Tag Archive for: Virginia

Gun-Control Org Spent $1 Million For Firearm Ban That Could Go Down As Epic Self-Own

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Despite massive spending in the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial race, the gun-control organization backed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have left the state with far more modern semiautomatic firearms than there were prior to a short-lived ban.

Pro-Second Amendment organizations filed suit after Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed SB 749, a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” into law May 14, eventually securing court orders blocking the legislation. Following a decision by state courts to pause the litigation on Virginia’s ban pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Viramontes v. Cook County, a case challenging a similar ban on modern semiautomatic weapons, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) Litigation & Intelligence Coordinator Rob Romano summarized the outcome from the series of events in a Thursday post on X.

“Pretty funny how Everytown spent $1 million to get Spanberger elected so she could sign this ban, and now the end result will potentially be less than a month of it being in effect but significantly more of the guns and magazines in the state than if she vetoed it,” Romano said.

Everytown touted its $1 million ad campaign for Spanberger shortly after she defeated then-Republican Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the 2025 gubernatorial race.

When signing the bill, Spanberger claimed that the ban on modern semiautomatic firearms would “protect families.” What happened instead is a classic example of unintended consequences, most of which end up on the positive side of the ledger for the Second Amendment community.

The court’s orders blocking the law took effect on July 21, less than three weeks after the effective date of the ban. Despite the uncertainty of whether SB 749 would take effect on July 1 due to the litigation from pro-Second Amendment groups, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and FPC, AR-15s and similar firearms that would be covered by the ban were flying off the shelves, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported in June.

“They’re buying the living daylights out of ARs,” Karen Ballengee, owner of Southern Police Equipment, said. “They’re buying guns as fast as they can get their hands on them.”

Background check totals appear to bear that out. The FBI reported carrying out over 73,000 background checks on the National Instant Check System in Virginia during May, more than twice as many as the total conducted in May 2025.

In an article published May 13, The New York Times noted that both the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle (which bears a resemblance to the M16 and M4 select-fire weapons used by the U.S. military) and semiautomatic rifles with cosmetic features or accessories that make them look like fully-automatic AK-47s are popular firearms owned by millions of civilians. Or, in simple language, lots of people use them for reasons that are perfectly legal.

The shorter phrase is that these guns are in “common use.” Per Heller and Bruen, firearms in common use for lawful purposes fall under the Second Amendment’s protection; in other words, they can’t be banned.

In addition to the ban on so-called “assault weapons,” the bill Spanberger signed also outlawed standard-capacity magazines, setting an arbitrary limit of 15 rounds. That is also on hold pending the Supreme Court’s ruling in Viramontes.

AUTHOR

Harold Hutchison

Second Amendment Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Nothing in Commonwealth

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As July begins, Virginians brace for higher gas taxes, hoping that the $68 price of a barrel of crude oil will start to bring the price at the pump back down. However, they will very soon be hit with a 7% increase in their electric bills.

Iran? No. Trump tariffs? No.

This is because, as Gov. Abigail Spanberger promised the lords of the Green Energy Cabal, Virginia has reentered the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This is the classic cap-and-trade scheme with a cool new, hip name.

Not a week passed after she announced the reentry into the initiative before Dominion filed with the State Corporation Commission for rate increases to cover the fees they will have to pay to the overseeing body for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

You have to pay for credits if you use more than your allotment of carbon credits to generate your electricity. You buy them from members who don’t, and if there aren’t any to buy, the money just goes into the initiative’s bank account for when someone does have credits to sell.

Under the heading of “win-win” for Spanberger, she can blame all that electric use on data centers, not former Gov. Ralph Northam’s economic suicide pact with California called “Green Virginia 2030,” which already had Dominion take two power plants offline and turn Virginia into the largest importer of electricity in the USA. (Thus, that controversial “Valley Link” power line project.)

However, there is a commonwealth not far away that—to the surprise of many—pulled itself out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. That commonwealth is Pennsylvania. Similarities?

Sure, they have a Democrat governor; they even have a Democrat governor who fancies himself a contender for the presidential nomination in 2028. That’s where the similarities start to fade.

Their Democrat governor, who fancies himself a contender for the presidential nomination in 2028, realized that hitting his citizens with a massive electric bill increase was not a good path to that end goal. So, Josh Shapiro did what no other U.S. governor except Glenn Youngkin has done: pulled his state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Maybe Virginia’s governor should have called Harrisburg and asked Shapiro for advice. However, after Senate leader Louise Lucas told Washington, D.C., press that Spanberger has reached out to talk to her fewer times than the Republican Youngkin ever did, you start to wonder if maybe Spanberger has a reaching-out problem.

Pennsylvania’s Shapiro has made it very clear that he has great concerns over the increase in Pennsylvania’s utility bills. He said repeatedly on the campaign trail that the initiative is bad for Pennsylvania. However, when that commonwealth’s courts ruled that the initiative’s carbon tax was unconstitutional, the governor had the decision appealed.

So, he may not believe in his heart that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is bad policy, but that doesn’t matter. His citizens are not going to be paying higher electric bills because when somebody sees a presidential campaign looming, ideology and/or party platform planks can go out the window.

Another note on Pennsylvania: They are also trying to reinvigorate a long and illustrious history of industry, building everything from tractors to most of the steel in the USA at one point. Shapiro must have realized that Pennsylvanians working are surely going to find life in the Keystone State more—how does Spanberger say it? Oh yes, “affordable.”

Did the fact that Pennsylvania has a Republican majority in its General Assembly play into this? I would not try to insult your intelligence by saying it didn’t.

However, despite the number of seats in deficit the Republican Party finds itself in Virginia’s General Assembly, the district-by-district deficit is a percentage point or two after millions of out-of-state dollars were spent on Democrat candidates. Add to that only 40%—and sometimes 35%—voter turnout, and it becomes clear that Virginia is not far from the same kind of Republican majority in the House and Senate that Pennsylvanians have.

Until then, Virginians are going to be paying higher electric bills because too many Republicans stayed home on Election Day and didn’t deliver at least one house in majority to stand up to the governor’s plans to increase everyone’s electric utilities.

For good measure, Spanberger signed a law this year making it illegal to do what Youngkin did when he pulled out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Now there has to be legislation passed and signed by the governor to rescue us.

Maybe that can be the plot of “Shrek 6.”

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.

AUTHOR

Joe Thomas 

Joe Thomas is a Virginia correspondent for the Daily Signal. Follow on X JTitMVirginia.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

$22 Million Gun Factory Relocates From Virginia to Georgia Over ‘Anti-Gun’ Legislation

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On Wednesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced a firearms manufacturer will leave the state of Virginia over new “anti-gun legislation” and relocate to Georgia, bringing a $22 million investment and employing hundreds of residents.

“Georgia attracts job creators from all over the country and world because we work with them, not against them,” Kemp said. “Our state’s pro-business approach, skilled workforce, and enduring support for constitutional freedoms make us an ideal home for manufacturers like Rideout Arsenal, and we look forward to their success here in the No. 1 state for business.”

