Allegations and evidence that shows potential criminal behavior on the part of Jimmy “Chardonnay” Vaughn, the founder of the now defunct group Rainbow Alliance of Walla Walla (R.A.W.W.), has recently surfaced. Chardonnay, Vaughn’s drag persona, has been a fixture of the LGBTQ+ community in the Walla Walla Valley for several years.

On September 2, 2016, Chardonnay organized a fundraising event -- Pulse Vive -- to benefit the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. According to former R.A.W.W. Treasurer, Chanel Finnie, the event raised $552. Finnie and Chardonnay opened a bank account at Baker Boyer, in their names, to be used for R.A.W.W. purposes. That money was deposited into the account once it was opened.

On September 9, 2016 the Gesa Power House Theatre held a “benefit” night for R.A.W.W.’s efforts to benefit the victims of the Pulse massacre, during a performance of Rocky Horror Show. According to the director of the show, that was 5% of the ticket sales. The director refused to tell us how much money was raised and how his production company paid that money to R.A.W.W. He offered instead, to provide that information to law enforcement.

According to bank records, only the money from the September 2nd event was deposited into the R.A.W.W. bank account and Chardonnay withdrew that money in small increments over the course of February and March of 2017. Chardonnay reportedly told Finnie that Main Street Studios had donated the money, before they went out of business, to onePulse Foundation. onePulse Foundation confirmed to Finnie in writing, that they had not received any money from R.A.W.W., Chardonnay or Main Street Studios.

On June 4, 2017, Chardonnay organized a fundraising event -- “Babes Brunch & Beyond” -- at Wingman’s Birdz & Brewz to benefit Triple Point Walla Walla. Tickets for the event were $35 and all proceeds were handled by Wingman’s, where Chardonnay worked. It’s unclear how much money was raised from that event but Triple Point Walla Walla confirmed to us that they have not received any money from that effort. The owner of the restaurant spoke with us briefly by email but did not indicate who the money was given to, how much it was or how it was paid. He removed R.A.W.W. as a list of supported organizations from his website and agreed to cooperate fully with law enforcement.

In May 2018, the Gesa Power House Theatre announced that it was hosting a pride-themed event on June 1, 2018 that featured a drag show starring “Chardonnay and a few of her friends.” They allocated Chardonnay a budget to hire the other entertainers. Dan Lovato, Ryan Witherspoon, Chanel Finnie and Daniel Rose all confirmed that they did not get paid for their performances. The Gesa Power House Theatre will no longer work with Chardonnay, as their official policy maintains that “Chardonnay is retired” after Vaughn himself asserted that he was “taking a permanent break.”

This pattern of behavior is unethical and problematic. We believe that each allegation deserves to be investigated fully and completely by law enforcement professionals. Because of the statute of limitations for these potential crimes, we have called upon Walla Walla County Prosecuting Attorney James Nagle and Walla Walla Chief of Police Scott Bieber to immediately open an investigation and to pursue criminal charges if merited by that investigation.

Creating an ethical, inclusive, and stable community relies heavily upon accountability and trust. A pattern of behavior that leads to allegations of fraud, has the potential to have a chilling effect on the ability of LGBTQ+ organizations to raise the funds necessary to serve the LGBTQ+ community. As a community, we must demand a thorough review of the evidence by law enforcement to ensure that justice prevails. We should give no safe harbor to those who seek to use positions of power and influence to undermine the advancement of LGBTQ+ visibility and advocacy.