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Rhode Island
Native American inmate sues to wear Apache headband – The Boston Globe
“This should be a simple case,” Goldstein said. “DOC has no reason to treat a Native American who wants to wear a headband to express his religious faith any differently than it treats Muslims and Jews who want to wear kufis and yarmulkes to express their faith.”
Labinger said, “His efforts to obtain simple religious items to practice his faith should not consume four years and require a federal court lawsuit. Fortunately, federal law and the First Amendment require that even in prison, the custodians do not get to dictate what is an accepted religion and how it should be practiced.”
Formerly known as Brian Keith Brownell, Pawochawog-Mequinosh filed a petition in 2021 in state court to change his name to express his Apache heritage and faith, and the petition was granted a year later.
“I just want to be able to practice my religion and to be able to use the artifacts for my religion without unjustified restrictions, like other religions are permitted to do,” he said in a statement. “I don’t feel that this is too much to ask for.”
J.R. Ventura, chief of information and public relations officer for the Department of Corrections, said, “We just became aware of the lawsuit, and we are looking into it. Any concerns will be addressed once we have an opportunity to read it and discuss its claims.”
But generally speaking, Ventura said, “Per our policy, all inmates have the right to freely exercise their religious beliefs and liberty of worship. The exercise of this right, however, may be restricted for legitimate security reasons. People’s safety is the top priority here.”
He said the Department of Corrections “accommodates numerous forms of worship and religious practices, like religious dietary preferences, religious services, personal contact with accredited representatives of their faith, deliver sermons, and more.”
Pawochawog-Mequinosh is serving a life sentence for first-degree sexual assault, with an additional 20-year consecutive sentence for the same charge, and he had previously served time for child pornography, according to the Department of Corrections. He is now confined in the John J. Moran Medium Security Facility, in Cranston.
Since 2019, Pawochawog-Mequinosh has sought to obtain and wear an Apache headband in the prison to express his religious faith, the lawsuit states.
But the department has denied those requests, the suit says, because his religion is designated as “Pagan/Wiccan” in the department’s data management system, and Apache headbands aren’t an approved religious item for individuals with that designation. Also, the department has told him Apache headbands have not been approved as a religious item in any state prison.
The suit says the Department of Corrections requires inmates to designate that they belong to one religious category from among these choices: “Catholic,” “Jewish,” “Muslim,” “Pagan/Wiccan,” and “other.” The department does not offer a religious designation for those who follow Native American religious traditions, and those designations determine what religious items inmates may obtain, the suit says.
Pawochawog-Mequinosh chose the “Pagan/Wiccan” designation because it allows him to obtain rune stones and tarot cards, which are also an important part of his religious beliefs. If he chose the “other” category, as some officials suggested he do, he’d lose his right to have tarot cards and rune stones and would still likely be denied the right to wear a headband, the suit states.
Native American headbands are recognized as a religious item by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims the Department of Corrections has violated his right to the free exercise of religion as protected by the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. That law bars states from imposing any substantial burden on a prisoner’s exercise of religion unless it furthers a “compelling interest” and is the least restrictive means available.
Pawochawog-Mequinosh filed grievances with the prison administration four times, asking to obtain a headband, but his lawyers said he received “Kafkaesque” responses, including rejections saying that he did not follow procedures but failing to explain what he had done improperly.
The suit seeks a court order allowing Pawochawog-Mequinosh to “obtain and wear an Apache headband, without giving up his ability to practice other aspects of his sincere religious beliefs, including by possessing and using rune stones and tarot cards.”
The suit also asks the court to issue an injunction ordering the Department of Corrections to “revise its policies and procedures to allow individuals whose religious beliefs and practices do not fit within RIDOC’s system of religious designations to exercise their sincere religious beliefs and practices even when those beliefs and practices do not align with the beliefs and practices that RIDOC has approved for the religious designations.”
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
Local News
“Is Taylor Swift getting married here? Many, many, many have asked,” wedding planner Nicole Simeral said.
WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) — When a large tent appeared next door to Taylor Swift’s Watch Hill estate this week, it didn’t take long for speculation about the superstar’s impending nuptials to ripple through the affluent New England seaside village — and the internet.
Soon, fans were swapping theories online, photographers were staking out vantage points and residents found themselves fielding questions about a wedding that never was. Or at least, a wedding that seems yet to happen.
The rumors, so far, have proved unfounded. But they offered a glimpse into life in Watch Hill, the Rhode Island beach community in the town of Westerly, close to the Connecticut border, where Swift has owned a home for more than a decade and where curiosity about the singer has become woven into everyday life.
Rumors take hold
From the nearby lighthouse, visitors craned for a better view of Swift’s mansion, a sprawling white home perched atop a rocky bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Security cameras dotted the property, and a guard called out to visitors who strayed too close.
Wedding planner Nicole Simeral, dressed in black, stood outside the small white chapel across from the massive yellow Ocean House hotel — Swift’s neighbor on the beach — waving along cars and buses that slowed and directing traffic to keep moving.
She watched visitors speculate about a wedding she said she knew wasn’t Swift’s. She’s working a different wedding every weekend in June in that spot. Still, the questions kept coming.
“Is Taylor Swift getting married here? Many, many, many have asked,” Simeral said.
She said there had been “a lot of chitter chatter” as people tried to connect sightings of people who know Swift in local shops to impending nuptials. But she doubted Watch Hill would be practical for a wedding of that scale because of its limited luxury lodging.
The Watch Hill rumors also dovetailed with separate online speculation that Swift and her fiance, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, were planning a celebration at Madison Square Garden, though no details about the pair’s wedding have been released, despite multiple requests for comment to Swift’s spokesperson.
