Under the guise of health care, Ohio pays people to go to Medicaid beneficiaries’ homes to perform “homemaking” and “chores” like cooking and cleaning. The people performing these “personal services” tasks don’t even have to be health care workers — and in many cases, are actually relatives of the Medicaid recipient.

According to a Daily Wire data analysis, Ohio spent a billion dollars on home health care in 2024, the last year for which data is available.

Since the services are performed inside private residences, there is no way to know whether the workers went at all, or what they’re actually doing in exchange for taxpayer funds. An infinite number of small black boxes inside a black box. Multiple signs said the service provided, and billed to the government, was sometimes just “companionship & conversation.”

As people have realized the United States government will pay them to hang out with their own families, northeast Columbus has seen its economy replaced by businesses that bill Medicaid. And Columbus, a city with the second largest Somali population in the country, has become, on the surface, the most unhealthy city on the planet.

“Well if the government is going to pay you to do it,” one home health operator told me. “People see it as lucrative, so they just jump on it.

That’s the spirit! Why integrate into a society that has taken you in when you can rob its citizens blind with your cunning schemes?

Pick the owner of a Columbus home health care company at random and look him up in public records, and you are likely to go down an endless rabbit hole: years of unpaid taxes and debts, sometimes criminal records, and an astonishing number of LLCs created in other industries, as if the millions they make from Medicaid are just a side gig.

We went down several of those rabbit holes. In the coming days, you’ll meet:

A politician who founded an $11 million home health care company that he appeared to run part-time — without even mentioning it in his political biography — who funded his campaign with donations from other home health care owners.

A woman who reinvented her janitorial LLC as a “health” provider, then billed Medicaid nearly $100,000 the first month.

A landlord who bought airplanes after renting space to hundreds of home health care companies that billed Medicaid a quarter of a billion dollars.

A million-dollar Medicaid business owned by a couple with repeated fraud, violence, and theft convictions.

A man who went to prison for Medicaid fraud but told the government he was too broke to pay restitution, while his neighbors and associates preside over a poverty-program empire.
An accountant who lost his license for stealing public funds, then opened a $7 million home health company using the address of a convicted money launderer’s teenage son.

These are not business geniuses, nor even people with any training or specialty in the health field. They have often failed at a variety of businesses before suddenly becoming millionaires in home health care.

The problem is, America is considered a relatively high-trust country. We have strong social cohesion and most Americans will act honestly even without the threat of laws or punishment. 

Somalia, on the other hand, is considered one of the most corrupt nations on earth. Based on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), South Sudan and Somalia are generally ranked as “the most corrupt countries in the world, often tying for the bottom spot…These nations struggle with severe public sector corruption, lack of institutional oversight, and ongoing conflict.”

Import thousands of people from corrupt-third world hellholes and this is what you get. President Trump is correct, we don’t need any more immigrants from Somalia. We need to deport the ones who have been bilking taxpayers.

Somalian migrants in Ohio quickly saw an opportunity to scam taxpayers with a Medicaid system that is devilishly hard to monitor.

The government cannot be meaningfully monitoring all the people it writes million-dollar checks to in Columbus. They all share combinations of just a few names, like Ahmed Mohamed and Mohamed Ahmed. Documents reviewed by The Daily Wire show individuals will spell their own name multiple different ways within a single document. And many of them list their birthday as January 1, because their birthdates are unknown.

The business model is simple: a 40-year-old Somali immigrant gets paid for spending time with, and maybe cooking for, his own 65-year-old mother. The middleman is one of thousands of “home health” firms that have the “NPI” number necessary to bill Medicaid.

The 40-year-old becomes an “employee” of that company, but has no clients other than his mother. There is no way to verify whether he actually even provided the “services” — unless his own mother is willing to testify against him.

A perfect set-up for thieves.

Let’s hope Rosiak’s reporting leads to indictments, deportations and an end to immigration from Somalia. 

American taxpayers are sick of the grift.

Host: "You campaigned with Graham Platner… you said, 'He's your kind of man.' … This is a guy who had a chest tattoo with a N*zi symbol… It's a guy that reportedly wrote 'people concerned about r*pe should take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f*cked up that they end up having s*x with someone they don't mean to.' … I'm just curious why you think he's your kind of man?"

Warren: "He has apologized… I'm there to stand with him and to help in that fight."

Nice guy. I can see why Warren’s smitten.

Now, about Spirit Airlines. In 2022 the troubled airline attempted to merge with Jet Blue. JetBlue offered $3.8 billion in cash to buy Spirit. Shareholders and unions endorsed the move. The combined company would have held 9% of the U.S. market against the big four airlines that already owned 80%.

Hardly a monopoly.

That move was blocked largely at the urging of Warren. She pressured the worst Transportation Secretary in history, Pete Buttigieg, to join her in pressuring Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Biden’s DOJ sued to block the merger and a federal judge killed the deal in January 2024.

Here they are, bragging about their efforts.

Blocking the JetBlue–Spirit merger didn’t protect consumers from a monopoly. It protected the actual giants, Delta, American, United, and Southwest, from a stronger low-cost challenger. A combined JetBlue-Spirit could have pressured the incumbents on price and forced real… pic.twitter.com/kIjKXKcTRr

— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) May 2, 2026

Here's Biden Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg bragging about blocking the Spirit Airlines merger with JetBlue that would have saved the airline from bankruptcy. I don't think America has ever had a more incompetent Secretary of Transportation than Mayor Pete. pic.twitter.com/Pgdjf5Ng6U

— Izengabe (@Izengabe_) May 1, 2026

As result of the work of these two economic illiterates, Spirit Airlines ceased flying at 3 a.m. Sunday. An estimated 17,000 workers lost their jobs. Beyond Spirit employees, however, catering employees will lose their jobs, so will baggage crews, gate agents. Hotels and car rental companies in the 70 cities Spirit serve will suffer.

All because one lying member of Congress, who doesn’t understand business and in fact hates capitalism, got her way.

Warren was tap dancing on Sunday, trying to blame Donald Trump and higher gas prices for the bankruptcy. Nice try, but a JetBlue/Spirit airline would have weathered this short storm.

Thanks, Massachusetts, for sending this belligerent loon back to the U.S. Senate over and over again.

Physicians are suing to block a ballot question they say conceals the true scope of the legislation.

A group of physicians and other medical professionals along with a local voter have filed a lawsuit challenging an abortion related constitutional amendment on Virginia’s ballot this November. The complaint alleges that the ballot question adopted by the General Assembly fails to inform voters about significant and potentially harmful provisions in the adopted legislation.

The amendment would overturn significant aspects of Virginia regulatory authority, including overturning parental consent requirements and abortion safety standards.

The Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC) filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance, and Meagan Kade, against the Virginia Department of Elections and others. The complaint alleges the ballot language fails to notify the voters of key aspects of the legislation.

The actual ballot question says:

Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to (i) protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; (ii) protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and (iii) allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive?

The legal challenge alleges the ballot language “profoundly misleads by omission and misrepresentation.”

Another allegation in the lawsuit concerns Virginia Code 30-13, which requires the Clerk of the House of Delegates to present copies of the proposed amendment to the clerks of Virginia’s circuit courts to publicize so voters are aware. This was required to be done 3 months prior to the November 2025 general election. It didn’t happen.

The plaintiffs ask the court to declare and direct the amendment question invalid. Specifically, because the ballot language violates the Virginia Constitution and the proposed amendment did not get distributed and posted as required.

What’s Actually in the Legislation

The legal complaint outlines issues in the actual constitutional amendment that the ballot question omits:

Terminating Virginia’s statutory requirement for parental consent prior to a minor obtaining an abortion, and likewise removing notification requirements;

Ending Virginia’s ability to limit the performance of sexual sterilization procedures on consenting minors, removing potential parental consent or notice requirements;

Allowing any person—licensed or not—to perform abortions (currently, only licensed medical professionals can do so), by prohibiting the Commonwealth from penalizing any person who does;

Ending or severely limiting Virginia’s ability to set safety standards for the performance of abortions;

Ending Virginia’s criminal prohibition against adults engaging in consensual sex with minors of reproductive age (i.e., statutory rape laws);

Terminating Virginia’s ability to restrict sexual conjugal visits for prisoners; and

Ending or severely limiting Virginia’s ability to regulate the assisted reproductive technology industry, including the performance of in vitro fertilization, commercial surrogacy, human genetic engineering (e.g., the creation of “designer babies”), reproductive child cloning, etc.

