I went to Rehoboth this spring to report for Washingtonian on a crazily escalating feud between long-time residents who feel overrun by development, and the perceived interlopers they tried to quash – and with politically savvy Washington residents on both sides, things got ugly, to the tune of large-scale rallies outside City Hall, allegations of political corruption and dark money, a string of lawsuits, social media spats, and neighbors turning against neighbors. And I got fascinated with the dark history of Rehoboth, a beautiful place that has long witnessed ugly battles – sometimes with actual bloodshed, as with a string of gay-bashing incidents in the 80s and 90s – over who gets to call themselves an local.