The tent itself, Simeral said, was hardly unusual. “Next weekend, there’ll be another tent just like this.”
For two summers, Westerly Police Department community service officer Nick Quaratella has stood at the entrance to a public path leading to the beach beside Swift’s estate, answering questions from beachgoers and keeping traffic moving.
“They come to the beach, but then they also ask if she’s here or not,” Quaratella said.
He said he can’t help but joke around with some fans.
“I’ll say, ‘Oh, did you hear that she moved?’” he said. “And they’ll say, ‘No.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson moved in.’ And they’ll go, ‘Oh, really?’ and then they’ll walk away.”
“That’s pretty funny,” he concluded.
Over the years, he’s seen plenty of unusual reactions. His coworker once spotted a fan on their knees, bowing toward the entrance gate near the property. Visitors have shouted “I love you, Taylor!” from the roadside. One woman convinced her granddaughter he was Swift’s security guard and posed for a photo with him.
Quaratella has fielded a few questions about the supposed wedding, but not as many as he expected.
“At this point, it’s part of my job,” he said. “It makes me smile. It makes me laugh. I have no problem with it. It makes the day go by.”
Living with Taylor Swift
Down near a strip of beach boutiques, lifelong resident Lauren Nigrelli said the frenzy surrounding the star has eased since Swift first moved into the neighborhood in 2013. Back then, Nigrelli recalled, fans would drive around in circles by her shop playing Swift’s songs.
“Things have definitely calmed down since then,” she said.
Today, Swift’s presence remains a fixture among local businesses in what she described as a “quaint New England coastal community.” Nigrelli, a Realtor who owns the boutiques Tide and Tide Kids, said she began selling apparel emblazoned with “Holiday House,” the nickname associated with Swift’s mansion, after children began coming into the store asking for it. On Saturday, she was also selling a Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding sticker book.
“I think every shop has something related to her,” Nigrelli said.
On the beach below the mansion, Audrey and John Curtis, a married couple from Connecticut who have been vacationing in Westerly for years, settled into beach chairs and debated the wedding rumors.
“We were just looking up at her house,” Audrey Curtis said, pointing toward the mansion. “She’s not getting married here now, though.”
Curtis said she had heard various theories, including speculation that a wedding might be held at Ocean House. But as she thought through the logistics, she became skeptical.
“Then I was thinking about, ‘How would everybody get here?’” she said. “In New York, you’ve got JFK, you’ve got LaGuardia, and she’s got two penthouses in New York that she combined, so I figured they could obviously have more people there.”
Her husband wasn’t so sure.
“They could lie and say it’s happening there, but it’s happening here,” John Curtis said. “When important people do things, they don’t want people to know.”
Six friends from New York, posing for photos in matching Watch Hill sweatshirts while celebrating a birthday, said Swift wasn’t the reason they chose the beach town, though they weren’t sure they would have discovered it if not for the singer.
Leslie Aucapina, 24, who attended Swift’s Eras Tour in Philadelphia, said she grew up listening to Swift’s music and thought the Taylor-themed merchandise was “really cute.” She liked that the excitement surrounding Swift helped local businesses and enjoyed visiting the inspiration for “the last great american dynasty,” a song about Holiday House from Swift’s 2020 Grammy Album of the Year-winning album, folklore.
But she said the speculation at times crosses a line. “If she wants to share it, she wants to share it,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s someone’s house.”
The fourth annual Newport Juneteenth celebration was held at Fort Adams State Park on Saturday, June 20, an expanded event that paired the holiday with a Rhode Island 250th anniversary theme honoring the history of Black and Indigenous people across the state.
Presented by Rhode Island Slave History Medallions, the daylong program opened with a reenactors’ parade and an honorary musket salute before turning to tributes from civic leaders, including a keynote address by Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore and remarks by Governor Dan McKee.
The parade ground program continued through the afternoon with presentations by historians, youth activities, craft vendors and food trucks, alongside performances tied to the 250th theme. The lineup featured colonial music, Indigenous dancing and drumming by the Thawn Harris family of the Narragansett people, a performance by members of the Pokanoket Tribe, a drum circle led by African drummer Sidy Maiga and a gospel performance by RPM Voices of Rhode Island.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it took effect freeing enslaved people in the Confederate states.
RISHM, a statewide nonprofit, works to educate Rhode Islanders about the state’s role in the history of slavery by sharing documented stories of enslaved people. More information is available at rishm.org.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Thousands gathered in downtown Providence on Saturday for Rhode Island PrideFest, marking a major milestone celebration for the LGBTQ+ community.
The area between Dyer Street and the Providence River filled with music, vendors and community groups as the 50th annual PrideFest became a day-long celebration of identity and inclusion.
NBC 10’s Martha Konstandinidis reports on Providence’s 50th Annual PrideFest. (WJAR)
Attendees described a lively atmosphere and strong turnout.
“It’s a great turnout and it looks beautiful outside,” said Analisy Huertas of Providence.
Vendors said steady crowds and high energy made for a busy but enjoyable day. Many attendees said the event’s welcoming environment keeps them coming back each year.
“I love seeing everyone expressing themselves and being really happy,” added Adeline Lamoureux-Hathaway.
Eventgoers walking in Providence Saturday, June 20, 2026. (WJAR)
For William and Carrie Hatcher, it was their first time attending PrideFest, saying the experience stood out for its sense of community and acceptance. “There’s so much to see, so much to look at, and we’re meeting so many different people,” Carrie Hatcher said.
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PrideFest continued into the evening, with many planning to stay for the illuminated night parade.
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