A voter reading the ballot question would not know about any of these serious issues.

The question also implies there will be greater restrictions on third-trimester abortions. The opposite is true. The amendment would remove current restrictions on late-term abortions, such as requiring three doctors to sign off, or only allowing a third-trimester abortion due to a substantial risk to the mother’s life or health. It would, in fact, allow a third-trimester abortion for virtually any reason, with only the abortionist having to sign off on it.

Democrats love to use deceptive language—nothing new here. Their recent redistricting ballot question put before Virginia voters in April demonstrates that tactic. The deliberately confusing wording left voters uncertain about what they were voting on.

Are Democrats concerned the merits of the legislation won’t pass the scrutiny of voters?

Democrats Define Contraception to Include Sterilization

While the proposed constitutional amendment doesn’t define contraception, another law just adopted by Democrats does offer a definition. House Bill 6, signed into law by Gov. Spanberger (D-VA) dictates a “right to contraception” — defined as “the use of contraceptives or sterilization procedures.”

Restoration News previously reported concerns with HB 6, pointing out that it would establish a right to obtain contraceptives and sterilization with no age limit or parental consent required. The proposed constitutional amendment provides “a right to reproductive freedom” including contraception.

Virginia has a dark history of forced sterilizations of people with disabilities. In 1924 Virginia Democrat Governor E. Lee Trinkle signed into law the “Eugenical Sterilization Act.” The legislation allowed a state institution to sterilize a patient if it was determined the patient’s mentally deficient traits were hereditary. Among those the state could sterilize: someone deemed feebleminded or epileptic. From 1924 to 1979 nearly 8,000 Virginians in state hospitals were sterilized.

Untold Harm to Virginia with No Consequence

If the new constitutional amendment is adopted, it could harm vulnerable Virginians. The amendment prohibits prosecutions against anyone aiding or assisting someone exercising their “right to reproductive freedom.” While the legislative language indicates the patient would be required to give consent, there are vulnerable Virginians who may not have the capacity to consent. Could a doctor sterilize a mentally ill patient not competent to make their own decisions without any negative consequences?

While the legal complaint does not address the issue of sterilization of those deemed mentally ill, the filing does share concerns about the sterilization of minors without parental consent.

The legislation raises fundamental concerns about parental rights, medical standards, and the protection of vulnerable citizens. The lawsuit filed by FFLC argues that voters deserve full transparency before casting their vote on a life-altering constitutional amendment.

Republished with permission from Restoration News.

On April 21, when many Virginians were focused on the gerrymander election, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) made a bombshell announcement: The innocuously-named Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which for decades has posted a “Hate Map” where they targeted many right-wing individuals and groups, often including those holding pro-life, biblical, and/or conservative views, was charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

In sum, the accusation from a grand jury claims the SPLC ran a kind of massive shell game. The SPLC portrayed themselves to the public and their donors as a left-wing group fighting what they branded as “hate,” but in fact they were funneling more than $3 million of their donor’s cash to the very right-wing groups they claimed to fight, so that those right-wing groups would become more visible, which would further frighten and outrage SPLC donors to give more money, so that the SPLC could then give to more right-wing groups, in a never-ending cycle.

One of the most high-visibility cases involves $270,000, which the SPLC allegedly paid to a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 so-called “Unite the Right” hate rally in Charlottesville.

The findings were made public by FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is in that position after the recent departure of former AG Pam Bondi.

Seeking clarification, a reporter asked Blanche: “You’re alleging that the Southern Poverty Law Center was paying the leaders of the KKK and other groups?”

Acting AG Todd Blanche: “I’m not alleging it. The grand jury returned an indictment that says that.”

Here is an excerpt from Blanche’s statement:

“Good afternoon. Today, a few minutes ago, in the Middle District of Alabama, a grand jury returned an 11-count indictment charging the Southern Poverty Law Center with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“According to the charges and the indictment, the SPLC is a non-profit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups with the goal of dismantling these groups.

“As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.

“The indictment describes this conduct in detail. But one troubling example is that the SPLC was paying a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, which resulted in the death of one person and injured dozens more.

“This particular person, being paid by the SPLC, allegedly received approximately two hundred and seventy thousand dollars over the course of eight years.”

One can understand this bizarre situation this way: To get the donations and exposure they wanted, the SPLC needed more racism in America than there actually is, so they had to pay to manufacture it. Simply put, the demand for racism in the US exceeded the supply, so more extremism had to be created, even if the SPLC had to commit fraud and law-breaking to do it. 

The rally not only worsened racial, political, and cultural divides in the nation and gave Charlottesville a public relations disaster that lingers to this day, but it also proved deadly. James Alex Fields Jr., a right-wing extremist who drove to Charlottesville from his native Ohio, on August 12 deliberately drove his car into a crowd protesting the “Unite the Right” rally, injuring 35 and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe ordered state police to monitor the situation, and one police helicopter crashed, killing two officers.

The deadly rally, coming in the first year of President Trump’s first year in office, put another black eye on his new administration, further hampering the launch of his efforts. Taking snippets of Trump’s comments wildly out of context, his opponents claim he said Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are “very fine people,” which even Snopes debunked.

Once these hoaxes take root in the public mind, they are very hard to dislodge, even after evidence to the contrary surfaces.

Many watching images from the 2017 rally suspected it was a hoax, in that it seemed to lack grass-roots authenticity. The “very fine people” misquote was the second hoax, and now the recent charges against the SPLC led podcaster Kyle Becker to exclaim, “So, this was a HOAX upon a HOAX upon a HOAX. An Unholy Trinity of Hoaxes.”

Also remarkable, Joe Biden, in his April 25, 2019, video on Twitter/X announcing his run for the presidency, said the rally in Charlottesville inspired him to run.

With supreme and tragic irony, a grand jury has charged that the key event launching the Biden presidency, which led to the premature deaths of three innocent people, was itself funded and fueled by some who claimed they opposed it.

Roanoke resident Scott Dreyer leads a team of educators teaching English and ESL to a global audience. This article is republished with permission from The Roanoke Star and Bacon’s Rebellion.

The King gifted the President a framed facsimile of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk.

The President gifted His Majesty a custom facsimile of a letter written from John Adams to John Jay in 1785.⁰
The First Lady gifted Her Majesty six Tiffany’s English King Sterling…

— Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) April 28, 2026

Dear Libbey, stop. Just stop, using “gift’ as a verb. I’m begging you. It’s a noun.

“Gifting” doesn't make you sound smart or sophisticated. No offense, but you sound like a pretentious grammar-class skipper.

Next time, try something like this:

The King gave the President a framed facsimile of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk.

The President gave His Majesty a custom facsimile of a letter written from John Adams to John Jay in 1785.

The First Lady gave Her Majesty six Tiffany’s English King Sterling Silver Teaspoons and White House Honey.

The Queen gave the First Lady a Fiona Rae brooch.

Ah, the elegance!

It’s not just Ms. Dean. This past week, with all the royal gift-giving, was a festival of noun abuse.

There was this, from Politico:

King gifts Trump 1879 framed plans for the Resolute Desk
The president gifted King Charles a custom facsimile of a letter written from John Adams to John Jay in 1785 in which Adams promised to restore the US-UK friendship.

And CBS “gifted” us this:

King Charles gifted President Trump a British World War II relic with his name on it, delivered rousing remarks to Congress, and cracked quite a few historical jokes during his state visit to Washington, D.C., alongside Queen Camilla 

To its credit, the stuffy New York Times got it right:

King Charles III gave President Trump a framed, high-quality reproduction of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk, which is still in the Oval Office. Trump, in return, bestowed the king a framed copy of a 1785 letter written by former President John Adams.

See how easy that is?

Memo to the media: We have plenty of verbs. We don’t need new ones.

Gift is a noun, by the way. Unless it’s being used correctly as an adjective, as in a “gifted pianist” or a “gifted liar.”

Gift is not a verb. Neither is it a gerund. You don’t gift someone. You give them a gift. And “gifting?” Hell, no.

Honestly, this assault on the English language has to stop. 

Before writing this and a similar post several years ago, I checked with Mignon Fogarty, AKA The Grammar Girl.

And if you have 11:02 minutes to spare, you can listen to her podcast where she discusses the new usages of the simple four-letter word, “gift.”

But who wants to spend that long listening to a grammarian? 

Here’s a summary: As it happens, “gift” has been used as a verb for about 400 years.

