Tag Archives: Virginia

The Associated Press reports: A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was hoisted away from its place of prominence in Charlottesville on Saturday and carted off to storage, years after its threatened removal became a rallying point for white supremacists and inspired their violent 2017 rally that left a woman dead and dozens injured. Work to remove the statue …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Virginia man was arrested Friday, June 18, for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election. Geoffrey Sills, 30, of Mechanicsville, is charged with …

Washington DC’s ABC News affiliate reports: At least two people were arrested on Tuesday afternoon, during a Loudoun County School Board meeting, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. One person was accused of trespassing and issued a summons. The other was “charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.” More than 200 people were scheduled to share their opinions on …

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: Terry McAuliffe, the former governor seeking a return to the Executive Mansion, will represent Democrats this fall in a closely watched contest that will test Democrats’ political hold over the state in the post-Trump era. McAuliffe, 64, easily prevailed in a five-way Democratic primary where his fundraising, name recognition and connections to powerful Virginians made him …

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: John W. Warner, a Republican U.S. senator who led Virginia’s congressional delegation for 30 years and whose marriage to actress Elizabeth Taylor brought a dash of glamour to Virginia politics, has died. He was 94. Mr. Warner died at home in Alexandria Tuesday night with family at his side, according to multiple former and current U.S. …

The Washington Post reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said that after midnight Friday, anyone who is fully vaccinated will not be required to wear masks indoors or out, except on public transit, in health-care facilities or in congregate settings. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is lifting the statewide mask mandate at the same time, coinciding with his earlier plan …

The New York Times reports: Glenn Youngkin, a wealthy first-time candidate who walked a line between his party’s Trump-centric base and appeals to business interests, won the Republican nomination for governor of Virginia on Monday. At the recent candidates’ forum, Mr. Youngkin aligned himself with Mr. Trump’s lies about a rigged 2020 election, declaring “voter integrity” a top issue and …

The Christian Post reports: A photographer suing Virginia over a law that would force him to service same-sex weddings despite religious objections is continuing his legal battle after a district court dismissed his complaint. The Alliance Defending Freedom filed an appeal on Wednesday on behalf of Robert Updegrove of Bob Updegrove Photography in Updegrove v. Herring. In late March, U.S. …

Richmond’s ABC News affiliate reports: A Republican state delegate running to be Virginia’s next lieutenant governor is accusing another GOP candidate in the race of homophobia after a mailer showing him attending a PrideFest event with a rainbow-striped shirt on was sent out to convention delegates with a message claiming he was not a true Republican. The issue came to …

The Associated Press reports: The governor signed legislation Wednesday making Virginia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, a dramatic shift for the commonwealth, which had the second-highest number of executions in the U.S. The bills were the culmination of a yearslong battle by Democrats who argued the death penalty has been applied disproportionately to people of color, the …

Just in via press release: Governor Ralph Northam today restored the civil rights of more than 69,000 Virginians using new eligibility criteria that mirror a proposed change to the Constitution of Virginia that would automatically restore voting rights to individuals upon completion of their sentence of incarceration. Governor Northam announced that going forward, any Virginian released from incarceration will qualify …

The Richmond Dispatch reports: A former Old Dominion University student who joined up with white supremacists in a swatting conspiracy that targeted a Black church, his own university and a Cabinet officer, among others, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday. The 33-month sentence for John William Kirby Kelley, 20, of Vienna, Virginia, essentially splits the difference between …

NBC Washington reports: Virginia lawmakers passed a bill that will ban the use of a person’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense in court for the assault or murder of an LGBTQ person. “It’s done: We’re banning the gay/trans panic defense in Virginia,” Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, said in a Twitter post. Roem introduced House …

The Virginia Mercury reports: Lawmakers in the Virginia House and Senate voted Saturday to legalize recreational marijuana beginning in 2024, but opted to delay key decisions about how the new marketplace will operate until next year. The bill, which Gov. Ralph Northam made a priority of his final year in office, is poised to make Virginia the first state in …

NBC News reports: State lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a bill that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its history than any other. The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam, who has said he will sign the measure, making Virginia the 23rd …

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: A Hanover County man who told police he was a high-ranking member of the Ku Klux Klan was sentenced Tuesday to three years and eight months in jail for driving through a crowd of protesters in Henrico County last summer. Harry Rogers, 37, pleaded guilty last week to five misdemeanors: three counts of assault, and one …

From the Justice Department: Two off-duty Rocky Mount, Virginia police officers were charged yesterday in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson were charged by complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without …

Norfolk’s NBC News affiliate reports: A man from Hampton Roads photographed wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Camp Auschwitz” during the U.S. Capitol insurrection last Wednesday is in custody. Robert Keith Packer, 56, was arrested on Wednesday morning by federal authorities and turned over to U.S. Marshals. Now unsealed federal charging documents show Packer is charged with knowingly entering or …

The New York Daily News reports: A Virginia sheriff’s deputy who allegedly called for a “violent revolutionary action” and said he was “ready to kill” anyone who tried to vaccinate his children or make him wear a mask has been fired. Posts from the Parler account of Aaron Hoffman, a member of the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office, included seeming …

“Not my President and never will be. The American people aren’t fools. We know you cheated to win and we’ll never accept these results. “Fair elections we can accept but cheating to win; never. It’s not over yet. So thankful President Trump has a backbone and refuses to concede. “President Trump should declare martial law as recommended by General Flynn.” …