Tag Archives: Virginia

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.” …

NBC News reports: Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe will announce Wednesday morning that he will run again for his former seat, according to aides involved in his emerging campaign. McAuliffe, who entertained a run for president in 2020, is up against three other Democrats, all of whom are Black: current Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, state senator Jennifer McClellan and former …

The New York Daily News reports: Lending a whole new meaning to the term “heavy breather,” a man was arrested Sunday for exhaling onto women at Trump’s Virginia golf course. Raymond Deskins, 61, was charged with misdemeanor assault after a private citizen obtained a warrant through a county magistrate, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday. They were near the …

CNN reports: CNN projects Joe Biden will notch a win in Virginia. In 13 of the 14 presidential elections before 2008, Virginia went for the Republican nominee. But Barack Obama’s arrival coincided with a shift in the commonwealth’s electorate, powered by suburban voters with college degrees. Not quite liberal, Virginia has become increasingly Democratic – in the 2018 midterms, Reps. …

Just in via press release: Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 15 percentage points (53%-38%) in Virginia according to The Reconnect Research/Roanoke College Poll. Only 5% are undecided, and 4% said they will vote for Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate. Fully 95% of those who support either candidate are very certain of their vote intention. Biden’s …

The Associated Press reports: A severed fiber optic cable shut down Virginia’s online voter registration system Tuesday, the last day to register before the November general election. The Virginia Department of Elections said in statement on Twitter that a “fiber cut” was affecting connectivity for multiple agencies, including the citizen portal and registrar’s offices. The state also said technicians were …

ABC News reports: Governor Ralph Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam have tested positive for COVID-19. The two were notified Wednesday evening “that a member of the Governor’s official residence staff, who works closely within the couple’s living quarters, had developed symptoms and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19,” a press release from the Governor’s office says. “Both the Governor and …

The New York Times reports: A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting “four more years” as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site. County election officials eventually were forced to open up …

Reuters reports: Lines of voters stretched hundreds deep in northern Virginia and other parts of the state on the first day of early voting in the 2020 presidential election. Friday marked the first day of early voting across the commonwealth. In Fairfax County, election workers were scrambling to open an additional voting room at the county government center where a …