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A gay mayor who has boasted of his mentorship with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been arrested on 56 charges related to child pornography. Patrick Wojahn, the mayor of College Park, Maryland, was arrested on Thursday and promptly resigned from his job as mayor, NBC Washington reported.
“Last night, after business hours, Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn submitted his letter of resignation as Mayor of the City of College Park, effective immediately on March 2,” the city said. “Mayor Wojahn has served in this position since 2015 and on Council since 2007.”
Prince George’s County Police issued a press release that said it was contacted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and informed of a suspicious social media account that was in its jurisdiction on February 15.
“On February 17, 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the PGPD that a social media account operating in the county possessed and distributed suspected child pornography. The image and videos had been uploaded to the social media account in January of 2023. Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn,” the press release said.
“On February 28, 2023, PGPD detectives served a search warrant at Wojahn’s College Park home. Investigators recovered multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet and a computer. Following additional investigation, PGPD obtained criminal charges against Wojahn and investigators took him into custody early this morning,” it said.
“Wojahn is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material. He is in the custody of the Department of Corrections,” it said.
The former mayor responded in a press release.
“I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement,” he said. “While this investigation does not involve any official city business of any kind, it is in the best interests of our community that I step aside and not serve as a distraction.”
But he was singing another tune when he bragged about his friendship with Buttigieg.
“I actually met Mayor Pete Buttigieg shortly after I was elected mayor in 2015,” he said to LGBT publication the Washington Blade in a 2019 interview. “I went to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Winter Meeting in D.C. in January and he was assigned to be my buddy.”
He said that his standing in the conference of mayors was assisted “in part due to his mentorship.”
Today, Wojahn reminisces how he was "mentored" over the years by Pete Buttigieg. They met when Wojahn went to the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, where Buttigieg "was assigned to be my buddy." Their husbands were introduced to each other at a White House reception under Obama. pic.twitter.com/IojSFNUBxN
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) March 2, 2023
Last month Buttigieg was humiliated by the mayor of East Palestine, Ohio when he visited the town that was besieged by a toxic train wreck.
The secretary visited the town the day after former President Donald Trump and he was not given a hero’s welcome.
Mayor Trent Conaway had the secretary sit and wait in a hallway for a half an hour as he spoke to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, The Daily Mail reported.
“I am grateful to Mayor Giuliani for being here to help us. My top priority is to ensure the health and safety of the people of this city and our region,” the East Palestine mayor said.
“I will work with anyone who wants to help East Palestine, and their partisan affiliation is irrelevant to me,” he said.
The mayor previously criticized President Joe Biden for visiting Ukraine and not coming to East Palestine when he appeared on Fox News.
“That was the biggest slap in the face. That tells you right now he doesn’t care about us,” he said.
“We’re in East Palestine, Ohio to help our fellow Americans in need. It’s not about partisanship or scoring cheap political points. I’m here to help as a former mayor with extensive crisis management experience. I’ve met so many great people and we will stay on top of this,” Giuliani said on Twitter.
We're in East Palestine, Ohio to help our fellow Americans in need.
It's not about partisanship or scoring cheap political points.
I'm here to help as a former mayor with extensive crisis management experience. I've met so many great people and we will stay on top of this. pic.twitter.com/viDSEbjAsP
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) February 24, 2023
The Daily Mail reported.
Giuliani also met with Representative Bill Johnson, whose Ohio district includes East Palestine.
Former President Donald Trump, who hired Giuliani as his personal attorney while in the White House, visited East Palestine on Wednesday, effectively sparking several other visits – including from Buttigieg.
Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, slammed the government’s response to the train crash, which spewed hazardous materials into the air, ground and water.
‘I’ve grown concerned about the lack of a response by our federal government to help the people of East Palestine,’ Giuliani said. ‘I wanted to offer my knowledge and experience when dealing with crisis’ management and most importantly—to help the people here who are our fellow Americans.’