Rideout Arsenal, the firearms designer and manufacturer launching the new facility, has announced it will be opening its doors in the South Georgia town of Thomasville.

“Today we welcome Rideout Arsenal to Thomasville. This includes new highly skilled jobs, new partnerships, new careers, and new momentum for our community,” Thomasville Mayor Scott Chastain said. “Most importantly, we welcome the Rideout family to our community.”

The new facility will be located within the Plantation Oak Industrial Park, with additional buildings planned throughout the next several years.

The company’s founders said the decision to locate in Georgia was made partly as a response to recent legislation in Virginia that could affect the business.

“This relocation was not something we originally planned to pursue. The reality is that recent anti-gun legislation in Virginia created a significant uncertainty for our company and ultimately forced us to look for a state where we could continue operating, investing, and growing with confidence,” Travis Rideout, co-founder of Rideout Arsenal, said. “We are excited to bring new jobs and manufacturing investment to Thomas County and are grateful for the warm welcome we have already received.”

The move comes after Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger enacted a slew of gun control measures into law, which blocked the sale of certain “assault weapons” in the commonwealth and imposed a ban on magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds.

Spanberger claimed the legislation would make Virginians safer. “Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,” she said in a statement.

Spanberger, Kemp, and Rideout Arsenal did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

Pedro Rodriguez 

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a journalism fellow at the Daily Signal. Follow on X pedrobrodrigue7

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Democrats’ Virginia Gerrymander: Deception, Disenfranchisement

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Virginia voters head to the polls on April 21 to decide the future of fair elections in the Commonwealth. On the surface, the Democratic-backed constitutional amendment sounds reasonable: it claims to “restore fairness” to congressional map-drawing. In reality, it is one of the most brazen partisan power grabs in modern American politics — a deliberate attempt to rig the system, silence nearly half the electorate, and shred the independent redistricting process voters approved just six years ago. The scheme is straightforward in its cynicism.

Virginia’s current congressional map, drawn by the independent bipartisan commission created in 2020, produces a 6-5 Democratic-Republican split that roughly mirrors the state’s evenly divided electorate. Democrats now want to scrap that map and replace it with one that would deliver a grotesque 10-1 Democratic Party advantage. Four Republican seats would be effectively erased. This isn’t “fairness.” It’s the elimination of competitive districts in a state where Republicans and independents routinely cast close to half the votes.

The dishonesty begins with the ballot language itself. The question carefully avoids any mention of the actual map voters are being asked to endorse. It is a textbook push poll, written to elicit a predetermined “Yes” without revealing the radical anti-democratic outcome. Early voting is already underway, yet local registrars were instructed not to post pictures of the proposed map. Virginia Democrats, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who once falsely cultivated a moderate image and explicitly said that gerrymandering was damaging to our democracy, now champion the effort, pretending that they are protecting democracy.

What makes this especially galling is the hypocrisy. For years, national Democrats and their media allies have portrayed Republicans as the uniquely evil practitioners of gerrymandering. They lecture the country that only the GOP draws “outrageous” maps. Yet the very states they control tell a different story — one of systematic, decades-long exclusion of Republican voters.

Consider the Northeast alone. Massachusetts is home to roughly 35% Republican voters, yet it sends zero Republicans to Congress. Connecticut’s electorate is 42% Republican, with zero seats. Maine (46% Republican), New Hampshire (46%), Rhode Island (42%), and Vermont (32%) all deliver the same result: zero Republican representation. Hawaii (38 % Republican) and Delaware (42% Republican) follow the identical pattern. These are not flukes of geography or turnout.

They are the predictable outcomes of aggressive Democratic map-drawing that packs Republican voters into as few districts as possible or spreads them so thinly they cannot win anywhere. The same story repeats in other states. California, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, New York, and Illinois have all used sophisticated gerrymandering techniques to maximize Democratic seats far beyond what raw vote totals would justify.

Independent analysts consistently rank several of these maps among the most partisan in the nation. Yet when Democrats propose turning Virginia — a genuine swing state — into a 10-1 farce, they suddenly rediscover the language of “fairness.” The mask slipped completely when prominent Democrats stopped pretending. Rep. Donald Beyer admitted the plan “seems unfair in Virginia” but defended it anyway because it serves the national Democratic goal “to stop Donald Trump.”

State Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Dist.18, the plan’s chief architect, was even more direct. Responding to a fellow Democrat who called the scheme “extremely anti-democratic,” she declared that anyone opposing it “doesn’t share our values as Democrats. In other words, the issue was never fairness. It was grabbing political power.

This episode reveals something deeper and more troubling about today’s progressive politics: a willingness to abandon democratic norms the moment they become inconvenient. The 2020 redistricting reform passed with overwhelming bipartisan support precisely because Virginians were tired of politicians choosing their voters instead of the other way around. Democrats now propose suspending that reform for the 2026 midterms, ramming through their gerrymander, and then — they solemnly promise — restoring the independent commission afterward. The idea that newly elected Democrats would voluntarily vote themselves out of safe congressional seats is laughable on its face.

Power seized through procedural chicanery is almost never relinquished. And since Abigail Spanberger lied to Virginians about her not supporting a gerrymandering ploy, we should not believe their claims that this gerrymandering plan is only temporary. A recent Roanoke College poll shows Virginians are not fooled: 62% want to keep the bipartisan commission process. That public skepticism is heartening, but it must translate into action.

The left’s enthusiastic support for this Virginia scheme, despite its obvious hypocrisy and despite the mountain of evidence that one-party Democratic monopolies already exist across much of the country, exposes their true priorities. Principles are flexible; power is not. Moral lectures about democracy are reserved exclusively for Republicans. When Democrats hold the map-drawing pen, different rules apply. Virginia has long prided itself on political maturity and competitive districts that force candidates to appeal beyond their base. Competitive elections produce better policy and more accountable government.

Handing one party a 10-1 lock disenfranchises roughly half the state’s voters, rendering their ballots structurally meaningless in congressional races. It turns representative democracy into a managed and fake democracy — the very outcome the 2020 reform was designed to prevent. On April 21, Virginians have a chance to send a clear message that transcends party labels. Reject the lies. Reject the power grab. Reject the cynical attempt to turn Virginia into just another one-party fiefdom. Vote no on the redistricting amendment and preserve the independent process that puts voters — not politicians — in charge.

The integrity of our elections and the principle of equal representation are worth defending. Virginia’s voters have always risen to that challenge. This April 21 should be no different.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

Inside The Case Against The Prosecutor Accused Of Putting Criminal Illegals First

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As Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano defended himself before Congress on Thursday, a legal expert told the Daily Caller what to expect next in the Department of Justice’s case against him — and what changes could follow.

Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF), says he was the first to raise concerns about Descano with the DOJ. Johnson told the Caller he believes the DOJ will find policies or patterns showing Descano offered preferential treatment to illegal aliens over American citizens.

A DOJ statement, paired with a May 6 notice of the investigation, said the department is examining Descano’s plea bargaining, charging decisions and sentencing policies to determine whether non-U.S. citizens were granted preferential treatment.

Johnson said he wrote a letter in December to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who signed the notice, outlining accusations against Descano and requesting an investigation.

