Spokesperson Falsely Claims These Events Are ‘Traditionally’ Closed to the Press

The Dept. of Justice barred a longtime journalist for the Washington Blade from covering an annual pride celebration hosted by DOJ Pride, an employee group,Â honoring Gavin GrimmÂ Wednesday. Grimm isÂ a transgender activist whose case against his high school school district reached butÂ was rejected by the Supreme Court. Chief Political and White House reporterÂ Chris Johnson, whose daily beat frequently includes asking LGBT-related questions during what used to be daily White House press briefings, reports not only was he barred, he was “ejected” from the event.

At the Justice Department to attend DOJ’s annual Pride event. pic.twitter.com/pI7vpNA4hW â€” Chris Johnson (@chrisjohnson82) June 28, 2017

“Similar celebrations under the Obama administration were open to the media,”Â Johnson reports.

An Obama-era U.S.Â Attorney confirmed these events had been open to the press previously:

DOJ Pride, an employee group, is honoring Gavin Grimm. I can’t remember an event of this type in Main Justice where the press wasn’t welcomeÂ https://t.co/9Gsuc2Rfyo â€” Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance)Â June 28, 2017

“Dozens of employees â€” among them LGBT attorneys within the Justice Department and federal law enforcement officials â€” attendedÂ the event, which was titled ‘Solidarity through Pride’ and held in the Great Hall of the Justice Department building,” Johnson reports.

He also noted the Trump administration’s action, which appears to be unprecedented, on Twitter.

Was just removed from the Justice Department during my coverage of the ongoing DOJ Pride event. They told me it was a closed-press event. â€” Chris Johnson (@chrisjohnson82) June 28, 2017

In response, Buzzfeed Legal Editor Chris Geidner said that a Justice Dept. spokesperson tells him that unless the Attorney General of Deputy Attorney General are present, the events are closed to the press.

Full quote from DOJ’s Flores, explaining why a reporter was kicked out of the Justice Department LGBT Pride Month Program â€”> pic.twitter.com/XomoVdb6CI â€” Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 28, 2017

But that is false, as HuffPost senior reporter Ryan J. Reilly noted, pointing to two events in the same space that were not attended by the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General yet were open to the press:

Last week Buzzfeed’s Geidner reported “DOJ Pride â€” the department’s group for LGBT employees and their allies â€” plans to present Gavin Grimm with its Gerald B. Roemer Community Service Award” at what was today’s event.Â

It’s unclear if the DOJ wanted to keep block that from the public, but Grimm indeed was present.

“DOJ Pride, an organization of LGBT Justice Department employees, recognized Gavin Grimmâ€™s ‘outstanding contributions to the LGBT community’ during a ceremony in the buildingâ€™s Great Hall, where department attorneys and employees lined up to hug him and offer congratulations and thanks,” the AP just reported, noting “reporters were forced to leave” the event.

â€œGiven that todayâ€™s administration is largely hostile to LGBT people and especially dangerous to LGBT youth, the gravity of receiving an award from DOJ itself, specifically the pride alliance within it, is not lost on me at all,â€ Grimm told The Associated Press after the ceremony, which reporters were forced to leave. â€œItâ€™s beautifully symbolic of the fact that there are still people working for equality in every corner of the world, and they will continue to do so no matter what happens.â€ â€œThere are good people in the DOJ, theyâ€™ve always been here, and always will be here, no matter what kind of administration comes above them,â€ Grimm said.

The AP notes that Attorney General Jeff Sessions “was absent from Wednesdayâ€™s event.”

“Activists have long viewed Sessions as someone who has not been supportive of advances in LGBT rights.”

Kristen Clark, theÂ President & Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law posted this photo to Twitter:

It remains unclear why the press was removed from the event, but the Trump administration has made clear its opposition to LGBT civil rights in general. Also, the administration, including the President, this week have displayed a heightened desire to attack the media as “fake news.” President Trump several days this week did just that. Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made national headlines Tuesday after a local reporter chastised her for being inflammatory, while reminding her her job is to answer the questions reporters ask.Â

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