“And it just leaves an impression that violence is just around the corner.”įor years after the Otherside bombing, Woolard collected data on hate crimes against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “It was very scary and very threatening,” Woolard recalled. She was Georgia’s first openly gay elected official. She works for a post traumatic stress center.Ĭathy Woolard, a former Atlanta city council president who is running for mayor, had visited the Otherside Lounge from time to time. She and the other owner hung on for about two years before shuttering the place. She remembers the sight of two empty baby seats blown out of her backseat.Īt the time, she was determined to overcome the hate crime and re-opened in a week. The blast destroyed several cars in the parking lot, including her own.
She was lucky in that the nails, glass shards and other debris flew over her head. She had just driven up to the place and was about to enter when what police later called “a projectile bomb” exploded. Her club was bombed the night of February 21, 1997, a Friday. “I always thought Rudolph was like ISIS,” McMahon said.
The hate, the fanaticism, all cloaked in the mantle of religion. She sees a lot in common between Rudolph and the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the Orlando attack.