“I guess they’ve looked at it, and now they’ve decided that there’s enough there for them to investigate,” Johnson said. “They’re taking the exact approach that we asked them to take.”

During his testimony, Descano said his office “does not provide sanctuary or safe harbor to undocumented immigrants,” and that suggesting otherwise promotes a false narrative.

Following the announcement of the investigation, Descano also said that his policies are “fair, legal, and reflect the values of my community.”

“This investigation is the latest example of the Trump administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks,” his office later said in a statement, adding that the policies have been in place for more than five years and that the investigation comes a week before Descano is set to speak before Congress. “Our office’s policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of Fairfax County, and we will not be distracted from our mission of keeping this community safe and holding individuals accountable when they commit crimes.”

Johnson and the Fairfax-based LELDF, which uses litigation and legal advocacy to support law enforcement nationwide, have criticized Descano’s practices since at least the death of Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother allegedly stabbed to death at a county bus stop by a criminal illegal immigrant in February.

Minter’s mother also testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, saying the system had failed her daughter.

“When policies protect people who are known threats, innocent lives are put at risk. When warnings are ignored, families like mine pay the price. This is not just about Stephanie, this is about every mother, every parent, every child, every person who waits at a bus stop, walks home, or goes to work trusting that they’ll be safe,” she testified. “We cannot ignore this; we cannot look away. Compassion should never come at the cost of public safety. Care for one group should not mean danger for another.”

The issue did not end with Minter’s death. By April, the Caller reported that illegal aliens made up 75 percent of suspects arrested for murder in Fairfax County in 2026, some of whom had already accumulated prior arrests and charges. 

“It’s almost every week that an illegal immigrant is having their charges dropped or otherwise not having to face justice in Fairfax County,” Johnson said.

The DOJ notice says its investigation will be conducted under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Safe Streets Act and the law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601.

Title VI prohibits any program receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. Johnson said the DOJ appears poised to examine whether Descano’s office discriminated against U.S. citizens on the basis of national origin.

The Safe Streets Act is similar, functioning as a “purse strings” statute that bars federal funding for programs that discriminate on the basis of national origin and other protected characteristics.

The law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601, allows the DOJ to target a “pattern or practice” by law enforcement officials that deprives people of their rights.

To establish a violation of this statute, the DOJ must show more than an isolated incident of preferential treatment. However, Johnson said the department does not need to show that discrimination has taken place, but only that “the policy itself is improper.”

Johnson told the Caller that although such an investigation may take over a year, he believes Dhillon will find a pattern of preferential treatment. He also claimed Descano’s office has “scrubbed” its website of evidence of such policies.

A now-deleted paragraph from Descano’s campaign page said that his policies regarding declining to prosecute certain criminal illegal aliens are “equal justice” because “if two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County.”

“He’s not really covered it up very well; he’s made it quite obvious what’s going on,” Johnson said, adding that although the DOJ may be searching for discriminatory policies as listed in the notice, it may be able to shift the focus to instead address any concerning practices not previously mentioned.

The DOJ statement notes that similar investigations have led to negotiations and policy changes in the past, though Johnson said they have primarily been used against law enforcement agencies rather than prosecutors’ offices.

The DOJ has used similar pattern-or-practice investigations to pursue reforms in other agencies. In 2023, following an investigation launched after the death of Breonna Taylor, the department found the Louisville Metro Police Department had engaged in conduct violating the Constitution and federal law, leading to a court-enforceable consent decree. In 2012, DOJ similarly found failures at the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County and later worked with officials on reforms.

Similar remedies could be on the table in Fairfax, depending on the DOJ’s findings.

Descano is not alone. The House Judiciary Committee announced May 7 that the Arlington County Commonwealth’s attorney, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, would also be investigated for allegedly refusing to cooperate with federal immigration officials and for allegedly prioritizing illegal and criminal aliens over American citizens.

Johnson told the Caller that other prosecutors’ offices in the country are operating under a similar playbook. He said any policy changes negotiated in Fairfax could serve as a deterrent for like-minded district attorneys going forward.

The Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

Derek VanBuskirk

Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller Column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Chances Fade for VA’s Unconstitutional Gerrrmandered Map to Survive

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Virginia’s corrupt Democrat machine has less than 50% chance of their redistricting map changing Dem seats from 6-5 to 10-1 making it thru Virginia Supreme Court’s  review.  It violates Virginia’s state constitution.

Former Dem Operative Wrecks Lib Hopes Over VA’s Gerrymandered Map

Matt Vespa

Dan Turrentine is another semi-defrocked political operative for the Democratic Party, mainly because he speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to call out the Democrats when they overreach. A former fixture on 2Way, he’s now co-hosting The Huddle with Sean Spicer and Rachael Bade. Turrentine provided an update on the ongoing legal battle over Virginia’s gerrymandered maps, which were approved by a narrow margin in a referendum last month. The Virginia Supreme Court rejected the state’s request for a stay, which wouldn’t have allowed the maps to be certified.

The ball is now in the state supreme court’s dojo, and while there is no official opinion yet, the outlook doesn’t look good. Turrentine said that the lack of a decision last Friday sent things into a tailspin for those wanting this map, with the governor’s staff now criticizing the Democratic leadership in the legislature, saying they warned that such a push would not pass legal review. Turrentine’s source, who is close to the process and the people making these decisions, says we’ll see, but he estimates there’s less than a 50% chance this map will be approved.

What I was told yesterday is that they now think it’s less than 50% that the court will let the certification go through. The Governor’s staff is now snipping at the Sen Maj and House Speaker that they warned them last fall this would not pass legal review.

Former VA Attorney General and DHS official Ken Cuccinelli had this thread on the topic. Tazewell refers to the county judge who issued the initial injunction on the map’s certification:

So, is a big win coming? Things look good, but let’s wait and see.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

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Florida Rolls Out Congressional Map That Could Erase Virginia Dems’ Gerrymander Advantage

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a newly drawn congressional map that could hand Republicans a major advantage.

Republicans would gain four seats if the new congressional map were to pass, which would cause Florida’s delegation in the House to be represented by 24 Republicans and three Democrats, Fox News first reported. The new map was released after voters in Virginia approved a referendum that would give Democrats an advantage in ten out of 11 of the state’s congressional districts.

DeSantis said Republicans have been fighting for fair representation since the 2020 census, stating that the population in Florida has shifted from a Democratic majority to a 1.5 million Republican advantage.

“Florida got shortchanged in the 2020 Census, and we’ve been fighting for fair representation ever since,” DeSantis told Fox News. “Our population has since grown dramatically, and we have moved from a Democrat majority to a 1.5 million Republican advantage. Drawing maps based on race, which is reflected in our current congressional districts, is unconstitutional and should be prohibited. Our new map for 2026 makes good on my promise to conduct mid-decade redistricting, and it more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today.”

Fifty-one percent of Virginians approved the proposed congressional map Tuesday, though a circuit court in Tazewell County declared it unconstitutional. The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the matter during a Monday hearing.