IN SCOTLAND.

Look around. Do you see the Loch Ness monster? Did you eat haggis for Thanksgiving dinner? Are you wearing a kilt? Do you hear bagpipes? Is your name Sean Connery? If you answered no to all five of these questions, you are not Scottish and you’re not in Scotland. You have no reason to misuse the word “gift.” 

So why the sudden outbreak of “gifting” far from the Highlands?

 
Forgarty blames a 1995 episode of “Seinfeld” called “The Label Maker.” In it, Jerry brags about a label maker he was given by a friend and Elaine says that she was the one who gave the label maker to the person who in turn gave it to Jerry.

“He’s a regifter!” Elaine exclaims.

And the next thing you knew, all of America was taking liberties with this workhorse word.

Ms. Fogarty also insists - although I believe she is wrong - that using gift as a verb is not wrong. It’s simply “grating.”

“Give” is still a much better choice,” concludes Grammar Girl.

I agree.

Potential map of the south without the VRA restrictions Per NYT

Current map:
🔴 Republicans: 65
🔵 Democrats: 24

Potential map:
🔴 Republicans: 77 (+12)
🔵 Democrats: 12 (-12) https://t.co/ZWCApvbpWX pic.twitter.com/aPkYI8iPfX

— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) April 29, 2026

After all, the South just got the green light.

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that segregating voters based on race was unconstitutional, which means that Southern states that have been hamstrung by the archaic Voting Rights Act can finally get rid of insanely shaped districts that were created simply to lump blacks together.

The Federalist reported, “The U.S. Supreme Court released a bombshell ruling on Wednesday significantly curtailing states’ use of race in the redistricting process.

“Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 … was designed to enforce the Constitution — not collide with it. Unfortunately, lower courts have sometimes applied this Court’s §2 precedents in a way that forces States to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids,” Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority (6-3).

The court held that Louisiana’s black majority districts were the result of illegal racial gerrymandering. Now the state legislature can redraw the maps, which will likely result in two more Republican districts.

We’re long past the time when it was assumed that a black candidate couldn’t win in a majority white district. If I’m not mistaken, a black president was elected and re-elected for a second term in a majority white country.

The most delicious reaction to the Supreme Court decision came from a furious Barack Obama. Remember how hard he campaigned for the Virginia gerrymander? How little he cared for the poor whites in rural areas who were being disenfranchised? His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Sorry for your loss. Here, have some lobster. https://t.co/e4CiDquBo6 pic.twitter.com/0VovbLWAG7

— Benjamin Domenech (@bdomenech) April 29, 2026

The Supreme Court decided the case on a snake-shaped Louisiana district. Look for Louisiana to quickly redistrict it into something resembling a normal, contiguous congressional district. Mississippi’s Gov. Tate Reeves announced last week that he was going to urge the legislature in Jackson to redistrict as well. And yesterday Florida’s House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to redraw its districts, presumably wiping out most Democrat seats. The bill is on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature.

Good.

If, as Hakeem Jeffries says, we really are engaged in a political war, let’s go. 

SCOTUS: You can’t draw Congressional districts based on the color of people’s skin.

Democrats: this is far-right extremism pic.twitter.com/ZUAnzfHbxD

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) April 29, 2026

Oh, and while we’re at it, illegals must be excluded from the next census. Without those millions of aliens, several blue states - California and New York, for instance - will lose seats.

Turns out, rage can be useful.

Major Virginia Redistricting Case update:

The Virginia Supreme Court (#SCOVA) has DENIED the emergency request to stay the injunction of certification of last week's Gerrymandering referendum!

In the 'tea leaves' category, this is as positive a 'tea leaf' as one might imagine!… pic.twitter.com/fw0wedtbEu

— Ken Cuccinelli II (@KenCuccinelli) April 28, 2026

If the court had granted Jones’ wish, the Dems would be smugly doing their happy dance.

So today, I’m reading the tea leaves and dusting off my dancing shoes.

by John Lucas

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has just cemented her place in history as one of the most radical and dishonest governors in the country. She has a lot of competition for that title, but she is doing her best to surpass all rivals for the crown.

One of her latest anti-Constitutional scams is to evade the Constitutional process for electing the President by effectively abolishing the Electoral College, which has been a key part of our Constitution and republican system of government since 1789.

Like her efforts to amend the Virginia Constitution, Spanberger’s more recent abuse does not pretend to benefit Virginia voters. In fact, it has the opposite effect by trashing long-established constitutional rights.

Spanberger and her Democrat lap doggies in the General Assembly are attempting to deprive all Virginians of a fundamental right — the right to have a meaningful voice in the election of the President of the United States when they cast their ballots. If they succeed, Virginians will still be able to vote in future presidential elections but their votes will be diluted by over 150 million voters in the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. And Virginia and Virginians will have no say in policing the accountability of other states’ voter fraud and electoral theft.

They hope to accomplish this by entering into an illegal contract with other states. The contract was embodied an amendment to the Code of Virginia that added three new sections to § 24.2 of the Code of Virginia. Spanberger signed the new provisions into law on Monday, April 13.

The National Popular Vote Compact

The new law purports to discard the Electoral College. It adopts the National Popular Vote Compact. The Compact is a contract between the signatory states that will become effective when enough states have signed it to have their cumulative electoral votes control the outcome of presidential elections. When that 270 electoral vote threshold is met, the presidential electors in each signatory state will not be bound to vote for the presidential candidate who wins in their state. Instead Virginia’s (and the other states’) electoral votes will all be awarded to the candidate who garnered the most votes nationwide.

If, after seeing the line-up of presidential candidates or party nominees, a signatory state then has second thoughts about the wisdom of its decision, it may not withdraw from the Compact within six months of the end of the then-current presidential term on January 20 (or January 21 if January 20 falls on a Sunday).

Here is Virginia’s official summary of the changes:

Presidential electors; National Popular Vote Compact. Enters Virginia into an interstate compact known as the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. Article II of the Constitution of the United States gives the states exclusive and plenary authority to decide the manner of awarding their electoral votes. Under the compact, Virginia agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. A state may withdraw from the compact; however, a withdrawal occurring within six months of the end of a President’s term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President has qualified to serve the next term. The bill also provides for the manner of appointing electors when such agreement does and does not govern the appointment of electors.

Ramifications and areas of concern

There are numerous undesirable ramifications and areas that should be of serious concern to persons of good faith in either political party. Democrats think that the Covenant favors them today but because they know that the provisions cut both ways, they are placing their bets on the chance that this and other devices will cement their objective of establishing one-party rule far into the future. Otherwise, like Harry Reid’s abolishment of the filibuster for judicial nominees, it could come back to bite them. Some of the concerns are:

• Timing designed to deprive states of flexibility when they need it most — The last three months before any election, especially a presidential election, are a crucial period. That is when many people who do not follow politics closely begin to pay more attention to political events and news. It is when many voters form opinions about the candidates and make their decisions. But during that critical time if a majority of citizens and legislators in a signatory state decide that a particular candidate is not acceptable, there is nothing that they can do to prevent their electoral votes from being cast for that unsuitable candidate despite the majority’s wishes. That is because a state cannot withdraw from the Compact within 6 months of the upcoming presidential inauguration.
  
  That means that irrespective of its voters’ desires, a state is wedded to the winner of the national popular vote by July 20 or 21, at the latest. [See Footnote 1.]
  
  Consider that in recent times the parties’ national conventions are typically held in late July, August, or even early September. That means that a signatory state’s electoral votes could effectively be bound to the winner of the national popular vote at least 3 1/2 months before election day and even before the states know who the nominees will be.

• Stealing one of Americans’ most precious rights — One of our fundamental and most precious rights is the right to cast a meaningful ballot to elect the leader of our country. That right, guaranteed by the Constitution, has essentially been stolen by Spanberger and the states that have adopted the Compact.

• Meaningless votes — The possibility that Virginia’s electoral votes could go to a candidate rejected by a majority of Virginia voters is real and undeniable. A candidate from either party could win in Virginia by a decisive margin, only to see that victory tossed onto the scrap heap when Virginia’s electoral votes went to the other candidate who has been thumped in Virginia but embraced by wide margins in, say, California or Florida. [See footnote 2.]

• Dilution of votes — Virginia’s presidential votes will be allocated, not by its citizens at the polls, but by millions of other voters with the greatest weight coming from the more populous states such as California, New York, Illinois, Texas, and Florida. That is true even if all those states have not entered into the Compact.

