Tag: Virginia

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Update: 12-Year-Old Says She Made Up Story Of Boys Cutting Off Her Hair

Amari Allen
UPDATE: CBS News is reporting that Amari Allen has recanted her accusations regarding white boys holding her down and cutting off her hair.

Following an investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department, Danish said Amari Allen, the student who accused three of her classmates of assault, acknowledged the accusations were not true. 

Allen’s family apologized to the boys and the school for “the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused.” 

“To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school,” the family said. “We understand there will be consequences, and we’re prepared to take responsibility for them.” 

They added, “To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust.”

The girl’s aunt says Amari did have a verbal dispute with the boys but “embellished the story.”

From NBC News:

Three sixth-grade boys at a Christian school in Northern Virginia pinned down a black classmate and cut off some of her dreadlocks while telling her her hair was “nappy” and “ugly,” she told News4.

Twelve-year-old Amari Allen said the three boys, who she said are white, cut off her hair on Monday. She’s a student at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Virginia, where Vice President Mike Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, teaches part-time.

“They said my hair was nappy and I was ugly,” she said.

Amari — a straight-A student and violin player — said the boys started bullying her at the beginning of the school year. She has attended the school since kindergarten and has always liked it.

But on Monday, she was at recess and about to go down a slide when one of the boys grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. Another boy grabbed her arms. A third boy cut off some of her hair.

“They put their hands over my mouth. They put my hands behind my back. And they started cutting my hair and saying it was ugly,” Amari said.

The bell rang and the boys ran off laughing.

Scared, Amari told no one. On Wednesday, her grandmother was doing her hair when she noticed long portions of it missing. The girl started crying and told the whole story.

The family called Fairfax County police, who took a report of the incident.

Amari’s grandparents aren’t sending her back to the school until the boys are punished.

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School Board Has Filed Appeal After Losing Gavin Grimm ‘Bathroom’ Case

Last month, Gavin Grimm, a transgender man who graduated from Gloucester High School in Virginia two years ago, won his long legal battle with his former high school over the right for trans students to use the public bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

But this week, the Gloucester County School Board decided to appeal the federal court ruling in Grimm’s favor.

And so, Gavin Grimm will have to fight his trans ‘bathroom case’ yet again.

Yes, he’s graduated and moved on, but the pro-trans ruling is so important to trans people that you can bet the 20-year-old activist will continue the good fight.

His case dates all the way back to 2014, when he began to transition in his sophomore year of high school.

Grimm began using a men’s restroom and told school administrators what was going on in his life.

But in December of that year, the school board instituted a policy that prohibited Grimm from using the boys’ room.

Grimm filed his initial law suit in 2015 with the aid of the ACLU. Since that time, he has been locked in this never-ending legal.

He finally took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago, but the high court sent the case back to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals after the Trump administration reversed Obama-era protections for transgender students in American public schools under Title IX.

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Virginia Restaurant Ordered To Pay $40K For Harassing Gay Server

(image via Valentin B. Kremer/Unsplash)

From NBC Washington:

A Virginia restaurant operator has agreed to pay $40,000 to resolve a lawsuit that claims its employees routinely harassed a gay server with homophobic epithets and taunted him about his sexuality.

A federal judge on Thursday signed off on the settlement between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Mejia Corp., which does business as El Tio Tex-Mex Grill restaurant in Gainesville.

The commission’s September 2018 lawsuit claimed restaurant employees also harassed the gay server’s heterosexual friend, a busser, based on their friendship.

The settlement calls for the server and his friend to split the $40,000 payments from the company. The agreement also bars the restaurant from engaging in or condoning sex-based harassment of any employee.

The EEOC determined that the two men had legal standing to sue for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Recent court cases have found that discrimination based on sexual orientation is covered under the prohibition of “sex” discrimination under Title VII.

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Man Charged With Illegally Recording Naked Men At Spa

Police in Fairfax, Virginia, have announced the arrest of a man accused of secretly video recording naked men - including minors - at a local spa and selling the clips to a website.
(stock photo via Depositphotos)

Look around the next time you relax at a spa, or you could end up starring in an online video for sale.

Police in Fairfax, Virginia, have announced the arrest of a man accused of secretly video recording naked men – including minors – at a local spa and selling the clips to a website.

The videos were recorded at Spa World in Centerville, Virginia.

Kwame Anderson, a 28-year-old resident of Newport News, Virginia, has been charged with three felony counts of unlawful filming of a minor, one misdemeanor count of unlawful filming of an adult, and one misdemeanor count of unlawful dissemination of the videos.

Anderson reportedly had recorded 152 videos of 81 men including three juvenile males.

According to the Washington Blade, the investigation was launched after a male customer of the spa saw a video clip of him naked posted online for sale.

The man informed Spa World who, in turn, notified the Fairfax Police.

At a press conference regarding the case, Detective Sameer Khan declined to identify the website where the clips were being sold, or if it was a gay or straight oriented site, but did offer, “It was a very prominent social media website that these were actually posted on.”

In a statement, the Fairfax Police said they had recovered videos of 84 additional victims which were not recorded at the spa.

“We are working with other area jurisdictions in hopes of identifying the additional locations and victims,” read the statement.