Democrats currently hold six seats in Virginia, while Republicans hold five.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ redistricting map Monday, which gives Republicans five additional seats in the House of Representatives. California also implemented Prop 50, which temporarily allows Democrats to redraw its congressional maps to help Democrats.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

AUTHOR

Nicole Silverio

Media Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column  is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump Makes 11th Hour Push To Stop Virginia From Gerrymandering Districts

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President Donald Trump made a last minute push on Monday to intervene in Virginia’s redistricting battle, urging voters to reject the ballot measure.

Virginia voters are set to head to the polls Tuesday on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state to redraw its congressional map ahead of the next census cycle. During a tele-rally with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump addressed supporters in Virginia and framed the upcoming referendum as a decisive national moment.

“Virginia has the chance to save our Republican majority in the House so that we can continue saving this great country of ours,” Johnson said before Trump spoke.

“Tomorrow, your Commonwealth has an incredible and really an important election in every sense of the word that will have major consequences for our entire country this November,” Trump said. “This is really a country election. The whole country is watching. So important and so unfair what they’ve done. We need every Virginia patriot to get out and vote no, no, no on the radical Democrats’ unfair ballot referendum. It is so crazy what they’re doing. So go to your polling place tomorrow and vote.”

Trump called on voters to reject what he described as Democrats’ unfair ballot referendum.

“Do not let the radical left Democrats rig this map and rig this election because they’ve done it. And that’s what, frankly, it’s the only thing they’re good at is rigging elections. They have no policy. How do you get elected with men in women’s sports and open borders for everybody?” Trump asked. “Transgender, mutualization of your children. It’s the only thing they’re good at is rigging elections. And we can’t let this happen in Virginia. We’re going to get your taxes back down.”

Trump said the referendum is a partisan effort designed to reshape Virginia’s political map to favor Democrats.

“This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it. It’s the liberal extremist governor, Abigail Spanberger, too bad. And the far-left Democrats in Richmond after Spanberger promised Virginia voters that she would never do this. And if it passes, Virginia Democrats will eliminate four out of five congressional seats.”

Trump has been known to make late-stage interventions in political fights, often stepping in only when congressional deadlines are imminent or votes are hours away. In an effort to sway GOP lawmakers during the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 renewal debate, a surveillance authority that allows monitoring of foreign targets, but has drawn criticism over potential incidental collection of Americans’ communications — Trump met with skeptical Republicans at the White House just before a key vote.

In 2025, Trump made a last-minute funding push by tapping his political war chest to support GOP efforts in key off-year races. His team directed roughly $1 million each to Virginia and New Jersey for get-out-the-vote microtargeting aimed at energizing low-propensity Republican voters in the final stretch before Election Day. During his last rally in 2025, Trump used the appearance as a last-minute push to reinforce his economic message as the country headed into a midterm-election year.

AUTHOR

Mariane Angela

News Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Democrats’ Virginia Gerrymander: Deception, Disenfranchisement!

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Virginia voters head to the polls on April 21 to decide the future of fair elections in the Commonwealth. On the surface, the Democratic-backed constitutional amendment sounds reasonable: it claims to “restore fairness” to congressional map-drawing. In reality, it is one of the most brazen partisan power grabs in modern American politics — a deliberate attempt to rig the system, silence nearly half the electorate, and shred the independent redistricting process voters approved just six years ago. The scheme is straightforward in its cynicism.

Virginia’s current congressional map, drawn by the independent bipartisan commission created in 2020, produces a 6-5 Democratic-Republican split that roughly mirrors the state’s evenly divided electorate. Democrats now want to scrap that map and replace it with one that would deliver a grotesque 10-1 Democratic Party advantage. Four Republican seats would be effectively erased. This isn’t “fairness.” It’s the elimination of competitive districts in a state where Republicans and independents routinely cast close to half the votes.

The dishonesty begins with the ballot language itself. The question carefully avoids any mention of the actual map voters are being asked to endorse. It is a textbook push poll, written to elicit a predetermined “Yes” without revealing the radical anti-democratic outcome. Early voting is already underway, yet local registrars were instructed not to post pictures of the proposed map. Virginia Democrats, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who once falsely cultivated a moderate image and explicitly said that gerrymandering was damaging to our democracy, now champion the effort, pretending that they are protecting democracy.

What makes this especially galling is the hypocrisy. For years, national Democrats and their media allies have portrayed Republicans as the uniquely evil practitioners of gerrymandering. They lecture the country that only the GOP draws “outrageous” maps. Yet the very states they control tell a different story — one of systematic, decades-long exclusion of Republican voters.

Consider the Northeast alone. Massachusetts is home to roughly 35% Republican voters, yet it sends zero Republicans to Congress. Connecticut’s electorate is 42% Republican, with zero seats. Maine (46% Republican), New Hampshire (46%), Rhode Island (42%), and Vermont (32%) all deliver the same result: zero Republican representation. Hawaii (38 % Republican) and Delaware (42% Republican) follow the identical pattern. These are not flukes of geography or turnout.

They are the predictable outcomes of aggressive Democratic map-drawing that packs Republican voters into as few districts as possible or spreads them so thinly they cannot win anywhere. The same story repeats in other states. California, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, New York, and Illinois have all used sophisticated gerrymandering techniques to maximize Democratic seats far beyond what raw vote totals would justify.

Independent analysts consistently rank several of these maps among the most partisan in the nation. Yet when Democrats propose turning Virginia — a genuine swing state — into a 10-1 farce, they suddenly rediscover the language of “fairness.” The mask slipped completely when prominent Democrats stopped pretending. Rep. Donald Beyer admitted the plan “seems unfair in Virginia” but defended it anyway because it serves the national Democratic goal “to stop Donald Trump.”

State Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Dist.18, the plan’s chief architect, was even more direct. Responding to a fellow Democrat who called the scheme “extremely anti-democratic,” she declared that anyone opposing it “doesn’t share our values as Democrats. In other words, the issue was never fairness. It was grabbing political power.

This episode reveals something deeper and more troubling about today’s progressive politics: a willingness to abandon democratic norms the moment they become inconvenient. The 2020 redistricting reform passed with overwhelming bipartisan support precisely because Virginians were tired of politicians choosing their voters instead of the other way around. Democrats now propose suspending that reform for the 2026 midterms, ramming through their gerrymander, and then — they solemnly promise — restoring the independent commission afterward. The idea that newly elected Democrats would voluntarily vote themselves out of safe congressional seats is laughable on its face.

Power seized through procedural chicanery is almost never relinquished. And since Abigail Spanberger lied to Virginians about her not supporting a gerrymandering ploy, we should not believe their claims that this gerrymandering plan is only temporary. A recent Roanoke College poll shows Virginians are not fooled: 62% want to keep the bipartisan commission process. That public skepticism is heartening, but it must translate into action.

The left’s enthusiastic support for this Virginia scheme, despite its obvious hypocrisy and despite the mountain of evidence that one-party Democratic monopolies already exist across much of the country, exposes their true priorities. Principles are flexible; power is not. Moral lectures about democracy are reserved exclusively for Republicans. When Democrats hold the map-drawing pen, different rules apply. Virginia has long prided itself on political maturity and competitive districts that force candidates to appeal beyond their base. Competitive elections produce better policy and more accountable government.