• Making it even more difficult to do anything about voter fraud and stealing elections — The compact contains no provisions for resolving issues of voter fraud or election abuse of any nature. So if Virginia authorities believe that vote tallies in another state are corrupted by the absence of any controls over over voter identification, or even suppressed by blatant voter intimidation such as club-wielding thugs at poll sites, they still have no choice but to combine Virginia’s electoral votes with those of a corrupt state.

• An anti-Constitutional scam — The Constitution clearly contemplates individual states making their own decisions and not submitting to governance by other states with different interests. That is why the Framers gave us a republic. The Compact discards that balance, treating Idaho’s interests as identical to New York’s.

• An end-run around the Constitution — The Compact seeks to make a radical change to the method of electing a president that is established in the Constitution. Its “progressive” proponents try to justify but do not hide the fact that they are trying to avoid the constitutional process for making amendments. Amendments cannot be proposed or ratified by popular vote. The amendment process in the Constitution requires 2/3 of both the House and Senate to approve any proposed amendment. A proposed amendment must then be ratified by 3/4 of all states, acting through their legislatures or a convention. Ratification typically must occur within a 7-year time frame. That process, requiring super-majorities of states, not of individual voters, for both proposing and adopting an amendment is a reflection of the Founders’ intent to prevent the “tyranny of the masses.” It is the opposite of the system proposed by Spanberger and the other proponents of the Compact.

The current status of the Blue States’ attempted revolution

With Virginia now on board, the Compact has been adopted by 18 states and the District of Columbia. The adopting states and other information is available here. The signers have a total of 222 electoral votes, leaving them just 48 votes shy of the 270 vote threshold needed to dictate the election outcome.

All of the signatory states voted for the Democratic ticket in the last three presidential elections. There is an agenda here.

There are five states that voted for Trump in 2016, but flipped to Biden in 2020, and then flipped back to Trump in 2024. They are Pennsylvania (19), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), and Wisconsin (10). None have yet signed onto the Compact. But with a combined total of 71 electoral votes, any four of them could put the rebellion over the top.

If you live in any of those states you should expect a renewed push to pull them into the rebel camp before November 2028.

Even if you live in another state that has not yet joined the anti-Constitutionalist revolution, your state may still be targeted. For example, the state senates of both North Carolina (16 EVs) and Oklahoma (7 EVs) passed the Compact in 2007 and 2015, respectively, as did Arizona’s House in 2016. So those three states with their combined 34 electoral votes also could be prime candidates for a renewed push to add the additional 48 EVs and be able to control the presidential election with the magic 270 EVs. Those states plus either Michigan (15) or Pennsylvania (19) would do the trick.

Look for national money to pour into state legislative races in those states to accomplish the goal of the end run around the Constitution.

The Founding Fathers’ fear of unfettered democracy

If the Compact is fully adopted by the joinder of as few as four additional states, it would move us closer to a nationalized direct democracy. That would realize one of the Founders’ greatest fears. Here is a sampling of their views:

James Madison: “[D]emocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”

John Adams: “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”

John Quincy Adams: “[T]he experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived.”

Gouverneur Morris, Signer and Penman of the Constitution: “We have seen the tumult of democracy terminate . . . as [it has] everywhere terminated, in despotism. . . . Democracy! savage and wild. Thou who wouldst bring down the virtuous and wise to thy level of folly and guilt.”

A nationwide popular vote for president does not ipso facto convert our democratic republic into a direct democracy. But the Founders established the electoral system to serve as a bulwark against the prospect of mob rule.

That bulwark is now under attack by the “progressives.”

1. I say “at the latest” because, as a practical matter, given the time that it would take a state legislature to decide to withdraw from the Compact, the decision to begin the process would have to begin weeks or months earlier.

2. Here and elsewhere I speak in terms of Virginia because that is where I currently live and we are now suffering under the Spanberger regime. But the concerns and problems stemming from the Compact affect and apply to many other states as well.

Richmonder John A. Lucas publishes the Bravo Blue blog. This column has been republished with permission from Bravo Blue and Bacon’s Rebellion.

Shut up.

Case in point, Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

After merrily campaigning with Jay “Two Bullets” Jones she’s suddenly against violence. This comes after a would-be assassin was stopped just outside of a DC hotel ballroom Saturday night where the president and most members of his cabinet were attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

You campaigned with TWO BULLETS. Why the sudden change of heart? https://t.co/ynpoGxKzr9

— kerry dougherty (@kerrydougherty) April 26, 2026

Pity she - and other Democrats - didn’t feel this way six months ago. If they had, Virginia might still have a competent attorney general who doesn’t want his political opponents dead.

No one who campaigned with Jones should be pretending to denounce political violence. They’re fine with it and they should have the decency to sit this one out.

Looking at you, too, Tim Kaine.

Anne and I are so thankful that the President and all other guests at the WHCD last night are safe and for the law enforcement officers who responded and continue to investigate the attack. Violence like this is far too common and deeply stains the moral fabric of our country.

— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) April 26, 2026

Back in June of 2024, the first time a would-be assassin came after Donald Trump and missed blowing off Trump’s head by a fraction of an inch in Butler, Pa., I begged the left to stop with the Hitler-Nazi-fascist-rapist-pedophile talk.

But they can’t help themselves. When it comes to leftists, their loathing of Trump is so deeply psychotic that they constantly goad their unhinged followers to take a shot at the president.

Cole Allen, Saturday’s would-be assassin, wrote a lengthy manifesto declaring he wanted to kill President Trump because he a was a rapist and a pedophile.

Congrats to the dishonest media and the Democrat Party who told these lies enough times that a seemingly intelligent 31-year-old from California decided to rid the world of Trump and members of his cabinet.

Shoot, here’s a reference to Hakeem Jeffries’ incendiary language last week. This guy wants to be Speaker of the House.

Didn't you call for foot soldiers to rise up just 5 days ago, Hakeem Jeffries? Cole Allen rose up, apparently. pic.twitter.com/mMXrDOOZPN

— Tara Servatius (@TaraServatius) April 26, 2026

And finally, here was the unfunny Jimmy Kimmel doing a tasteless spoof of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. I’m sure his unhinged audience found it funny.

Jimmy Kimmel delivered a fake White House Correspondents Dinner speech, saying "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow." pic.twitter.com/o4a59eYnZl

— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) April 26, 2026

As much as the left likes to rail about guns, they’re dangerously prone to violence and obsessed with death. From abortion to euthanasia to wanting their political opponents dead, the increasingly radical Democrat Party is warping the minds of Americans.

God protect our president, and our Republic, from this bunch.

Virginia Democrats rewrote the rules, rushed the clock, and gerrymandered the map—now the state supreme court will get the final say.

Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley blocked election certification just one day after Virginia narrowly passed a gerrymandering referendum that heavily favors Democrats. 

On April 22, Judge Hurley found the referendum violated multiple aspects of the state constitution and legislative procedures. This decision will be appealed, likely to the Virginia Supreme Court, but until then the department of elections can take no action to implement the gerrymandered congressional districts.

Former Virginia Attorney General and National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, Ken Cuccinelli said, "The 'yes' vote has won VA's redistricting referendum, but the legal fight is just beginning."  Cuccinelli told Restoration News he is cautiously optimistic "because the General Assembly so brazenly violated so many different constitutional requirements, that it is likely that the Virginia Supreme Court will void the referendum."

Virginia Democrats are facing legal and political backlash after ramming through a redistricting amendment that trampled the state constitution and defied voters.

The ballot referendum to redistrict Virginia would hand four of five Republican congressional districts to Democrats. That effort only won by three points, 51–48 (unofficial results) despite over $100 million of untraceable dark-money rolling in for the Democrats "Vote Yes" campaign. They won by only 100,000 votes state-wide.

In 2020, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment, 66–24 percent, to have a bipartisan redistricting commission draw congressional district lines. The outcome was six Democrat and 5 Republican districts—a balanced map representative of the political make-up of the state. In an effort to cede control from Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, Virginia Democrats ignored the will of 66 percent of the voters.

Virginia Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger won her election by pretending to be a moderate, garnering an overwhelming 15-point victory just five months ago in November 2025. On the campaign trail, Spanberger told voters on Aug. 25, 2025 that she "had no plans to redistrict Virginia." But shortly after she won she signed off on the constitutional amendment to gerrymander the state.

