by Joe Siegel

Brody Levesque, whose byline as an LGBTQ media journalist has been seen in numerous outlets such as the Los Angeles Blade and Georgia Voice, was arrested January 29 by law enforcement in Santa Cruz County, Calif.

As it turns out, Levesque’s real name is George Paul Bishop, identified as a fugitive and a “sexually violent predator” after he failed to register as a sex offender in 2016.

“Bishop, 66, had been living and working under the assumed name Brody Levesque’ in Santa Cruz County south of San Francisco since 2016,” LGBTQNation reported on February 3. “… In 2005, Bishop pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison and 12 years of probation for photographing and recording a 16-year-old boy in bondage gear at the home of a co-defendant, who was also convicted.”

Bishop was required to register as a Tier 3 sex offender for life but failed to do so in 2016, according to LGBTQNation. “The Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry lists Bishop’s former Annandale, Va., home and business address and describes him as ‘wanted’ and an ‘absconder,’ a legal term for a person who has secretly left a jurisdiction to avoid legal consequences.”

Bishop was arraigned on January 31 and remains in custody in Santa Cruz County. He’s reportedly scheduled for a review hearing on April 1 on a likely extradition request to Virginia.

Levesque’s byline has also appeared in Pink News, The New Civil Rights Movement, and the LA Blade’s sister publication, the Washington Blade.

Levesque’s Muck Rack profile claims he was serving as editor-at-large of the Los Angeles Blade.

Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade disavowed any connection with Levesque when speaking with Press Pass Q on February 4.

“‘Brody’ was not an employee of the Blade. He worked as a freelance contributor from June 2022 to June 2024. We parted ways and have not talked to him since. He was never the ‘editor in chief,’ despite portraying himself as such on social media.”

His work and byline remain on LGBTQ websites, including the Los Angeles Blade. Articles written by him last year on the LA Blade’s site state, “Brody Levesque is a veteran journalist and the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Blade.” He also wrote the newspaper’s “Editor’s Letter,” two of which were reprinted in Press Pass Q in 2022. At the time, he was identified as “Out Editor” of the LA Blade. (Editor’s note: While Press Pass Q usually runs a photograph of the writer of our reprinted guest commentaries, we were unable to obtain a photograph of “Brody Levesque” at the time.)

Levesque also had numerous social media accounts, including on Facebook and BlueSky, where he had 5,600 followers. He listed himself as a “Journalist, Editor, Historian, Amateur Chef, Proud Guncle and mentor to some amazing young people around the globe.”

A recent post on his BlueSky account read: “HOLLYWOOD – The arc of LGBTQ+ history over the past 50 years has been one of constant upheaval and evolvement. From a period when it was both illegal and insane to be gay, through the achievement of being able to serve openly in the military, to marriage equality and the ability to create families.”

In addition, Levesque was editor in chief of a new site, RATEDLGBTQ.com. On January 21, Levesque wrote a commentary about the new site: “Years ago I decided that I needed to have an active role in engaging with my queer siblings as a professional journalist. The entirety of my career up to that moment, in early 2007, was working as a wire services political journalist and editor. I had actually only been out since 1993 and I knew I wanted to contribute to the greater LGBTQ+ community. My immediate action was starting up a blog, ‘Brody’s Notes & Scribbles,’ which, to my shock, became very successful and led to my establishing myself in queer media.”

When contacted by Press Pass Q, Levesque/Bishop declined to comment for this article.

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Volume 26
Issue 12