Handing one party a 10-1 lock disenfranchises roughly half the state’s voters, rendering their ballots structurally meaningless in congressional races. It turns representative democracy into a managed and fake democracy — the very outcome the 2020 reform was designed to prevent. On April 21, Virginians have a chance to send a clear message that transcends party labels. Reject the lies. Reject the power grab. Reject the cynical attempt to turn Virginia into just another one-party fiefdom. Vote no on the redistricting amendment and preserve the independent process that puts voters — not politicians — in charge.

The integrity of our elections and the principle of equal representation are worth defending. Virginia’s voters have always risen to that challenge. This April 21 should be no different.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

EXCLUSIVE: Old Dominion Shooter Far From The Only ISIS Lover Courts Let Off Easy

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A school shooter in Virginia is one of many ISIS acolytes who received seemingly soft sentences for a federal terrorism charge, according to data obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Mohamed Jalloh died after killing an ROTC instructor and attacking Army cadets at Old Dominion University (ODU) on March 12. He was released from prison early after providing material support to foreign terrorists. Judges have given pro-ISIS defendants an average sentence of 15 years for Jalloh’s same crime since 2014, five years below what sentencing guidelines typically recommend, the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) told the DCNF.

NCITE’s data stems from a broader January study on federal ISIS-related prosecutions between 2014 and 2025 that found cases have steadily increased since 2023, the federally-funded think tank told the DCNF. The “material support” charge made up 73% of ISIS cases, the study found.

That crime should lead to about 5 to 12 years in prison if the offender does not kill anyone, according to federal sentencing guidelines. However, prosecutors can request a terrorism enhancement to the sentence that brings non-lethal cases to 19.5 years or the maximum 20 allowed. A 15-year average for ISIS supporters suggests courts routinely sentence below the guidelines.

Data from a federally-funded study shows a recent increase in criminal cases involving alleged ISIS adherents. (Image courtesy of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center)

Data from a federally-funded study shows a recent increase in criminal cases involving alleged ISIS adherents. (Image courtesy of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center)

The guidelines recommend the enhancement for any crime “that involved, or was intended to promote, a federal crime of terrorism.” Critics who consider the enhancement too aggressive, such as the Muslim Legal Fund of America, have noted that it can apply to practically every material support for terrorism case.

Second Chances

Jalloh’s case is a recent example of a judge going easy on an ISIS-inspired radical — with disastrous results.

The African-born U.S. citizen, who was a National Guard veteran, met with multiple ISIS members and conveyed plans for an attack on par with the 2009 Fort Hood Army base massacre, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Jalloh went as far as trying to obtain an AK-47 rifle to slaughter U.S. soldiers, prosecutors said.

Jalloh profusely apologized for his actions during his 2017 sentencing hearing, saying he “did not intend to cause any harm to anyone,” court records show.

“Every time I see any atrocities that ISIS commits, I am disgusted by it because I know this is not what I want to be a part of … I was in a really bad place, looking for some purpose, and it just really all got out of hand,” Jalloh said.

The DOJ based its 20-year sentence request on the basic sentencing guidelines and the terrorism enhancement. Bush-appointed Judge Liam O’Grady sentenced Jalloh to just eleven years and a substance abuse treatment program, which later allowed his release years early in December 2024.

A photo shows convicted ISIS supporter and now-deceased school shooter Mohamed Jalloh in military gear. (Image credit: WTKR News 3)
A photo shows convicted ISIS supporter and now-deceased school shooter Mohamed Jalloh in military gear. (Image credit: WTKR News 3)

“You have no criminal history, and you have been a law-abiding citizen and a member of the National Guard,” O’Grady told Jalloh at the time. “So I think that the ultimate sentence that I hand down should reflect the good things you have done as well as the horrendous things.”

Eight years later, Jalloh entered a classroom at ODU, asked whether it was an ROTC military class, yelled “Allahu akbar” and began shooting, according to authorities and media reporting. Students reportedly subdued Jalloh in the classroom, allowing one cadet to fatally stab him.

Comprehensive data is not available for pro-ISIS zealots who reoffend, given that many sentences from recent years have likely not concluded. Ethiopian national Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed is another example; a jury convicted him in 2019 of material support for terrorism for trying to recruit for ISIS while in prison on prior terrorism offenses.

Additionally, federal appeals judges have occasionally overruled lower-level judges in recent years for softly punishing convicted ISIS supporters. An appeals court also affirmed using the terrorism sentencing enhancement in such cases in 2019.

‘Most Likely Terrorist Attack’

Concerns about jihadist threats were heightened after the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran in February. Authorities said backlash to the strikes inspired two terrorist attacks in Texas and Michigan, the DCNF previously reported. Police also arrested two teens suspected of attempting an ISIS-inspired bombing in New York City.

Despite ISIS opposing the Iranian regime, it and other terrorist organizations have capitalized on Middle Eastern conflicts for propaganda since Hamas sparked conflict with Israel in October 2023, according to a Wednesday threat assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

Trump’s military largely destroyed ISIS in his first term after the extremists declared a caliphate in 2014 and made headlines for gruesome beheadings. Since then, the group has increasingly turned to the internet to radicalize followers into violence worldwide, according to the Wednesday threat assessment. ISIS currently has between 12,000 and 18,000 members, the ODNI said.

Though jihadists still want to attack America from abroad, “the most likely terrorist attack scenario in the Homeland involves U.S.-based lone offenders,” the assessment found.

“Al-Qa’ida and ISIS plotters intent on targeting the Homeland have focused more on virtually recruiting U.S.-based aspirants to encourage and enable potential attacks,” officials warned.

AUTHOR

Hudson Crozier

DCNF Crime and Extremism Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

One Historic Town Dismisses the Pledge of Allegiance

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It seems that virtually every week that goes by, there is an attack on our national patriotism in one way or another.

In the historic town of Winchester, Virginia, (not far from Harpers Ferry, WV), the town council has decided the Pledge of Allegiance is not needed for their regular meetings.

The Daily Caller writes, “A Virginian public commission voted on Feb. 17 not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before its business meetings, according to The Winchester Star.”

They add, “Commissioner Leesa Mayfield, who opposed the measure to add it, said she had nothing against the Pledge of Allegiance but thought the move was unnecessary. ‘The Pledge of Allegiance has an importance, of course,’ Mayfield said, according to the outlet. ‘But the need to recite it at the beginning of every city meeting in a performative way seems unnecessary.’”

Winchester’s website notes many of the remarkable events in history that took place there. For example, in 1748, when he was 16 years old, George Washington came there as a land surveyor. In 1758, he cut his political teeth as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

The George Washington Mount Vernon website writes, “For a decade, from 1748 until 1758, George Washington spent more nights in Winchester than any other place besides his home.”

Furthermore, Washington’s lifelong friend, Dr. James Craik, who was there when the father of our country died, was from Winchester.

The Constitution certainly does not mandate patriotism per se. The Pledge of Allegiance was created more than a century after our governing document was. But it is symbolic of our loyalty to the nation.