Abigail Spanberger: “I have no plans to redistrict Virginia.” 8/25/25 pic.twitter.com/bul568JMHU

— Mary Vought (@MaryVought) April 23, 2026

Virginians have quickly discovered Spanberger can't be trusted. The Republican turnout on Apr. 21 was larger than the gubernatorial election—that's unusual for a special election and a sign that Virginians aren't pleased with the new leadership.

The battle isn't over though—multiple court challenges remain to be decided by the state's Supreme Court.

There are at least five constitutional issues that could be challenged, some of which are awaiting a hearing to be set by Virginia's Supreme Court.

Special Session Passage

The constitution only permits the legislature to convene under defined circumstances for limited periods of time. Yet the Democrat-led legislature called a special session on October 31, 2025—-claiming it was an extension of a previously called special budget session. Expanding the special session to include a constitutional amendment required a two-thirds vote that did not occur.

A Tazewell County judge found that action to be "void, ab initio"—meaning the special session vote was invalid. This decision was appealed to the State Supreme Court who determined the election would take place, but they would consider legal challenges after the election.

Lack of Intervening Election

Under Virginia's constitution, an amendment must pass the General Assembly twice with an intervening election in between. When the Democrats passed the first measure on Oct. 3, 2025, voting for the House of Delegates' election had already begun on Sept. 19th. The constitution requires that the second passage must take place "after the next general election of members of the House of Delegate" which would be in 2027. Democrats ignored that requirement and passed the second measure in February 2026.

The intervening election requirement exists to give voters a chance to weigh how their delegate voted before deciding whether to send them back to Richmond. Since millions of voters across the state had already cast their votes, Democrats stripped Virginians of that constitutional protection before they even knew it was gone.

Ninety-Day Requirement

The Virginia Constitution requires amendments to be submitted to voters no sooner than ninety days after final passage. The final passage of the second bill for the redistricting amendment was Feb. 6, 2026. Early voting began less than thirty days later on March 6.

Challenge to Proposed Maps: Contiguity Requirement

The Virginia Constitution states, "Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district." The proposed maps are clearly not contiguous or compact, nor are they representative of the population of the district.

District 7 resembles a lobster and would have very rural Republican Rockingham County in Virginia's western farm country sharing a Representative with the northeastern bright blue cities. District 8 would include Gloucester, a small southeastern fishing town, along with the city of Alexandria three hours away just outside D.C.

Failure to Post Notice of Amendment

Virginia Code 30-13 requires the Clerk of the House of Delegates to distribute proposed amendments to the constitution to the clerk of circuit court of each county and city. The proposed amendments must be posted at the front door of the courthouse "not later than three months prior to the next ensuing general election of members of the House of Delegates."

Not only were those public notices not posted, in March the Democrats in the General Assembly attempted to erase that law. They passed legislation to repeal Code 30-13 and to make the repeal retroactive to 1971. Yet the effective date of the repeal isn't until July 1, 2026.

Court Actions Imminent

There are multiple pending cases before the Virginia State Supreme Court who declined to issue an injunction before the election. The court reasoned they did not want to stop the holding of an election but would still hear the cases afterward. This was their statement in a case brought by the Republican National Committee (RNC):  

For over a century, we have recognized the "well settled principle regulating the jurisdiction of courts of equity that such courts will not, with few exceptions, enjoin the holding of an election, or interfere, by its process of injunction, with the holding of an election." This principle does not mean that judicial review of allegedly unlawful elections ceases to exist. It only means that, as a prudential matter, Virginia courts generally should not prematurely enjoin an upcoming election.

There are two additional cases: McDougle v. Nardo and McGuire v. Virginia State Board of Elections. The McDougle case, brought by two state Senators and a Delegate, challenges the legality of the process used by the legislature to amend the Constitution. McGuire was brought forward by Congressmen John McGuire and Rob Wittman challenging the wording of the ballot question asserting it was misleading and "does not fairly reflect the substance of the proposed amendment."

With these cases remaining before the State Supreme Court, the fate of the redistricting amendment is uncertain. The decision made will not only impact representation for Virginians, but it could also determine majority control in the U.S. House of Representatives. The court's ruling will also set a precedent about how far they're willing to allow legislators to push the boundaries of the Constitution.

Victoria Manning is a Senior Investigative Researcher for Restoration News specializing in education freedom, immigration, and military issues. She is the author of Behind the Wall of Government Schools. Victoria served 8 years as an elected school board member and has a master’s degree in law. She also brings the perspective of a military spouse to her reporting.

Republished with permission from Restoration News.

The Rich Men north of Richmond may have won for a day, but they cashed out every ounce of public goodwill they had to do it.

First and foremost, let’s knock down all the pretended olive branches from those who voted “yes” on Tuesday to impose some sort of federal anti-gerrymandering law. They know damn good and well that the federal government cannot impose such regulations (which is why the present lawsuit stops at the Supreme Court of Virginia and not the U.S. Supreme Court) because redistricting is a reserved power of the states— not the federal government.

If they truly wanted non-partisan redistricting, they would have pushed the Virginia Model to the other 49 states. So spare me — not interested.

Lucy can keep her football this time.

Bob Lewis and I had a good talk about the present state of affairs which made its way into the pages of the Virginia Mercury:

Kenney is a former Republican Party of Virginia top official and committed conservative who lives in rural Virginia and often differs with Trump. On Wednesday, he posted on Facebook: “51-49 for Virginia to have 91-9 representation.”

Seven words that say it all.

The last slender string of hope for nonpartisan redistricting is needling its way through the courts — first in Tazewell and eventually to the Supreme Court of Virginia — where the unfair language of the amendment undoubtedly cost the “no” campaign votes. Yet one is reticent to believe that SCOVA will undo the public will, even if the language itself and the process by which the voters were dragged to this point was and remains patently unconstitutional (and most assuredly unfair).

Lewis writes earnestly about the unfairness of turning rural voters into satrapies of urban cores. Whether the devil is a Republican or a Democrat, all too often we find them in the details:

“This certainly has a coarsening effect,” Kenney said in an interview Wednesday. “One half of Virginia just disenfranchised the other half.”

I more than understand that; I lived it.

I grew up in an area of Tennessee as poor and rural as any in Virginia. As kids, we seethed at condescension from folks in larger, more advantaged enclaves. It drove us to succeed individually, yet it didn’t save factories and mills that closed when expanded global trade gutted small towns decades ago.

Necessary though green-lighting mid-decade redistricting may seem, this was a provocation rural Virginia won’t soon forget or forgive. It has already widened the gulf between the two Virginias. If you think working across the aisle in supposedly collaborative bodies such as the General Assembly and Congress has been lacking, just wait. After Democrats inevitably play out the winning hand Trump has gifted them for now, payback will be certain.

That seems substantively correct. Rural Virginia has long been on the losing side of the equation as more and more of Richmond’s focus is drawn towards the urban and suburban cores.

NBC’s Decision Desk HQ has the most telling map:

The fact of the matter is that Fairfax County alone dragged the entire Commonwealth to the “yes” column, as was noted by others on Twitter/X:

There’s the Lord Fairfax Effect.

Of course, Fairfax County now gets the lion’s share of the Virginia congressional delegation, with five seats being represented by Fairfax, two centered around Richmond, and two more centered around Norfolk. Toss in VA-06 which is huddled around Virginia’s colleges and universities and there you have it.

For all intents and purposes, rural Virginia has been silenced.

Yet it isn’t just rural Virginia that has been silenced in a 51-49 contest, but rather that Virginia Democrats chose to silence the voices of half of their friends and neighbors. Half.

Someone will have to explain to me why the U.S. House of Representatives — a body created to represent the will of the people — must have the totalizing representation that the U.S. Senate by design already has. The mockery of online progressives who argue that statewide votes aren’t 51-49 but 100-0 outcomes intentionally miss the point. There is a reason why the Founding Fathers wanted representation in the House of Representatives.

What burns most observers isn’t merely the fact that $80 million dollars was spent to disenfranchise half of Virginians. Nor is it the fact that Spanberger’s centrist mythology was sacrificed on the same funeral pyre. Nor is it the fact Virginia Democrats are still at sixes-and-sevens (stop — don’t do the hand gesture) over the state budget while localities have to twist in the wind. Nor is it the fact that these 10-1 seats might very well end up being 7-4 if the opprobrium of gerrymandering sticks to the Democrats trying to choose their constituents rather than constituents selecting their representatives.