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Poll Shows Virginians Split On Whether Governor Should Resign Over Alleged Blackface Scandal

Virginians are split whether Gov. Ralph Northam (D) should resign after a photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page showed people in blackface and Ku Klux Klan garb.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam

Virginians are split whether Gov. Ralph Northam (D) should resign after a photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page showed people in blackface and Ku Klux Klan garb.

A new poll shows Virginia voters split over Northam’s fate with 47% signaling he should resign while 47% saying he should remain in office.

Somewhat surprisingly, 58% of African Americans feel he should stay in office, according to the Washington Post-Schar School poll.

Regarding the other two scandals going on in the state, 60% of Virginians think Attorney General Mark Herring stay in office after he admitted to dressing in blackface in 1980 when he was 19.

But allegations of sexual assault and rape have left Virginians unsure of Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax with 65% saying they don’t know enough about the alleged incidents.

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Trump Says GOP Would Take ‘Far Stronger Action’ Against Their Own Regarding Racist Allegations

With the ongoing political turmoil happening in Virginia as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring each deal with past allegations of racist or misogynist behavior, Donald Trump took to Twitter today to say if these were Republicans 'far stronger action would be taken' against their own.
Donald Trump

With the ongoing political turmoil happening in Virginia as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring each deal with allegations of past racist or misogynist behavior, Donald Trump took to Twitter today to say if these were Republicans ‘far stronger action would be taken’ against their own.

Now, this comes from the man who has repeatedly said misogynistic and racist comments for years – on tape!

Seriously, folks, irony is dead.

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Virginia Governor Apologizes For Racist Photo, Then Claims It’s Not Him

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam addresses blackface scandal

High profile Democrats are calling for their colleague, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, to step down after photos from his 1984 medical school yearbook appear to show him dressing up in racist costumes.

The Virginian-Pilot obtained a photo of his yearbook page showing what appears to be men in either blackface or a Ku Klux Klan uniform, although it wasn’t clear which person was the future governor.

Initially, Northam issued an apology:

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” Northam said. “This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment. I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”

And that was followed by a video where he again asked for forgiveness but promised to serve out his term as governor which ends in 2022.

But this morning, Northam is reversing saying it isn’t him in the photo.

According to today’s Virginian-Pilot, he called state Sen. Louise Lucas to say, “I”m not going to resign because it’s not me in the photo.”

Her response – “Then you waited too long to say it wasn’t you.”

“He should have said that yesterday then,” Lucas told The Washington Post. “He just told me he didn’t think it’s him. And I said, ‘Ralph, this is a day late and a dollar short. It’s too late.’”

Virginia Democrats have asked the governor to step down as well as former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro was the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to call on Northam to resign, followed by Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also called on Northam to resign.

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax would become governor should Northam step down.

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Virginia: Senate Committee Votes Down Adding LGBT-Inclusive Hate Crimes Bill

Virginia state Senate chambers

In Virginia today, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted along party lines 9-6 striking down Senate Bill 112, which would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s hate crimes law.

Via The Washington Blade:

State Sens. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath County), John Edwards (D-Roanoke), Janet Howell (D-Fairfax County), J. Chapman Petersen (D-Fairfax City), L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax County) voted for SB 112, which would have also added gender and disability to Virginia’s hate crimes law.

State Sens. A. Benton Chafin, (R-Russell County), Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover County), Thomas Norment (R-James City), Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg), Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg), Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania County), William Stanley (R-Franklin County), Richard Stuart (R-Stafford County) and Glen Sturtevant (R-Richmond) voted against it.

The vote took place five days after the 2018 General Assembly began.

Republicans maintain slim majorities in the state Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates.

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Virginia: Danica Roem Sworn In As First Openly Trans Lawmaker In A U.S. Legislature

Danica Roem

Awesome news today from Virginia as Danica Roem was sworn in as the first elected openly transgender state-wide politician in the U.S.

From The Washington Blade:

Roem last November defeated former state Del. Bob Marshall, an anti-LGBT Republican who had represented the 13th District since 1992. Roem, a former journalist, is the first openly transgender person ever seated in a state legislature in the U.S.

Roem is among the five openly LGBT members of the Virginia General Assembly.

State Del. Dawn Adams (D-Richmond), who defeated former state Del. Manoli Loupassi (R-Richmond), is the first out lesbian elected to the General Assembly. The joined state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and state Dels. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) and Mark Levine (D-Alexandria).

Roem and Adams were sworn-in on the same day the 2018 legislative session began.

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Virginia: Danica Roem Becomes First Out Transgender Elected State Legislator Ever

Danica Roem has become the first out transgender state legislator ever elected.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today, HRC and Equality Virginia, the statewide organization working for LGBTQ equality, hailed Danica Roem’s historic victory in the Virginia District 13 election. Unseating anti-LGBTQ Delegate Bob Marshall, Roem’s electoral victory will make her Virginia’s first out transgender public official and the nation’s only out transgender state representative.

“Danica Roem’s historic victory is a clear warning to anti-equality lawmakers across the country that the days of attacking LGBTQ people to scare up votes are over,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “HRC was proud to mobilize voters to support Danica Roem’s trailblazing candidacy, and we look forward to working with her to help continue moving equality forward in Virginia.”