In 1892, our country still honored and celebrated Christopher Columbus’ historic discovery of this continent. The Italian voyager was held to be a great hero.

To honor the memory of Columbus’ voyage, the Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy (1856-1931) of Boston. Rev. Bellamy wrote the Pledge in 1892 for school children across the nation to recite as the American flag was raised during the 400th anniversary celebrations. (Now, like so many things in our history, Columbus—a great sailor, but poor governor—has been completely vilified.)

Initially, the Pledge of Allegiance did not include the words “under God.” History.com explains how the reference to Deity was added in the 1950s by President Eisenhower: “The push to add ‘under God’ to the pledge gained momentum during the second Red Scare, a period when U.S. politicians were keen to assert the moral superiority of U.S. capitalism over Soviet communism, which many conservatives regarded as ‘godless.’”

When he signed this bill, President Eisenhower remarked: “FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country’s true meaning.” [emphasis his]

The American Presidency Project notes that a year later, in 1955, President Eisenhower also observed: “Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first—the most basic—expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.”

I’ve heard modern critics chafe at the idea of the “Red Scare,” but history has proven that the threat of communism (built on atheism) was most menacing. Harvard University Press published The Black Book of Communism (1999), chronicling the unspeakable crimes of the communists in the 20th century alone. The book notes that they killed at least 100 million people.

In contrast, the founders of America believed in the importance of God, the source of our rights. For example, when the First Congress under the Constitution requested George Washington to declare a national Day of Thanksgiving to show gratitude to God for our freedom to create our own government in peace, he complied.

Thus, on October 3, 1789, the father of our country proclaimed: “it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

The battle over the Pledge of Allegiance is like the battle over symbols. We celebrate America at 250 because of the Declaration of Independence, which I like to summarize in four words: self-rule under God.

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of various functions, including places with a rich American history, seems like a small step to take to honor the source of freedoms.

©2026 All rights reserved.

VIRGINIA: Loudoun County Trains Staff to Fight ‘Terrorist’ Parents, Casting Parents as Violent Threats

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Democrat governments are at war against we, the people.

Is Loudoun County governed by demons?

After a student’s death, the Loudoun County School Board staged a closed-door “terrorism” drill portraying parents as violent agitators while excluding the public.

Loudoun, Virginia school leaders’ ‘terrorist’ training simulated parents attacking board

by Nick Minock

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (7News) — On Jan. 13, hours after a Loudoun County Public Schools employee struck and killed a student while driving a district maintenance vehicle, the Loudoun County School Board held a closed-door training focused on the school board’s safety.

7News has learned that the board, under the leadership of new School Board Chair April Chandler, held a closed-door meeting for school board members and staff only. The subject of the meeting? Responding to “terrorist activity” at school board meetings.

According to multiple sources who were in the room but requested we not identify them, the terrorism training involved dozens of actors, brought in by the school board, to act as Loudoun County parents. Those pretend “parents” sat in the gallery in the school board meeting room as actual families normally would.

In this training, one of the parents has a gun. The actors were screaming and yelling and running around the room, witnesses said. School board members and staff were instructed to “run, hide, and fight,” much the same as training provided to students in the event of an active shooter scenario.

Again, according to 7News sources, Chandler referred to parents as “disrupters” and “agitators” as she recalled school board meetings last year which many parents attended to speak up in support of three boys who were being investigated by the district in a case centered around policy allowing students to use the bathroom and locker room that matches their chosen gender identity, rather than their biological sex.

All of which struck a nerve with actual Loudoun County parent Scott Smith. He was arrested and removed from a packed Loudoun County School Board meeting in 2021, where parents were voicing frustrations with everything from mask policy to the bathroom/locker room rules, which were only being proposed at that time.

Even though it was a full house, the meeting was abruptly cancelled halfway through because the board was growing uncomfortable with parent complaints.

At the time, Smith’s daughter had been attacked in a high school bathroom.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Smith said about Chandler allegedly calling parents disrupters and agitators. “They’ve been labeling me as an agitator and a disruptor from the day my daughter was raped, from the day they threw me out of the school trying to get my daughter to the hospital.”

“We’re not violent parents,” Smith added. “We’re loud. We’re very loud, and we’re very forceful because they [the school board] won’t listen. I know nobody that has wished any violence upon the school board, not me, once ever has thought about doing anything violent against the school board. We want to be heard and we want to be respected, and we want our children protected.”

Suzanne Satterfield has been attending school board meetings for years, speaking out on a number of issues, including school locker room policies. She’s outraged that the school board seems to be more focused on their own safety rather than student safety.

“It’s appalling and it’s insulting,” Satterfield said. “And what they want, I believe, is to again shift focus away from the matters at hand, like the horrible death of the student that was recently killed and it happened to be from an LCPS vehicle. It’s just so tragic.”

Satterfield believes the school board should have canceled the training and instead implemented protocols to improve student safety.

“I think that they definitely should have put that at the forefront,” said Satterfield. “I mean, my goodness. I mean, it couldn’t even be more obvious. And I think this other training shouldn’t have been happening at all.”

On Monday, 7News reached out to Loudoun County Public Schools for comment. LCPS has not yet responded.

7News also reached out to Chair Chandler and asked:

  • How much did it cost LCPS to hire around 30 actors for a terrorism training?
  • Whose idea was it to conduct this training? What was the purpose?
  • And why was this training conducted on the night an LCPS employee killed a student?

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Judge Deals Huge Blow To Democrat Attempt To Gerrymander Virginia

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A state court rejected a Democratic mid-decade redistricting effort in Virginia on Tuesday, dealing a major blow to the party’s chances of gerrymandering House seats there ahead of the midterms.

Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. cited four procedural errors in the proposed constitutional amendment to allow the redistricting. Some of the states’ Democratic lawmakers pushed for a lopsided gerrymander with as many as 10 seats favoring the party and only one seat favoring Republicans — a stark contrast to Virginia’s current House delegation of six Democrats and five Republicans.

An Oct. 31, 2025 vote on a procedural resolution to allow the redistricting measure to come before the state legislature passed “strictly along party lines,” the court noted. Four procedural moves were found to be in error according to the order, including the proposed Constitutional Amendment being “neither published by the Clerk of the House of Delegates, nor was it posted at the front door of every Courthouse.”

The court also cited an error in the timing of the vote, “some forty-three days after voting began in the 2025 General Election for the House of Delegates, wherein more than one million votes (approximately 40% of the 2025 Vote Totals) had already been cast.”

Recently-inaugurated Gov. Abigail Spanberger did not endorse nor condemn the redistricting effort during her campaign. Multiple outlets, including Politico and The Washington Post, have reported that Democrats are expected to appeal the decision.

AUTHOR

Caden Olson

Congressional Reporter

RELATED ARTICLE: Democrats Take Over State, Immediately Move To Soften Crime Laws

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Virginia’s New Democratic Trifecta Targets Taxes, Guns, and Sentencing

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A new wave of elected Democrats in Virginia is showing how much of a difference one election can make.