What is grating most observers is that half of our neighbors and friends chose to disenfranchise the other half under the pretense of fairness.

Now Virginia Democrats will point towards other states and argue whether those lines are indeed fair. As of this moment, Virginia is now the worst state in the Union when it comes to redistricting:

Yet the whataboutism in other states is a fig leaf indeed. If we lived in Missouri or Texas or North Carolina or California — we might have a point, but we live in Virginia where we enjoyed a model redistricting process that was fair, unbiased, and represented the totality of the Commonwealth.

This fairness was overthrown by $80 million of outside money, crafted in language that was patently unfair, which disproportionately produced a 91-9 displacement in a state which very nearly rejected the amendment against all odds in a 51-49 vote.

Should the Virginia Supreme Court find grounds to overturn the gerrymandering amendment, there are ample grounds to do so. For an amendment to cloak itself in “restoring fairness” while producing a patently unfair result screams of disenfranchisement. Yet one finds it nearly impossible and most likely improbable for SCOVA to overturn the public will in a referendum — not to mention that the judges appointed to SCOVA must return to a Democratic-controlled General Assembly for reappointment.

So, where does that lead us?

The good news at present is that the myth that Virginia is a blue state has been shattered into a million pieces. The pyrrhic victory has cost Virginia Democrats nearly all of their political capital, including Governor Abigail Spanberger — whose public persona of centrist is no longer trusted by anyone.

Of the 14 localities that voted for Spanberger and flipped to the “no” column, many of them were suburban localities on the fringes of the Northern Virginia metropolis — notably the Fredericksburg area where Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Caroline all voted against gerrymandering.

The real risk for Virginia Democrats right now is the Virginia Senate. Which if Virginia Republicans can defend the seats we hold — State Senator Tara Durant (R-Stafford) being the premier race against what will presumably be a second run by Democrat Joel Griffin of Fredericksburg — the opportunity for two pickups is definitely in play. Recovering many of the House of Delegates seats lost is also now on the table, though whether or not House Republicans can recapture a majority is a distant — but not impossible — reality.

The problem for Virginia Democrats is that no one will believe or actually believes the centrist rhetoric anymore. When in power, Virginia Democrats simply cannot help themselves as fair play and process goes out the window and partisan power grabs become the norm. The state budget debacle is just the surface of a massive iceberg, the volte face on taxing data centers has long ramifications for the sole fact that it is even being considered, as it jeopardizes every MOU signed by the Commonwealth on this and many other investments ranging into the billions of dollars.

The real question is whether or not Virginia Republicans will capitalize on this by returning to the party of ideas — or whether we will fight fire with fire and take our eyes off the ball, treating victory as an endorsement rather than as a pleading from the voters to stop doing crazy.

In the meantime, Virginia Democrats have all of the levers of power and can do just about everything they want. Unlike the Republicans in Washington who also enjoy both chambers and the executive, there is no filibuster to slow them down other than a robust and watchful fourth estate.

Yet if there is a solid warning in all of this, it is a reminder that should Democrats ever regain total control in Washington, they will most certainly suspend fair play and good process to get what they want. Democrats will end the filibuster, pass everything, and pack the courts to protect their gains. Look at the damage Northam did in the two years he enjoyed total power and have no illusions as to what the next two years will bring — and four years if Virginia Republicans do not recapture at least one chamber of the General Assembly.

The message has been sent and delivered in Richmond. Whether rural voters can recapture a House seat or two in Washington depends on whether grassroots voices are willing to work for it — as they surely did over the last four months.

Yet our statewide seats — U.S. Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General — are all now most certainly achievable given the hard work former Attorney General Jason Miyares and others put into opposing the gerrymandering amendment.

For Virginia Republicans, our first task will be 2026 in seats such as VA-02, VA-06, and VA-07 — Jen Kiggans, TBD, and Doug Ollivant being the frontrunners in each — where new district chairs will be charged with the task of bringing in new leadership to help unit chairs get their precincts staffed up with volunteers.

Yet there it is. No one is coming to the rescue of the conservative movement in Virginia. Certainly, it wasn’t the White House whose focus by nature is more broadly oriented around protecting the U.S. Senate. Certainly, it wasn’t national money, who bought the media narrative that Virginia was a blue state forever. Certainly, it will not be the consultant class.

Virginia conservatives are realizing our own strength

If there is one lesson to be drawn from all of this, it is that our friends and neighbors who saw the problem and worked assiduously to stem the tide very nearly did it — without help, without aid, without resources. Now we know where we stand, and much like the early Virginians such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, we are going to have to do it ourselves.

Yet here’s the thing — I’m not reading too much discouragement among Republicans right now. Several messages were sent. Virginia is not a blue state by a mile. Virginia Democrats misled the public to win. The veneer of centrism among Virginia Democrats is gone, gone, gone. Virginia Republicans didn’t do it alone — a good number of shocked Democrats who truly are centrists linked arms with independents and commonsense Republicans to send a message.

That counts in more than just moral victories. That’s going to count in November, if for no other reason than Virginia will be the martyr other Republicans will point towards should Democrats gain power — and we can take it back, provided we do it on ideas and not meet the Democrats on their own turf.

The Rich Men North of Richmond who astroturfed the gerrymandering? If moral outrage is still the most powerful motivating force in politics, then that capital is squarely on the side of Virginia Republicans today — let’s not squander it and get to building the future. Quickly.

Shaun Kenney is editor for The Republican Standard. This column has been republished with permission from The Republican Standard and Bacon’s Rebellion.

Who knew?

Certainly not feckless city officials in Virginia Beach, who were unceremoniously smacked down by a circuit court judge yesterday.

The mayor of Virginia Beach says he is disappointed. So sad. Next time follow the law.

The court ruling came in time to salvage the last weekend in April for local businesses and visitors.

The mayor and most members of the city council wanted to close the resort area for a second weekend in a row, a sign that they are not good at their jobs.

Thanks to a lawsuit filed by several resort area businesses and argued in court by attorney Kevin Martingayle, the former no-go zone from Rudee Loop to 31st Street will be open Friday and Saturday night by court order.

It should never have been closed.

In a seven-hour court hearing, the city was unable to show evidence of ANY actual threat of civil disturbance that presented a clear and present danger to the public. The city argued that historically warm weekends in the spring are when fights break out that can lead to gunfire.

That doesn’t begin to meet the requirements for a curfew as set out in law.

Martingayle argued that the city failed to follow strict requirements that allow Virginia cities to impose curfews, that the cordoned off area was too broad and that the constitutional rights to conduct business and simply visit public areas had been violated.

On top of that, Martingayle pointed out that the police have other tools in their toolboxes to deal with crowds but that this sweeping curfew was the only solution presented to city council.

That body voted 10-1 last week to impose a two-weekend curfew.

I watched the sham of a public hearing that preceded the vote. Speaker after speaker begged the incompetent elected officials to keep the resort area open, but were ignored. None of the members of city council pushed back against the police chief or mayor for the curfew recommendation.

There were two mass shootings at the oceanfront, one in March and another in April, that left a total of 14 people injured.

Instead of curbing the violent behavior by unleashing the police to plow into crowds looking for guns and bad actors, city leaders threw up their hands and voted to close it all down.

The disappointed mayor says he’s going to form a task force to study the problems.

So many task forces. So little political courage.

Oh, the irony.

Only the courts can turn this repulsive move back by ruling that the referendum itself was illegal. A brave Tazewell County Circuit Judge issued an injunction, barring the certification of the votes.

Both sides are submitting their arguments to the Virginia Supreme Court today. It’s hard to see how the justices can allow the referendum to stand, yet the court is full of political appointees. How much courage will they display to uphold their oaths to the Virginia Constitution?

It’s clear that Democrats violated numerous laws to hastily put this measure to the voters.

First, the language of the ballot question. Virginia requires that questions be in plain English and neutral. "The explanation shall be presented in plain English, shall be limited to a neutral explanation.”

Is this language neutral?

Beyond that, there are multiple other laws that were violated.

The "yes" vote has won Va's redistricting referendum — but the legal fight is just beginning. Four Va Constitutional challenges are now teed up:
THREE challenges to the amendment process itself:
1️⃣ First passage was invalid. The amendment was taken up during a special session…

— Ken Cuccinelli II (@KenCuccinelli) April 22, 2026

No doubt the foul-mouthed vulgarian, Louise Lucas, was high-fiving last night with Attorney General Jay Jones who dreamed of putting bullets in the heads of Republicans.

