Free Republic

Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim’s first priority has been a bill to define ‘Islamophobia’. The most notable thing about his bill SB 624 ‘Assault and battery; definition of “Islamophobia”, penalty’ is how completely unnecessary it is. Virginia already has multiple layers of hate crimes enhancements for assaults motivated by race, ethnicity and religion. During Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s term, the legislature has already passed SB 7 (Senate Bill 7) and its counterpart enhancing the assault charge for anyone who “intentionally selects the person against whom a simple assault is committed because of his race, religious conviction, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation,...

More than 50,000 students in San Francisco sat at home this week learning nothing because their teachers, who are members of the United Educators of San Francisco, refused to work until they won higher pay and more generous benefits. San Francisco teachers are already among the highest paid in the nation, even though more than a quarter of students are chronically absent and more than half fail math and reading. More and more students are abandoning public schools and going to private ones. Who can blame them? Across the country in Virginia, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Democratic majorities in...

The Supreme Court of Virginia on Friday agreed to allow Democratic lawmakers’ mid-decade redistricting attempt to move forward, announcing it will hear the case on an expedited basis. The court denied Republican lawmakers’ motion to pause a redistricting referendum as the high court deliberates the case. The order means voters will be able to approve or reject the redistricting amendment in a referendum scheduled for April 21, 2026. The effort would redraw Virginia’s congressional maps, with 10 districts favoring Democrats and one tipped towards Republicans. Almost immediately after the order was released, Democratic leaders emphasized that the decision to redistrict...

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger is advancing significant constitutional amendment proposals including enshrining same-sex marriage, the right to reproductive freedom, automatic voting right restoration for time-served felons, and redistricting in the Commonwealth, should voters approve them. On Friday, Feb. 6, Spanberger signed four bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly to put four constitutional amendments up for referendum this year. Virginians will now be asked to approve or reject the amendments this year. The first bill, HB612, would require the equal treatment of a legal marriage between two adults under the law, regardless of sex, gender, or race....

It’s all backstage now. This fraught moment, the power centers locked in the coldest cold of the year, the Spanish language lessons of Bad Bunny behind us, all the real action in the battle to save the country is out of sight, moiling and churning in the deep background. Everybody’s on edge waiting for shoes to drop, praying they don’t drop on their heads. You should have seen Senator Mark Warner (D-VA; Vice-chair of the Senate Intel Committee) on Face the Nation Sunday, frothing at the mouth over Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (DNI). He cannot believe she turned...

NewsTalk 105.9 FM WMAL is pleased to bring the Free Speech Forum once again to The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on Sunday, May 17th. This unique event features WMAL’s personalities on stage debating the news of the day as determined by questions posed in writing from members of the audience. WMAL personalities will include Larry O’Connor, Chris Plante, Vince Coglianese and WMAL’s new afternoon show host, Derek Hunter.

Top Virginia Democrats signaled Thursday that the party has agreed upon a new House map proposal that would give the party four pickup opportunities heading into November. “We made a promise to level the playing field, and today we’re keeping our promise. Our maps are ready. Virginia’s ready. We said 10-1, and we meant it,” Virginia Senate President Pro Tem L. Louise Lucas (D) told reporters. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D) said he expects the new proposal will be released either later Thursday or Friday. Virginia Democrats had been mulling two different map proposals — one that would give...

Anti-ICE protesters have descended on the Virginia mansion owned by the Hilton Hotels CEO, accusing the hospitality company of aiding the work of immigration agents by renting rooms to officials. The franchise has faced mounting pressure from far-left activists to sever its ties to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, with demonstrations storming outside hotels across the nation in recent weeks. On Thursday, protesters took their movement to the $5.2 million mansion owned by the Hilton Hotels CEO Christopher Nassetta in Arlington, Virginia. The group waved banners reading 'HILTON HOUSES ICE' while calling Nassetta out by name and blaring loud music,...

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Following a November jury verdict that awarded former elementary school teacher Abigail Zwerner $10 million, a judge denied motions Friday seeking to overturn it. Zwerner was shot in her first-grade classroom in January 2023 by a 6-year-old student. Former assistant principal Ebony Parker was working the day Zwerner was shot. The bullet passed through Zwerner’s hand and struck her near her left shoulder. The jury found that Parker was negligent, and that led to the shooting incident. Parker‘s attorney argued that a teacher getting shot is not an extraordinary part of the job. “The job...

After Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race going away in November, the consensus among the political chattering class was that it’s a foregone conclusion the Republicans will lose in next year’s midterms. The experts said this was a referendum on President Donald Trump, and an early sign that his America First movement is cracking. The same experts pointed to “key Democrat wins” in the New Jersey governor’s race and the New York City mayoral election as further indicators of a coming blue wave. To be so smug in their predictions, the experts had to ignore the fact that the...