In Virginia’s 2025 midterm elections, Democrats managed to sweep the state, claiming three high-ranking political positions: governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. It didn’t take long for the shift in power to translate into policy action. Governor Abigail Spanberger was sworn in on January 17, 2026, and almost immediately, a flurry of new legislation emerged from the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

Some of the early proposals included gun-related measures that critics argued targeted Second Amendment rights, such as expanded restrictions or heavy taxes on firearms and ammunition. However, scrutiny has intensified across the board as Democrats continue to push broader priorities that stir controversy and appear to diverge sharply from campaign promises.

One high-profile example is House Bill 863, sponsored by Democratic Delegate Rae Cousins. The bill seeks to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for a range of serious crimes, including manslaughter, rape, possession and distribution of child pornography, assaulting law enforcement officers, certain repeat violent felonies, and even the mandatory five-day jail sentence for some first-time DUI offenders. According to The Post Millennial, “many left-wing activists have criticized mandatory minimum sentencing, labelling the practice as racist.”

Supporters have described it as a “common-sense proposal” that removes “one-size-fits-all” requirements. “This change would give the experienced judges in our communities more discretion to make decisions based on the unique facts of each case,” Cousins said. Proponents also argue it promotes fairer, more individualized sentencing and addresses long-standing criticisms of mandatory minimums as overly rigid or disproportionately harmful. Critics, however, are sounding the alarm.

Law enforcement advocates and former Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, for example, warn that removing these required prison terms could lead to lighter punishments for dangerous offenders, potentially undermining accountability, endangering public safety, and increasing risks of re-offending. One expert, Josh Ederheimer of the University of Virginia’s Center for Public Safety and Justice, explained to Fox News that “from a law enforcement standpoint, I think police generally want offenders to be held accountable, and frustration among law enforcement officers grows when individuals are released quickly and subsequently re-offend — and even more so if it involved a violent felony.”

Considering how this would affect victims and their families, he added, “I think that the police and public alike have expectations that convicted criminals will be held accountable, and that full sentences should be served. Mandatory minimums assure victims — and the community — that a convicted person will serve their sentence. It is the circumstance when convicted felons are released early that victims may feel a sense of betrayal or that justice was not served. That’s the dilemma.” Notably, HB 863 is only one part of a larger Democratic push on criminal justice reform in the 2025-2026 session.

But for some Virginians, the concerns expand beyond gun rights and criminal justice. For instance, shortly after Democrats consolidated power, a separate set of tax proposals were introduced — mirroring (if not surpassing) some of California’s rates.

Only months after campaigning on affordability and vowing lower costs for families, Virginia Democrats set forth legislation that would create new higher-income tax brackets, including an increase to 8% on income over $600,000 and 10% on income over $1 million. They also added measures like a 3.8% net investment income tax on higher earners, which could lower after-tax returns on investments and discourage saving and investing. Combined, some say these could push Virginia’s top effective income tax rate to around 13.8%, which would potentially surpass California’s current top rate, the highest in the nation.

Even so, supporters frame the changes as a “Fair Share” approach, arguing that millionaires and high earners should contribute more to fund education, housing, public services, and affordability initiatives. Groups like The Commonwealth Institute, a left-wing policy group backing the tax plan, estimate such reforms could generate over $1 billion annually for these priorities. Meanwhile, critics are accusing Democrats of breaking campaign promises.

During her 2025 run, Spanberger emphasized an “Affordable Virginia Plan” to lower health care, housing, and energy costs, with pledges to deliver savings in 2026. Opponents, including House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R) and the Republican Party of Virginia, call the tax hikes a betrayal that could drive jobs, investment, and residents away — following what they describe as the “failed paths” of high-tax states like California and New York. National figures like Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform have labeled the timing “particularly foolish” amid competitive pressures from neighboring states lowering taxes.

Family Research Council’s Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action, addressed the apparent shift in priorities with The Washington Stand. “When [Spanberger] was representing the people of Virginia’s 7th congressional district,” he said, “she was an informal member of the ‘mod squad’ of allegedly moderate House Democrats who wanted to work with their Republican counterparts on issues of mutual interest, like agriculture, veterans’ affairs, and fentanyl. She may have done some work on these issues with moderate Republicans, but the reality is Spanberger’s vote history in Congress shows her to be committed to the left-wing cultural revolution playbook.”

As he went on to explain, “She was a reliable vote when taxpayer funded abortion, gender transitions on minors, special rights for adults’ ‘sexual orientation and gender identity,’ and more, came up. And yet, during the 2025 election, she was adept at stepping around controversial topics like men participating in women’s sports throughout the campaign, maintaining her carefully curated moderate brand.”

These early moves, from gun laws to criminal justice to taxes, illustrate how dramatically one election cycle can reshape a state’s direction. With Democrats holding trifecta control for the first time in years, the 2026 legislative session is already advancing these and other priorities at a rapid pace. And yet, Carpenter concluded, it’s not surprising. Rather, he said, “It’s safe to assume [Spanberger] will do as governor just as she did while in Congress: campaign as a centrist and govern as a bona fide leftist.”

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

EXCLUSIVE: Suicide Hotline Operator Pushes ‘Radical’ Trans Ideology In Open Revolt Against Trump Admin

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At least one major suicide hotline operator continues sending callers in some states to transgender activists, despite the Trump administration prohibiting the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology, internal documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation reveal.

The 988 suicide hotline’s “press 3” option that routed young LGBTQ-identifying callers to transgender activist groups ended in July when the Trump administration announced it would instead “focus on serving all help seekers.” Yet the move hasn’t uprooted gender ideology from a system intended to support the most vulnerable in times of crisis.

Protocall, a taxpayer-funded 988 service provider, tells its employees that “gender affirming care is an appropriate decision for minors.” The company did not respond to questions about its policies.

When a caller dials the 988 hotline, they are routed to their local crisis center or a national backup if the local center is unavailable. Protocall functions as a national 988 backup and operates the state crisis response lines in New Hampshire and New Mexico, as well as holding contracts with public colleges in states like Arizona, Virginia, Pennsylvania, California and New York.

Subcontractors like Protocall, who receive funds from government grantees, must still comply with federal law and executive orders, including President Donald Trump’s day-one order stating funds “shall not be used to promote gender ideology,” a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson told the DCNF.

Counselors who work for Protocall are expected to agree with the company’s stances on gender identity — and are tested on their understanding of the issues nearly every three months, former employee Jaime Brooks told the DCNF. Brooks left the company in December after working there for just over a year.

“LGBTQ2SIA individuals, often out of necessity, learn to build community and their own families of choice that we can count on for acceptance, support, and sharing in the jobs and important moments of life,” a Protocall guide on “Supporting LGBTQSIA Callers/Visitors” states. “As crisis counselors, helping individuals identify their supports and possible avenues for finding support (such as through social media, local queer resource centers, queer recovery groups and affirming/queer spiritual and religious organizations) can be invaluable.”

If an adult must be involved in “mitigating risk” for youth, counselors should “ask the youth if they feel safe involving their parent and how we should refer to them with their parent (i.e. it may not be safe for them if we use their chosen name or their pronouns),” the guide recommends.

