employee), are a hateful, spiteful, bullying, discriminatory, racist, human sh*t. Get AIDS or cancer and DIE: you (two other employees) leave us quiet people in peace, you human sh*ts. Peace and quiet. A”
Keshavjee waded into more dangerous territory this December, when he sent a note containing white power and the message “It’s called antrax [sic]. Enjoy.” At that point, the bar notified authorities. Sending fake anthrax is considered a federal offense, and the FBI became involved in the case.
“Even though there was no actual anthrax in the note allegedly mailed by Keshavjee, that doesn’t minimize the consequences of the crime,” FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr said of the case. “Hoax threats not only intimidate the victims they are intended for, they require extensive law enforcement resources that could be better used elsewhere. For anyone out there who might be contemplating a hoax of this nature, just remember Keshavjee now faces up to 10 years in prison for his alleged actions.”
If convicted of his crimes, Keshavjee could face up to 10 years in prison.
Senior Trump Adviser: HIV is ‘God’s Moral Law,’ Stonewall Monument is a ‘Celebration of Sin’
Jenna Ellis aboard Air Force One with President Trump. (Facebook)
Back in November, President Donald Trump appointed right-wing cable TV news pundit Jenna Ellis as a senior legal adviser to both himself and his 2020 re-election campaign.
Ellis, who previously served as public policy director at the James Dobson Family Institute, has a disgusting history of anti-LGBTQ and anti-Muslim rhetoric, according to a new report from Media Matters.
For example, Ellis has said that HIV is “God’s moral law,” that the Stonewall Inn monument is “a celebration of sin,” and that “Christians cannot follow God and accept or condone or participate in homosexuality.”
From Media Matters: “Ellis has also worked against bans against conversion therapy, a dangerous and discredited practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2019, she testified at a Colorado House committee hearing against a bill protecting youth from the practice. Ellis joined the Trump campaign as a senior legal adviser in November. Axios reported at the time that ‘Trump has said he’s impressed by Ellis’ TV appearances, according to a person close to him. He indicated that he wanted to give her a bigger job, and his team briefly discussed bringing her into the White House.’”
Ellis in the Oval Office. (Facebook)
More from the Daily Beast: “[Ellis’] book complains that the Supreme Court ‘told the LGBT community that their homosexual lifestyle was not just legal privately, but morally validated openly through government recognition and social celebration and therefore equally as valued as heterosexual unions.’ In the wake of a 2015 shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 49 dead, Ellis penned a column that condemned the massacre, but bemoaned that it was being used to dignify homosexuality. ‘I’m disappointed conservatives are acquiescing to the LGBT agenda,’ Ellis wrote. ‘Let me be clear—the Orlando shooting was absolutely terrible and tragic. But the response to this tragedy should not be embracing and advocating for gay rights.’ The piece was headlined, ‘Two Wrongs Do Not Make an LGBT Right.’”
A few of Ellis’ more disturbing Facebook posts below.
Stepping out on a movie date this weekend? Netflix and chillin? Whatever your entertainment needs, we got your back (and hopefully your mind) with Queerty’s weekly “Culture Club” column with some of the highlights of new releases, streaming shows, classics worth revisiting, and what to drink while you watch.
The Step Out: Like a Boss
Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne headline this girl-power comedy about a pair of ladies who head up a cosmetics line. As their business runs into financial problems, the pair run afoul with a nasty business rival (played by Salma Hayek in full Devil Wears Prada mode) who plans to steal their company out from under them. Count on plenty of slapstick and campy laughs, as well as a scene-stealing performance by Billy Porter as Haddish & Byrne’s disgruntled employee.
In theatres January 10.
The Stream: AJ & The Queen
For a dose of fabulous, you can enjoy laying naked on the couch, stream on with RuPaul in his new scripted Netflix series. AJ & the Queen borrows from movies like Paper Moon and To Wong Foo as it follows a famous drag queen named Ruby/Robert (played by RuPaul) on a cross-country tour. Ruby recently had his heartbroken by a scheming boyfriend who robbed him of all his cash. As Ruby tries to recover enough money to afford his own drag club, the crosses paths with 10-year-old AJ (Izzy G.), a streetwise, slightly genderqueer kid living on his own. The pair form an unlikely bond as Ruby & AJ tour the nation, evading a one-eyed crime boss named Lady Danger (played by Tia Carrere). RuPaul shows he’s more than just a drag performer: he’s an actor, and an effective one in this tailored role (Ru created & wrote the show with Michael Patrick King of Sex & the City fame). Much like the man himself, AJ & the Queen espouses themes of love and acceptance amid some very big laughs. The show also features a number of Drag Race alums like Katya and Bianca del Rio in supporting turns, as well as actors Michael-Leon Wooley, Matt Wilkas and Patrick Bristow in recurring roles.
Streams on Netflix January 10.
The Quirky: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Anyone wanting a bit of escape—one suitable for viewing alongside the niblets—look no further than Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, the new fantasy series launching this week. Kipo recalls the post-apocalyptic storytelling of Hayao Miyazaki, as well as cult films like Wizards. The young girl Kipo has grown up underground on an Earth ravaged by war, and now populated by races of mutant beasts. Some, like the four-eyed pig Mando, she befriends. Others, like a mafia of six-foot-tall talking frogs, or giant rabbits, threaten her. She also crosses paths with the tomboyish girl Wolf, who teaches her a few survival skills. Quirky, weird and hallucinatory, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts soars with its unfiltered imagination.
Streams on Netflix January 14.
The ICYMI: Don’t F*ck with Cats
Netflix quietly dropped this docuseries in the midst of last month’s holiday hullabaloo. Don’t be deceived by the title: Don’t F*ck with Cats has very little to do with the titular pets. Rather, it focuses on the strange case of Luca Magnotta, a sometime Canadian gay porn model, hooker, and relentless self-promoter convicted of murdering Chinese student Jun Lin on camera for an internet video. Even more shocking, a group of cat lovers discovered videos of Magnotta killing kittens long before he graduated to murdering humans. Don’t F*ck with Cats follows the (excuse the phrase) cat-and-mouse game Magnotta played with said animal lovers, and their struggle to alert American and Canadian police to his increasingly violent behavior. The show also delves into the twisted life of Magnotta, his quest for fame and bizarre attention-seeking schemes. It’s a story too weird and unsettling to ignore.
Streams on Netflix.
The Quickie: The One You Never Forget
Morgan Jon Fox, known for the cult series Feral, dropped this short film last week about a 14-year-old boy getting ready for the big homecoming dance. Little do his parents know that he’s taking another boy as his date. Short and very sweet, The One You Never Forgetrecalls the jitters so many of us felt before going to the dance, and the yearning so many queer people still feel to take their real crush without fear of judgment or reprisal. The film stars Tasha Smith (Empire), Malike Whitfield (The Temptations), London Curtis, and Owen D. Stone (Cobra Kai), and should provide a bit of joy to counteract the frightening news headlines of the week.
The Sip: The RuPaul
In honor of Mr. Charles taking on drama, we drink in his honor with this fruity martini named for the man himself. Even better, it’s simple to make and has enough heft to soften the horror of cat killers or football murderers.
2 oz Vodka
1 cup Strawberry Lemonade
Grenadine
Mix vodka & lemonade over ice in a martini shaker. Shake. Pour into a martini glass. Add a dash of grenadine to create a layering effect. Optional garnish with cherry.