This is what passes for leadership in Virginia today.

This is a sad day for those of us who remember a Virginia where Democrats and Republicans treated each other with a modicum of respect. And the president of the Senate wasn’t an old woman who uses the F word and posts hateful trash like this on social media.

It’s 4/20 and I’m getting excited for a big win tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/ZGTqa18goJ

— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) April 21, 2026

Virginians deserve better, but elections have consequences.

Thank you, Fairfax.

In just three months, Virginia's governor has undermined Second Amendment rights, parental authority, and fiscal responsibility.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran as a moderate, but her actions after the first legislative session prove otherwise. She has embraced an extreme left-wing agenda, eroding Second Amendment rights and backing laws that will make Virginia an even more expensive place to live. For the first time in five years, the state is now facing a budget deficit.

The Democrat-controlled legislature sent 1,082 bills to the governor’s desk to sign. She only vetoed five bills, amended 111 (which will return to the legislature for consideration), and allowed the rest to become law.

One of the key responsibilities of the General Assembly is to approve a budget. Yet despite holding full control, the Democrats haven’t passed a spending bill. For four years under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the state had $10 billion in surplus revenue and delivered $9 billion in tax relief to Virginians. Now, after just one session under Democrat leadership, Virginia faces a half-billion-dollar deficit because the leftist majority demands bigger government rather than fiscal responsibility.

Democrats prioritize stripping the rights of Virginia citizens over responsible spending and balancing the state’s checkbook.

Restoration News previously highlighted some of the worst legislation passed by the General Assembly: Virginia Under Siege: Democrats Wage War on Law-Abiding Virginians. Now, Spanberger has allowed a vast majority of these bills to become law. In Virginia, if the governor doesn’t veto or return the bill to the legislature with amendments, the bill becomes a law—even without her signature.

The passed legislation includes multiple laws restricting the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

House Bill (HB) 217 is a bill that will prohibit the sale or importation of what Democrats call “assault weapons.” Their definition is broad and includes “a semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol with a magazine capacity in excess of 15 rounds.” It also includes semi-automatic shotguns that can accept detachable magazines.

Controversial red flag laws were previously intended to allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge to confiscate a firearm from someone at risk of harming themselves or others. HB 901, just signed into law by Spanberger, expands red flag laws to permit more than a dozen other categories of people to petition a judge to take away someone’s weapons. Now, a social worker, family therapist, member of the local community services board, or even a school principal may petition to revoke a person’s Second Amendment rights. These laws may violate the due process rights of those being targeted.

Another law Spanberger signed threatens parents’ fundamental right to direct their children's upbringing—a right the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld under the Fourteenth Amendment. Not only does HB 6 guarantee a right to contraception without an age limit or parental consent, but it also establishes a right to sterilization under the same parameters. It also runs afoul of existing Virginia law, which provides that a “parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.”

Another alarming and underreported piece of legislation is HB 913, which mandates the return of all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Youngkin had eliminated these programs due to the divisive instruction teachers were pushing in classrooms. The returning DEI propaganda includes statewide teacher training on issues such as “white privilege” and other social justice initiatives through the VDOE’s “EdEquity” program.

Restoration News previously detailed the content of the EdEquity trainings. For example, on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Democrat-controlled VDOE disseminated a sensitivity training program highlighting not the tragedies of 9/11, but how teachers should be careful not to use words such as “terrorists,” and should reject the notion of American exceptionalism. The webinars also instructed educators that “teaching is a political act.”

Spanberger campaigned as a moderate. But now, only three months into her governorship, her mask and gloves are off. She hid her true agenda and is now actively pursuing policies that threaten the rights and values of Virginians.

Virginia has the first and oldest democratically elected legislative body in North America, celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. Our founding fathers adopted the Constitution to preserve the natural rights of U.S. citizens. Those rights are quickly eroding under Virginia's new Democrat-controlled monopoly.

Victoria Manning is a Senior Investigative Researcher for Restoration News specializing in education freedom, immigration, and military issues. She is the author of Behind the Wall of Government Schools. Victoria served 8 years as an elected school board member and has a master’s degree in law. She also brings the perspective of a military spouse to her reporting.

Republished with permission from Restoration News.

It’s not fair. It’s rigging elections to give Democrats control of Congress.

No matter how earnestly Abigail Spanberger, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and Barack Obama lie about it, ordinary decent Virginians know this isn’t the Virginia way.

Six years ago Virginians said goodbye to gerrymandering with a bi-partisan constitutional amendment.

Now Democrats - using legislation sleights of hand -  are trying to bring it back with absurdly rigged maps.

Storm the polls today.

Vote NO.

And I’m voting NO.

My unopened mail-in ballot is on my desk. I’ll turn it in to poll workers on Tuesday so I can vote without casting a provisional ballot. That’s what I did in the last two elections.

I understand the importance of banking early votes. Especially for people who might forget. Me? I never forget and nothing short of death would keep me away on Election Day. With help from the Supreme Court or the passage of the SAVE Act, we may actually go back to a real Election Day.

Nothing could keep me from voting in this disgraceful power grab of a special election.

I have another reason for wanting to vote in person this year. I want to see which of my friends and neighbors are passing out literature for the “yes” campaign. I want to look into the eyes of people who don’t want voters like me to have any representation in Congress.

Sun Tzu in his classic “The Art of War” said “know your enemy.”

I want to do just that.

For a long time, I assumed those on the left simply saw the world differently from the rest of us. But after seeing the private texts sent by Jay Jones in which he fantasized about putting two bullets in Republican Todd Gilbert’s head and how he thought it would be nice for Gilbert’s children to die in their mothers’ arms, I realized there is something malignant happening with the left in Virginia.

It’s not just our attorney general. Or our two senators who have morphed into hideous politician hacks. Here’s Tim Kaine on Sunday saying that disenfranchising Virginia voters is necessary to save us from Trup’s tyranny.

Virginia @timkaine says it out loud. Half the state's voters don't matter, he doesn't care about them because it's all about messing with Donald Trump. I remember when VA had statesmen senators, even two former Navy Secretaries. Now we have just partisan hacks. https://t.co/wA3k57ebFI

— Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) April 19, 2026

Virginia Democrats believe that their insane hatred of Trump - and those of us who voted for him - justifies any ghastly acts they commit. That’s why they’re attempting to ram through a profoundly anti-democratic referendum that will silence rural and conservative voices.

If you haven’t already voted, don’t sit this one out. The future of our country is at stake.

Vote NO.

by Jeff Bayard

Imagine this scenario: The Walmart parking lot on Midlothian Turnpike is half-empty at 9:47 p.m. A man named David walks out with two bags of groceries, his boots scuffing across wet asphalt. He’s a deacon at his church, a grandfather. His Glock 19 is in the glove compartment — unlocked, the way he’s kept it for twelve years. The car doors are locked. The handgun is out of sight. But the glove box opens with one motion, no fumbling for a second key. That’s the point.

Halfway across the lot, he sees it. A dark sedan idling near his truck, windows down, two figures watching him. The vehicle wasn’t there when he went inside. As he gets closer, the sedan pulls forward and cuts across his path. Both doors open. Two men step out. One shouts something. They’re moving toward him fast.

David taps his key fob. The locks chirp open. He slides in, pulls the door shut, hits the lock, and opens the glove compartment. One fluid motion and the Glock is in his hand. He holds it where they can see it. The two men stop. They look at each other. They get back in the sedan and peel out of the lot.

David calls 911. He’s shaking but unharmed. The police arrive, take his statement, confirm no shots were fired. The officers tell him he did the right thing. Then one of them notices the open glove box. He points. “Was that locked or unlocked?”

“Unlocked,” David says.

The officer pauses. He writes David a citation — Class 4 misdemeanor, violation of § 18.2-308.7:1. The handgun wasn’t in a locked hard-sided container. His locked car doors don’t count under the new law.

Had that glove box been locked — the way HB 110 requires — David would have been fumbling for a second key while two men closed the distance. He’d have been robbed, or worse.

Instead, David drives home with his groceries, his Glock, and a criminal charge for being prepared to defend his life.

Now meet Delegate Marcus.

Imagine a Virginia delegate named Marcus who had voted yes on HB 110. He gave a floor speech about responsible gun storage and keeping communities safe. This morning, running late for session, he tossed his loaded handgun on the passenger seat of his car and jogged into the Pocahontas Building. His car sits in the legislative parking garage — doors unlocked, handgun in plain view on the leather seat.

