Virginia has become a focal point for battles against progressive initiatives pushed by the Biden administration within public schools.
In response, parents and conservative politicians have successfully opposed measures such as unisex bathrooms, the inclusion of biological males in female sports, curriculum based on Critical Race Theory (CRT), and the presence of LGBTQ+ materials in school libraries.
The support of Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has played a significant role in securing multiple legal victories against Loudoun County’s prosecutor, who has received backing from George Soros, and Biden administration officials.
Governor Youngkin once again entered the debate on Sunday by granting a pardon to Mr. Scott Smith. Mr. Smith’s daughter was sexually assaulted at a school where unisex bathroom policies were in place, and administrators failed to protect students from a known, aggressive transgender student.
Glenn Youngkin is all about law and order until he can use a pardon to help his failing presidential ambitions or try to change the campaign focus from taking away women's rights to his billionaire funded mission to destroy & privatize schools pic.twitter.com/NaxKWosX0C
— Senator Scott Surovell (@ssurovell) September 10, 2023
After his daughter’s sexual assault, Smith exchanged heated words with progressive activist Jackie Schworm, who expressed doubts about his daughter’s assault.
During this verbal altercation, an unexpected incident occurred when a police officer grabbed Smith from behind, leading to a struggle between Smith and the officer. Subsequently, Smith was charged with resisting arrest, a decision that many criticize as excessive.
Police defended their actions by citing Smith’s body language, which they believed indicated a potential escalation of the situation. They argue that this justified their decision to kneel on Smith’s chest while he shouted, “I can’t breathe.”
Liberal prosecutor Buta Biberaj initially pursued jail time for Smith. However, The Daily Wire reported that while the “resisting arrest charge” was dismissed for lacking merit, Smith remained incarcerated solely due to a heated verbal altercation.
In response to numerous petitions urging the governor’s intervention, Governor Youngkin granted an “absolute pardon” to Smith on Sunday, clearing him of all charges and accusations.
This decision faced immediate criticism from Democratic leaders, with the Soros-backed prosecutor suggesting that Youngkin’s motive was driven by political gain.
Gov. Youngkin is once again using Loudoun County for his political gain. My full statement below. pic.twitter.com/fPYEksC93T
— Buta Biberaj (@ButaBiberaj) September 10, 2023
Interestingly, Biberaj campaigned on a platform focused on reducing “over incarceration” and consistently declined to prosecute misdemeanor offenses.
Scott Surovell, Vice Chairman of the Democrat Senate Caucus, criticized Youngkin’s pardon, alleging it displayed a disregard for “law and order” and was a move to bolster his struggling presidential aspirations.
Governor Youngkin appears unperturbed by these criticisms, simply stating that Smith had not committed any crime and highlighting significant concerns about the “integrity of the prosecution.”
According to The Daily Wire, the government took unusual steps to prosecute Smith, including the judge dismissing the resisting arrest charge and removing Biberaj from the case due to a perceived conflict of interest. Nevertheless, the government persisted in pursuing Smith, compelling him to prepare for a second trial on charges of “disorderly conduct.”
The Wire reported that officials brought Judge Howe Brown (from neighboring, deep-blue Fairfax County) out of retirement to oversee the case. That judge ruled “that under the ‘peculiar’ language of Virginia’s disorderly conduct statute, Smith arguably committed disorderly conduct by cursing at Schworm because it could ‘incite’ her to violence…”
Judge Brown suggested Smith might have deserved to be assaulted for calling the activist Schworm a “b—,” saying, “I think it incites her to violence.”
Smith is grateful for the pardon and told The Daily Wire a “pardon was necessary because there was no assurance of justice anywhere in counties that are run by radical prosecutors.”