Virginia Democrats have introduced a host of new tax proposals that would tax a range of services, including dog walking and gym memberships despite running on a campaign to increase affordability. More than 50 proposals and new rules were introduced for the new legislative session, including additional local sales tax in all Virginia counties and cities, 7News reported. The new proposed policies include: dog walking and grooming tax gun and ammunition tax new income tax brackets storage facility tax dry cleaning tax home repair tax new personal property tax on electric leaf blowers and electric landscaping equipment

An unhinged Virginia nurse who encouraged medical professionals to drug ICE agents with paralytic meds was swiftly canned. Malinda Cook, a nurse anesthetist at Virginia Commonwealth University Health, was fired by the hospital on Tuesday after she spewed the disturbing remarks in a spate of TikTok videos. Cook, who was identified by local media, blasted out her so-called “sabotage” tactics as anti-ICE riots exploded across the country.

A state court on Tuesday blocked Virginia Democrats’ redistricting effort, delivering a setback to the party’s plans to redraw congressional lines ahead of November’s midterm elections. Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that Democrats in the General Assembly failed to follow the correct procedures when they launched a last-minute effort to change the state’s constitution and pave the way for a mid-decade redraw. Democratic legislative leaders said they intended to immediately appeal the ruling. If the ruling is upheld, however, it delivers a major blow to the party’s hopes of picking up as many as four additional seats...

Newly-minted Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger was compared to a 'Bond villain' after enacting far-left policies on her first day in office despite campaigning as a moderate Democrat. Spanberger, a former Congresswoman and CIA officer, stormed to a blowout victory over sitting Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears in a momentum boost for Democrats. However, many conservatives have been horrified by some of Spanberger's first week executive orders, which includes reducing cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Spanberger campaigned on the order.

Virginia Democrats passed a constitutional amendment on Friday that would codify within the state constitution the right to kill unborn babies in abortions. The proposed abortion amendment will now go before voters in a statewide referendum in November. The Democrat-controlled state Senate also passed amendments to address same-sex marriage, restoring the voting rights of felons who have completed their sentences, and redistricting, WRIC reported. In Virginia, constitutional amendments must be approved by both the state House and Senate twice before being placed on a ballot and ratified by a simple majority of voters. State lawmakers passed the first three amendments...

The newest governor of Virginia immediately rolled back anti-sanctuary policy which helped federal immigration authorities take custody of criminal illegal migrants. Within hours of being sworn into office Saturday, Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 10, a proclamation rescinding an executive order signed by her Republican predecessor requiring Virginia law enforcement officials to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Critics have framed the move as a “disaster” which will lead to an increase in crime. “This is a disaster for the public safety of the Commonwealth. Mark my words, there will be Virginians who will be robbed, raped...

New taxation that started in Fairfax County, VA on Jan 1. The proposal was rejected twice by voters but rammed through by the board of supervisors. Some of the absurdities:cup of coffee: not taxable same cup of coffee with a sandwich: taxable donuts: taxable "prepackaged donuts sold separately, and not as part of a meal": not taxable "Seafood sold by the pound cooked by an employee-operated steam cooker at no additional charge": not taxable

Vice President of the United States JD Vance took aim at Indiana State Senator Rodric Bray in a post on X Saturday afternoon. The post pertained to the Virginia State Senate’s decision to advance a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw the state’s congressional maps. According to the Associated Press, the Virginia State Senate skews more Democratic than Republican. “I’d like to thank (Bray) for not even trying to fight back against this extraordinary Democrat abuse of power,” Vance wrote in his post. “Now the votes of Indiana Republicans will matter far less than the votes of Virginia Democrats. We told...

Jay Jones was sworn in as Virginia’s new attorney general on Saturday at the state Capitol in Richmond after winning the race despite leaked texts in which he fantasized about the children of conservatives being murdered. Jones was sworn in at the inauguration of Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA agent. President Donald Trump had called for Jones to drop out of the race after the texts were made public, but Democrats rallied behind him. In one shocking exchange, Jones fantasized about putting “two bullets to the head” of then-Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert in a hypothetical scenario comparing...

Democrat state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi became the new lieutenant governor of Virginia on Saturday, taking the oath of office as she placed her left hand on the Quran. In video footage posted on social media, Hashmi was seen being instructed to place her left hand on the Quran and to raise her right hand. Hashmi defeated radio host John Reid in Virginia’s election in November 2025. As Breitbart News’s Hannah Knudsen reported, during the campaign Reid “identified himself as someone who has ‘very strong principles,'” while Hashmi “appealed to her status as a diverse candidate.”: