Police in Thailand have arrested a suspect in connection with the violent murder of an LGBTQ TikTok influencer from Myanmar, who was found beaten to death in a remote forest on January 20.
Authorities were alerted after a villager herding animals discovered a body beneath a tree in a forested area near Phathong village in Thailand’s Mae Sot District, roughly 300 miles northwest of Bangkok.
The deceased was identified as 25-year-old Ko Tin Zaw Htwe, a prominent LGBTQ TikTok influencer with more than 1.1 million followers who posted under the handle “Irrawaddy Ma.” He had been missing for two days before his body was discovered. His final video, uploaded on January 19, showed him lip-syncing to a popular song.
According to the Bangkok Post, police found Htwe lying face down, wearing a yellow T-shirt beneath a black jacket, with his black trousers and underwear pulled down around his buttocks and his belt buckle undone. His face showed signs of severe trauma consistent with being struck by a hard object. Police also recovered a bloodstained wooden rod nearby, which they believe was used in the attack.
Police found several of Htwe’s personal effects nearby, including an empty alcohol bottle, a shoulder bag, cosmetics, a bank book, and condoms. However, his jewelry — including a gold necklace, gold ring, and gold bracelet — and his cellphone were missing, according to Thairath Online.
The day after Htwe’s body was discovered, Police Col. Rang Dawdueng, superintendent of the Mae Sot Police Station, confirmed to Thairath Online that one suspect had been arrested, but declined to release further details.
Friends of the 25-year-old influencer, who was known online for posting lifestyle and dancing content, told police that he disappeared around midnight on January 18 after receiving a call on social media from someone asking for help. He went to meet the caller and then lost contact with his friends and family.
Police believe that two suspects were involved in luring Htwe to the secluded location where he was killed. Investigators say the perpetrators were likely people who Htwe trusted, which may explain why he agreed to meet them in an isolated area.
Organizers of the annual Tucson Pride festival have dissolved the organization’s board and canceled the upcoming 2026 Pride festival and all related events.
As reported by the Arizona Daily Star, the two-member board -- Sam Cloud and Jeff Fulgham -- announced the decision in a note posted to the Tucson Pride website and its social media accounts on January 21, exactly one month before the festival was scheduled to take place.
"This decision was not made lightly," the note reads. "We recognize the deep importance Tucson Pride has held in our community since 1977, serving as a space of visibility, advocacy, celebration, and resilience for nearly five decades. We are profoundly grateful to every volunteer, sponsor, artist, activist, and community member who has supported Tucson Pride throughout its history."
A Wisconsin man is maintaining his innocence after being accused of using Grindr to carry out a sinister catfishing scheme against another man.
Matthew Huebschman, 32, of Appleton, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of stalking during a December 15 hearing before Outagamie County Judge Carrie Schneider, according to Seehafer News.
Police allege that Huebschman used the gay dating app Grindr to impersonate the victim and invite men to the victim’s home without his knowledge, then watched from a nearby location as the men arrived.
GLAAD has released new data showing that 1,042 anti-LGBTQ incidents were reported across 47 states and the District of Columbia in 2025 -- a 5% increase over the previous year, according to the organization’s ALERT Desk Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker.
Anti-LGBTQ incidents were defined as "an act of harassment, threat(s), vandalism, and/or assault against an individual, group, and/or organization," with explicit evidence of anti-LGBTQ bias as a motivating factor.
The incidents included 128 acts of hateful vandalism, 76 violent assaults, 22 threats of mass violence, and 15 arson attempts.
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