Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is receiving backlash after evaluating himself to George Floyd and Emmett Until through the state’s Democratic gubernatorial debate on Tuesday (April 6.)
Fairfax was accused of sexual assault in 2019 by two Black girls. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a white man, allegedly requested Fairfax to instantly resign with out due course of, “three minutes after a press launch got here out,” according to Fairfax.
When requested about the way forward for policing and the trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin through the televised debate, Fairfax named dropped Floyd and Until, a Black 14-year-old who was brutally crushed and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, NBC News studies.
“He handled George Floyd. He handled me like Emmett Until— no due course of, instantly assumed my guilt,” Fairfax exclaimed. “I’ve a son and a daughter. I do not ever need my daughter to be assaulted, I do not need my son to be falsely accused. And but that is the true world that we reside in.”
Floyd died final Might after Chauvin knelt on his neck for over 9 minutes.
“The homicide of George Floyd was horrific,” Fairfax mentioned. “However it remembers a historical past in Virginia and in our nation the place African People, particularly African American males, are presumed to be responsible, are handled inhumanely, are given no due course of and have their lives impacted, in some circumstances taken away instantly.”
Twitter customers had greater than sufficient to say, as many have been offended by the comparability.
In response to NBC News, Fairfax was accused of raping Meredith Watson in 2000. Vanessa Tyson accused the lawyer of forcing her to carry out oral intercourse whereas they each attended the Democratic Nationwide Conference in Boston in 2004.
“We won’t simply speak theoretically about what typically occurs, however we’ve got a real-world instance the place I used to be falsely accused in 2019. Everybody right here on the stage referred to as for my instant resignation, together with Terry McAuliffe three minutes after a press launch got here out,” said Fairfax.
Lauren Burke, Fairfax’s spokesperson, responded to the backlash of his feedback: “There isn’t any one addressing these allegations have been by no means investigated as his opponents maintain mentioning justice reform and the general remedy of Black males.”
Fairfax has avidly denied all allegations, in accordance with CNN, assuring any investigations into the claims would clear his identify.
