by Madeleine Hubbard
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday pardoned Scott Smith, a father who was convicted for protesting the Loudoun County School Board after his daughter was brutally sexually assaulted at school by a boy with a skirt in the girl’s bathroom.
“Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter,” Youngkin said when issuing his absolute pardon to Smith. “Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia.”
Smith was charged with obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct in June 2021 after he expressed his frustrations at a school board meeting following his teenage daughter’s rape the previous month at Stone Bridge High School. He pleaded not guilty, but was convicted in August 2021. The matter was a hotly contested issue in the Loudoun County community for months.
“In Virginia,” Governor Youngkin said, “Parents matter and my resolve to empower parents is unwavering. A parent’s fundamental right to be involved in their child’s education, upbringing, and care should never be undermined by bureaucracy, school divisions or the state. I am pleased to grant Scott Smith this pardon and help him and his family put this injustice behind them once and for all.”
The August 17 pardon acknowledges Smith’s constitutional rights, reading. in part:
WHEREAS, in June 2021, Scott Thomas Smith exercised his constitutional right to attend a public meeting of the Loudoun County School Board to observe the proceedings, during which time a community member threatened to spread false and malicious information about Mr. Smith’s business with the intent to damage his reputation; and
WHEREAS, after an ensuing verbal confrontation, Scott Thomas Smith was charged with Obstruction of Justice and Disorderly Conduct; andWHEREAS, Scott Thomas Smith was convicted in the General District Court of the County of Loudoun on August 17, 2021 of Obstruction of Justice and Disorderly Conduct after pleading not guilty; and
WHEREAS, on appeal, Scott Thomas Smith’s conviction for Obstruction of Justice was dismissed with prejudice before trial due to an irregularity not attributable to Scott Thomas Smith; and
WHEREAS, on appeal, the Loudoun County Circuit Court issued an order disqualifying the original prosecutor in Scott Thomas Smith’s case due to concerns about “the integrity of the prosecution,” “the impartiality of the Commonwealth’s Attorney,” and a specific finding that Scott Smith’s due process rights were “in jeopardy;” and
WHEREAS, Scott Thomas Smith has been publicly and falsely accused of “domestic terrorism” and “hate crimes” for attempting to advocate for his daughter, a victim of violent sexual assault; and
WHEREAS, upon careful deliberation and review of the circumstances of the matter, I have decided it is just and appropriate to grant this ABSOLUTE PARDON that reflects Scott Thomas Smith’s factual innocence of Disorderly Conduct, for which he was convicted on August 17, 2021;
NOW, THEREFORE, 1, Glenn A. Youngkin, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in accordance with the authority granted to me under Article V, Section 12 of the Constitution of Virginia, do hereby grant unto Scott Thomas Smith this Absolute Pardon from the conviction for Disorderly Conduct handed down by the General District Court of the County of Loudoun on August 17, 2021.
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Madeleine Hubbard joined Just the News as a fast file reporter after working as an editor at Breitbart News. Follow Hubbard on X or Instagram.
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin.
