Lance Allen, a candidate for the Republican Party of Virginia’s Senate District 1 nomination, called law enforcement to block opponent Delegate Dave LaRock (R-Loudoun) from entering a screening of 2,000 Mules on Thursday evening. In Facebook posts, Allen said he told LaRock he was welcome to attend but not to campaign at the event, but that “LaRock attempted to disrupt” the campaign event.
“I spoke to Delegate LaRock earlier today, and he informed me that he was going to show up anyways, campaign and that if I wanted to have him removed, I’d have to ‘call the local sheriff,’ and that’s what I did. After Delegate LaRock showed up to our campaign event, that we paid for, he began to actively campaign. I then called the sheriff to have him removed,” Allen said in a Thursday release.
LaRock’s Legislative Assistant Daniel Davies told The Virginia Star that LaRock, who was with his wife, was attending because he hadn’t seen the film before. Davies said LaRock did not campaign at the event, and that there was a confrontation.
“Mr. Allen blocked the door and would not allow Delegate LaRock to get in,” he said,
Davies said, “He was outside the building, never even entered the event.”
The new Senate District 1 is an open district with no incumbents. Voters there preferred Governor Glenn Youngkin over Democrat Terry McAuliffe by a 36.8-point margin, according to The Virginia Public Access Project. As a result, the race has attracted six candidates for the GOP nomination, including Allen and LaRock.
Without naming Allen, LaRock promoted the screening in a Wednesday Facebook post and asked voters to RSVP by emailing LaRock’s campaign.
“As you know, I’ve worked on election integrity issues for many years. More information on those efforts is on my website,” he wrote. “The @Fredrick County 2nd Amendment Group was planning a free viewing of 2000 Mules tomorrow (Thursday) evening in Frederick County, and I was supporting them in that showing. However, due to venue logistical issues, we’re consolidating with another showing, giving an opportunity for 2A supporters and others in the Northern Shenandoah Valley to have a more central location for everyone to enjoy the viewing!”
In 2021, Democrats tried to pressure LaRock to resign after he was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and House Democrats stripped LaRock of his committee assignments after he signed a letter asking then-Vice President Mike Pence to nullify the 2020 presidential election.
LaRock has also taken a strong stance on abortion and has called on Governor Glenn Youngkin to use executive action to end abortions at some state university medical centers.
In 2020 and 2021, Allen built his campaign around issues including lower taxes, school reopening, big-tech censorship, and a ban on abortions after a heartbeat is detected. He came in fourth in the race for the nomination.
Republicans haven’t picked a date yet to select their nominees for the Virginia Senate and House elections, but several races, including SD-1, are already contentious.
Near the beginning of his campaign for lieutenant governor, Allen called for a new, less polarized and less vitriolic approach to politics.
“I want to bring a sense of decency back to politics. That was the whole idea of the United States of America. The idea that we could come together and freely debate ideas, whether we agree or not,” he told The Star in 2020.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Dave LaRock (Left)” by Dave LaRock. Photo “Lance Allen (Right)” by Lance Allen.Â
