Virginia governor pardons man whose arrest at a school board meeting galvanized conservatives (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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The father of a Virginia student sexually assaulted in her high school bathroom has been pardoned after his arrest two years ago protesting a school board meeting became a flashpoint in the conservative push to increase parental involvement in public education.

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Fox News Sunday that he had pardoned Scott Smith of his disorderly conduct conviction stemming from the June 2021 incident. The episode featured prominently throughout the gubernatorial campaign that year for Youngkin, who has made support for the so-called “parents’ rights” movement a cornerstone of his political brand.

“Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter,” Youngkin said Sunday in a press release. “Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia.”

According to Loudoun Now, Smith threatened to kick out the teeth of deputies who dragged him away from a Loudoun County School Board meeting over state-mandated protections for transgender students. The local news outlet reported that he had argued loudly, clenched his fist and sworn at a woman while demanding answers over the handling of his daughter’s assault.

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[-] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

I didn't hear about this when it originally happened. Not enough detail in the article to understand what actually happened.

[-] oldbean@dmv.social 7 points 1 year ago

The daughter of the man arrested was raped in her High School bathroom by another student. Apparently the rapist is trans and so Youngkin, who was the republican candidate for governor at the time, used this as a major talking point for his campaign “democrats want your daughters to share bathrooms with rapists”. Youngkin was elected as Governor and this was probably a large reason for his election. It seems like Youngkin is now reminding everyone of this whole event, and where his beliefs remain on this particular subject.

[-] n2burns@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 year ago

Apparently the rapist is trans

According to the article,

The case galvanized conservatives nationwide when reports spread that the cisgender male student wore a skirt during the first attack.

[-] oldbean@dmv.social 8 points 1 year ago

Yeah, sorry I was going off of memory. I remember the whole “issue” seemed half baked, and there were mixed reports at the time.

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this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023

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