Governor’s race torch stunt fans flames locally
Five young people wearing identical white shirts, glasses, and baseball caps, holding tiki torches, standing in a straight line in front of Glenn Youngkin’s tour bus, praising the Republican gubernatorial candidate: It all seemed a little too neat. And indeed, it was—shortly after images of the demonstration began circulating on social media, it came to light that the torch-wielders weren’t neo-Nazi Youngkin fans who attended the rally to support the candidate. Instead, they were deployed by The Lincoln Project, a political action committee comprised of former Republicans aimed at defeating Trump and his allies. (Posing as a neo-Nazi—do you think that was listed in the internship description?)
A statement from the project said the ham-fisted stunt was an attempt to “remind Virginians of what happened in Charlottesville four years ago, the Republican Party’s embrace of those values, and Glenn Youngkin’s failure to condemn it.”
The Youngkin campaign accused Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe of organizing the event, prompting McAuliffe’s campaign manager to denounce the demonstration and call for an “immediate apology” from whomever was behind it.
During Monday’s City Council meeting, Tyler Magill, who was injured during the August 11 torch-lit rally on the UVA Lawn, spoke out against the “nasty prank,” and asked council to demand The Lincoln Project donate money to equity groups helping Unite the Right victims.
“We’re tired of the pain of our community being used as a prop [and] our community being used for everything but the uplift of our community,” he said. “There’s still a lot of pain in this town, and it needs to be addressed.”
Councilors Lloyd Snook and Heather Hill agreed the city should issue a response denouncing the stunt.
“People who are not from Charlottesville don’t realize the extent to which I think Charlottesville is still struggling with PTSD from that experience four years ago,” said Snook. “Even the TV ads that we’re seeing are triggering for a lot of people in Charlottesville.”
Mayor Nikuyah Walker did not comment on The Lincoln Project, but acknowledged the “people in this community who have had pain and suffering and trauma long before 2017.”
“That is the main problem that we need to focus on in this community,” added Walker.
At press time, we were sitting around biting our nails, awaiting the results of the governor’s race. Check back for in-depth coverage of the election online and in next week’s paper.
Chip Boyles gets new gig
After resigning as Charlottesville City Manager on October 12, Chip Boyles has landed a new job as executive director of the George Washington Regional Commission in Fredericksburg. Cathy Binder, chair of the search committee, expressed the commission’s excitement about its new man on the job, saying that committee members “were impressed by his knowledge, demeanor, and professional reputation, and believe that he will be an excellent leader of the GWRC staff.” Boyles says he looks forward to “addressing the needs of the region” alongside the GWRC staff and partner agencies. This latest post adds to Boyles’ lengthy list of experiences working in city government. We’ll see if he lasts longer than eight months.
In brief
Bounty hunter plot goes wrong
A Culpeper woman was arrested on federal criminal charges last Wednesday for attempting to hire a hitman over the internet. The 25-year-old placed an “order” on the dark web requesting muder-for-hire services, including photos of and personal information about the intended target. She deposited $3,200 in Bitcoin to get the job done, and offered information about the best time and place to kill the victim. U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said the incident should serve as a reminder “to remain vigilant in the policing of those dark corners of the web where cybercrime thrives.” The accused party faces up to 20 years in prison.
Jefferson plays defense
National Review Editor Rich Lowry and Texas Congressman Chip Roy visited UVA last week to give a lecture “In Defense of Mr. Jefferson,” hosted by the Young Americans for Freedom student group. Roy recently voted against creating a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection, and was fined for refusing to wear a mask in the Capitol (alongside Marjorie Taylor Greene). Is it unfair to judge Jefferson by the company he keeps?
Former slave auction site sold
Number Nothing Court Square, the historic building adjacent to the site of a slave auction block where people were bought and sold, changed hands last week. The new buyers are a mysterious entity called Excellent Horse LLC, reports Charlottesville Tomorrow. The property was purchased for $1,287,500, just below the initial asking price of $1.35 million. In the past, some community members have suggested turning the space into a museum of local history, but for now its future remains to be seen.