Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray

Photo by Elvert Barnes / Flickr

The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has fined the DC Eagle $2,000 and suspended its liquor license for seven days over an incident last September involving former mayor and current Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray. A bouncer at the popular gay nightclub shoved the then-75-year-old councilmember out the door of the establishment over an issue with his identification card, causing him to fall backward and sustain minor injuries to his hand and leg.

“We regret that ABRA has seen it fit to suspend our license for 7 days. During that time, we will not be open to the DC community at large and our employees, many of them residents of Ward 7 and other parts of the District, will not receive pay,” Ted Clements, one of the owners of the DC Eagle, said in a statement posted to Facebook. “We have apologized for the incident with Councilmember Gray, and hope that we can move forward, and continue to thrive as the largest and oldest gay bar in the District of Columbia.” The bar will be closed March 23 to March 29.

The incident involving Gray happened last September while the councilmember was attending events for the arts festival Art All Night.  He attempted to use his councilmember ID to enter the nightclub, which does not have a date of birth printed on it. Gray asked the bouncer, “‘Don’t I look old enough?’” according to reporting from NBC Washington at the time. The security guard refused to accept the identification, and eventually ended up pushing Gray backward through the front door, causing him to fall backward.

Tensions with the councilmember reportedly began before he had even entered the bar. According to the DC Eagle’s Facebook post and to the bouncer’s own account of the incident, which he told to ABRA investigators, Gray tried to park his car in a fire lane before entering the establishment. He was told to move it, and he “had an attitude and refused to move his car at first, but later complied,” the bouncer told ABRA investigators, according to the agency’s report.

When the bouncer refused to accept Gray’s ID and asked him to leave the bar, the bouncer told ABRA investigators that Gray said to “make him leave,” and told him to call the police. The bouncer described Gray’s behavior as “belligerent.”

Security footage showed Gray enter the establishment, place his ID on the counter, and speak with the bouncer, according to the ABRA report. One minute later, the bouncer, who “appears to be upset,” walks around the counter and starts pushing the councilmember toward the door. “Councilmember Gray is seen resisting but is forced through the front door,” the report reads. A minute after that, the bouncer can be seen standing over Gray on the ground “without rendering any type of assistance.”

Gray called the police after he was shoved, and police contacted ABRA, which opened an investigation. Both ABRA and MPD characterized the incident as a “simple assault.”

The bar is unhappy with ABRA’s decision, if its Facebook post announcing the suspension is any indication. “After examining the ID, our security staff asked for another form of ID, since the Council ID did not meet the guidelines set-forth by the Council itself, specifically requiring a birthdate,” the post reads. “What followed was regrettable but would have been avoided if Councilmember Gray would have presented his drivers license or another ID, especially since he drove by himself to the bar that day.”

The post also clarifies that the DC Eagle has “parted ways” with the bouncer involved in the incident, and is training new staff.

Gray’s office has not responded to a request for comment.

Filed Under: Councilmember Vincent Gray, d.c. council, D.C. Eagle, vincent gray, ward 7,