At 2:15pm, a Capitol grounds worker notices the car door ajar. The handgun is gone. Stolen off the seat of an unlocked car on government property. A firearm that Marcus voted to make you lock in a hard-sided container is now in the hands of someone who walked into a parking garage and took it.

Under HB 110, Marcus committed no crime. The storage rules don’t apply to him. The Capitol Square firearms ban doesn’t apply to him. He carved himself out of every provision he imposed on David.

David has a criminal record. Marcus has an exemption. The stolen gun is on the street.

What the Law Actually Says

HB 110 was signed by Governor Abbie Spanberger on April 13, 2026 — Chapter 560, effective July 1. It requires every Virginian who leaves a handgun in an unattended locked vehicle to place it out of plain view in a locked hard-sided container. Violation is a Class 4 misdemeanor. Before this law, no Virginian faced criminal charges for how they stored a handgun in an unattended vehicle.

Buried in the conference report, added on the last day of session, are two exemptions:

§ 18.2-283.2(G) exempts General Assembly members from the Capitol Square firearms ban when leaving a handgun in their vehicle in the legislative parking garage.

§ 18.2-308.7:1(C)(iii) exempts vehicles in the Capitol parking structure from the locked-container storage requirements.

The House passed this 60-37. The Senate followed 21-18. Eighty-one legislators voted to exempt themselves from the crime they created for every other Virginian. The Governor signed it.

The Pattern

In my series on Virginia’s gun laws — SB749, the Anti-Police Triple Threat, and Virginia’s Perfect Storm — I’ve documented how Virginia Democrats have inverted Romans 13: government exists to punish evil and protect the innocent. Instead, Virginia has dulled the sword against criminals, targeted the sword-bearers, and disarmed the citizens.

HB 110 completes the architecture with a fourth tier: legislators above the law, police armed by exemption, citizens criminalized, criminals unaffected.

Proverbs 11:1: “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.” When lawmakers write gun restrictions and exempt themselves, the balance is false. God calls it an abomination.

Ezekiel 34:2: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!” Virginia’s political shepherds feed themselves while the flock is criminalized for trying to defend their own families.

What You Can Do

Share this article. Most Virginians will never read the enrolled text of HB 110. Hold your legislators accountable — find yours at virginiageneralassembly.gov. And pray that God would expose this hypocrisy to every Virginian.

Jeff Bayard is content manager and composer at the Virginia Christian Alliance. This article has been republished with permission of The Virginia Christian Alliance and Bacon’s Rebellion.

Of course this headline is just horrible… and there’s no excusing murder and the devastation I’m sure these children will feel for the rest of their lives- but this blaring fleeting headline is NOT the whole story.

When I heard about this crime and tragedy this morning I… pic.twitter.com/WsJCYIZj5t

John Reid’s post from The Reid Revolution on X:

Of course this headline is just horrible… and there’s no excusing murder and the devastation I’m sure these children will feel for the rest of their lives- but this blaring fleeting headline is NOT the whole story.

When I heard about this crime and tragedy this morning I couldn’t help but wonder if any of Virginia’s smug and abusive political leaders even consider that political hit jobs (with fake allegations?) can have tragic consequences that often reveal themselves many years later.

I don’t just feel bad for this family and these poor children today… I feel bad about the last several years of horrors these people must have all been living.

Justin called me several times last year after what was done to me to encourage me not to give up.

My understanding from speaking with him privately was that he was ruined by what he swears were total lies.

When I did the reporter thing and called around, his close associates said he couldn’t find or keep steady employment and that things had been pretty rough.

With what little influence I had at the time I told him try to help get the FBI investigation files released on his case- because he said they would clear his name.

No one was interested in helping or in exposing the truth- whatever that might actually be.

The accusations did their job. He was destroyed politically and his life and family didn’t matter. Verifying the truth didn’t seem to matter to anybody either- Except to him.

Even when I thought I might have a plan to get the files released it was clear (in my opinion) that he was scared and crushed that the process and inevitable renewed headlines would destroy what was left of his life and family.

What a living hell.

Like all of you- I do not personally know the entire story about what happened in hotel rooms decades ago.

I do not personally know who suddenly released damning ALLEGATIONS about sex and abuse right as this man was being considered as Governor.

And I do not personally know the pressures and situation in the Fairfax home last night.

But… I can tell you the cutthroats in Virginia politics and everyone who lies or gleefully attacks others over rumors and allegations that are unlitigated and unproven should check themselves today.

In candor- for decades I have talked A LOT on TV and radio and on social media.

I have been very rough with many people over the years but if you have listened to me I am often the LAST person to jump to a conclusion or be condemning because I have paused to make sure I know the facts and not just the allegation.

I am determined not to lie about people and I know my public words have the power to help or harm.

I wish others in Virginia had paused to think about that burden when it came to the case of Justin Fairfax. And now look what has happened…..

I’ll talk a little more about this on my broadcast today at 1:30pm. But it all makes me sick on many different levels.

Republished with permission from Bacon’s Rebellion.

It was an embarrassing admission that these elected officials are incapable of doing their jobs.

The vote was 10-1 with only Jennifer Rouse voting no. Her reason was terrible: She prefers declaring the Oceanfront a “gun-free zone” because as we all know, a few “no guns” signs would cause all the gangbangers to leave their guns at home.

Frankly, I can’t think of a part of town where I’d want a gun MORE than at the Oceanfront on a Saturday night.

This is not a city run by Mensa members.

In response to two separate mass shooting incidents over the past two months, the resort area is effectively closed for business from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the next two weekends. The perimeter of the curfew are from Rudee Loop to 31st Street.

Yep, they’re punishing law-abiding tourists and locals who like to stay out past 9:30 to prevent thugs from shooting each other.

One speaker, a woman who lives in a 27th Street condo lamented the fact that she will not be allowed out of her home to meet friends for ice cream on a balmy Saturday night this weekend.

She’s right. Thanks to city council, she’s a prisoner in her own home. So are all the tourists in the beachfront hotels.

We haven’t had this much fun since covid, when Ralph Northam ran around the commonwealth closing everything.

Lawyer Tim Anderson says the battle is not over. He’s heading to court to block the curfews.

Virginia Beach is about to impose a 9:00 p.m. curfew on adults at the Oceanfront.

That’s a problem.

The First Amendment protects your right to be in public, assemble, and engage in expressive activity. Government doesn’t get to shut that down for everyone because of a few bad… pic.twitter.com/VeGAJySAyq

— Tim Anderson (@AssocAnderson) April 15, 2026

Godspeed, Tim.

Before yesterday’s vote Police Chief Paul Neudigate spouted statistics and showed scary surveillance footage of mobs of people on the streets as gunfire broke out.

He said the oceanfront should not be a “combat zone.” Hey, we all agree.

The chief’s solution:

“My request is for a 9 p.m. zone curfew. It is a necessity.”

Shutting down the oceanfront reflects a complete lack of imagination. Every restaurant and business in the resort corridor is going to take a hit these next two weeks. Hourly employees are going to lose money, too. And tourists? They’re not coming back.

If they even come. Look for a flood of cancellations.

Maybe it’s time for everyone - the mayor, city council and the police chief - to resign and give power to people who respect private businesses and aren’t afraid to call out gangs by name and get tough with gunslingers.

Most speakers told city council to stop with the nanny state solution. If we learned anything during covid it’s that people don’t like being told when to go to bed. Ralph Northam famously told Virginians that nothing good happens after midnight. Now Beach residents are being told nothing good happens after 9:30.

Many asked the question, “What comes next?”

There were no answers. The city manager noted that March and April are the violent months around the resort strip and that things settle down as the summer gets rolling.

That’s reassuring.

The chief noted that he needs more cops, plus the area needs better lighting and higher-quality cameras and drones.

Here’s an idea: Instead of using tax dollars to build wave parks, how about buying a few 100-watt bulbs for the Atlantic Avenue streetlights?

Trouble is, violence at the oceanfront is nothing new. The city has been tiptoeing around the racially sensitive issue since the 1980s.

Mayor Bobby Dyer quipped that there is an old saying about Virginia Beach, “Before 10 p.m. you’re living in Mayberry. After 10, you’re living in Tombstone.”

Cute.

Maybe we should put that on a billboard at the entrance of the resort area.