“We can be creative in considering who is a safe adult in their life who we might be able to involve in safety planning,” it states.

Brooks told the DCNF she was required to review and discuss this document with a group. Quizzes accompany other company trainings, such as a “Trans* 101” training that claims that transgender individuals’ “right to exist, socially, medically and legally, are actively and increasingly legislated against every year.”

“It is deeply troubling that the organization operating our nation’s suicide hotline is pushing a radical, disproven ideology onto vulnerable adolescents in crisis,” Do No Harm Executive Director Kristina Rasmussen told the DCNF. “This taxpayer-subsidized program should provide compassionate, life-saving care to confused children, not send them further down a path that can lead to lasting mental and physical harm.”

‘Unethical Behavior’

In her Dec. 23 resignation letter, Brooks raised issues with the company “distributing resources to minors that facilitate their access to sex rejecting medical procedures and drugs.”

“I no longer wish to be an accomplice to such criminal and unethical behavior,” she wrote, citing recent actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will restrict Medicaid-participating hospitals from offering sex-change procedures to minors.

Protocall Company Trans 101 training (Credit: Daily Caller News Foundation)

A list of resources provided to counselors recommends the Trevor Project, the initial sole operator of the federal government’s LGBTQ youth hotline. The Trevor Project still operates its own private crisis hotline, as well as Trevor Space, an online community that parents have criticized for allowing minors and adults ages 13-24 to discuss topics related to sexuality.

Trevor Space is “a breeding ground for grooming,” Kevin Brown, a former law enforcement officer who founded a nonprofit that identifies victims of human trafficking, warned California lawmakers in June. As a 70-year-old man, Brown was able to create an account on Trevor Space posing as a 15-year-old boy and connect with other users in a chat room, including an individual who wanted to take their conversation to Discord.

The Trevor Project opposes policies that require educators to inform parents if their child is using a new name or pronouns at school, while supporting policies that allow men to use women’s’ bathrooms and locker rooms

The Trevor Project told the DCNF that TrevorSpace, which is separate from its crisis services, “is built with LGBTQ+ youth safety as a top priority.”

“The platform was created for LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-24, and there are safeguards in place to prevent direct messaging between minors and those who are over the age of 18,” the organization said in a statement. “TrevorSpace actively collaborates with leading safety solution organizations to ensure the safety and security of all users, especially those under age 18.”

Protocall’s recommended resource list also includes PFLAG, an activist group that defends irreversible sex-change procedures as “medically necessary” for minors, and the Family Acceptance Project, an organization that develops resources and programs designed to convince families to accept their child’s gender confusion.

Though hotline callers can request to speak with a male or female counselor, their calls are sometimes received by individuals of the opposite sex who identify as transgender, according to Brooks. Young callers who request to speak with a counselor of the same sex often have sensitive concerns about issues like sexual assault and puberty, she explained.

“The fact that the training documents suggest hiding information from parents is both alarming and part and parcel of the gender activist playbook,” Rasmussen told the DCNF. “That the CEO of Protocall has doubled down on DEI, the twin pillar of the crumbling identity politics movement, is further proof that there must be additional scrutiny on the training provided to the people tasked with the critical job of interceding in young people’s times of crisis. It also calls into question why groups like this continue to hold key public service contracts at all.”

‘We Will Not Retreat’

Protocall has pulled in millions from the federally-funded administrator of the 988 hotline, Vibrant Emotional Health, previously known by another name, the Mental Health Association of New York City.

It received nearly $5.85 million in the 2023 fiscal year and $2.67 million in the 2022 fiscal year, according to Vibrant Emotional Health’s tax records. Vibrant Emotional Health did not respond to a request for comment.

Protocall has a contract with New Hampshire worth $10,328,136, effective through June 2027. New Hampshire’s funding for the company draws on federal grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), according to the contract.

“SAMHSA funds cannot be used for activities that violate federal law or the requirements set forth in current Executive Orders,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the DCNF.

“This applies to SAMHSA funding of grantees through subcontractors,” he said. “As of October 1, all SAMHSA grantees, including Vibrant, were required to certify that every federally supported activity complies fully with Title IX, Title VI, and Executive Order 14168.”

Meanwhile, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Phil Evans vowed to resist the administration when Trump took office, reaffirming the “company’s commitment to our ongoing DEl work as well as our unwavering support of our LGBTQ2SIA+ employees.”

“Here at Protocall, we will not retreat from the progress our organization has made, the diversity we’ve built, and the safe community we’ve sought to create for every single person we work with,” Evans wrote in an internal Jan. 27, 2025 email to staff.

Email from Protocall CEO affirming commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion after President Trump took office. (Credit: Daily Caller News Foundation)

“Here at Protocall, we full-throatedly reject this Administration’s efforts to roll back basic civil rights and DEl programs,” he wrote. “Here at Protocall, no executive order from this President, or any law this congress may eventually pass, will change how we choose to treat each other and the culture we seek to create. As a private company, our continued pursuit of these values is outside the purview of this Administration’s agenda.”

Evans did not respond to a request for comment.

Protocall’s website notes that its DEI committee, as well as its “BIPOC and LGBTQ2SIA” groups, help “create and review policies and initiatives.” In an end-of-year Leadership Q&A shared with staff, executives stated that affirming DEI commitments made them especially proud of Protocall in 2025.

“When we stood up and proudly reaffirmed our commitment to DEI when other organizations were forced, or chose, to shrink away from it, and when other organizations had to shut their doors, we were able to open ours even wider,” the internal document states.

Other company guidance recommends “normalizing” adverse impacts of minority stress, validating “unique strengths of LGBTQ people” and affirming “healthy, rewarding expressions of sexuality and gender.”

“Collaborate with the caller about how they want to be described in documentation (‘what would you like me to put down for your gender?’” counselors are told. “Protocall follows the nationally recognized standard that gender affirming care is an appropriate decision for minors and their families, and not in any way child abuse or reportable as such.”

Along with funding it receives through states and the national 988 administrator, Protocall is part of an ongoing federal grant project with a tech company, Lyssn.io, to develop an AI-based tool that helps assess the suicide risk of callers.

“Protocall serves a diverse clientele with an equally diverse community of call-takers,” Lyssn Co-Founder Dr. Zac Imel said in a 2023 statement. “It’s so important that Lyssn’s AI algorithms continue to advance in a way that reflects and honors all providers and clients across the spectrum. Partnering with Protocall to do just that is a step toward that kind of inclusion.”

While the Trump administration pulled the plug on the specialized LGBTQ+ hotline, several states are pursuing alternatives. In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro announced state officials would work with call centers to “facilitate LGBTQ+ clinical trainings.”

Trainings ensured centers can provide “a warm handoff to the Trevor Project,” Secretary Val Arkoosh wrote on X.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 9 to reinstate the “press 3” option locally.

“SAMHSA plans to issue a new cooperative agreement for its 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Administrator in early FY26 ensuring that anyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who will help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress,” Nixon told the DCNF. “Anyone who calls the Lifeline will receive compassion and help.”

AUTHOR

Katelynn Richardson

Investigative Reporter

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