Commentary: The Economics of Early Voting

After the recent assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump, some think the race is Trump’s to lose. I tend to agree that the race is in some ways Trump’s to lose, while at the same time feel very strongly that the left is not going to simply roll over and give up on trying to keep Trump from a second term.

So it’s important to not be over-exuberant; Trump is absolutely riding high right now, from the debacle of a debate for Biden to Judge Cannon dismissing the Jack Smith documents case to surviving an assassination attempt. But the right needs to focus on what takes place between now and November 5th, specifically on how every Republican and conservative can help Trump win by doing one simple thing: casting your ballot early.

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Trump Expands Push in Blue States as Virginia Appears Competitive

Donald Trump in Philadelphia

Former President Donald Trump appears poised to invest heavily in Virginia in the 2024 election as new polling data suggests the Old Dominion could be competitive for Republicans for the first time in 20 years.

The state has not backed a Republican for president since George W. Bush in 2004 and trended increasingly Democratic over the years until GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s upset win in 2021 reignited Republican hopes in the commonwealth. The GOP struggled, however, in the 2023 legislative elections, with many analysts pinning the blame on the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which forced Republicans to play defense on the issue of abortion during that cycle. The party lost control of the House of Delegates and failed to seize control of the state Senate in those elections.

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Commentary: The Dangerous Consequences of an Open Border

Illegal Migrants

On a quiet Friday morning on May 3, two men posing as subcontracted Amazon drivers pulled their truck up to the main gate entering Quantico Marine Base in Virginia.

The men did not present approved access credentials and had no affiliation with the base. They claimed they were making a delivery to the post office.

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Teachers Union Worked with Feds to Neutralize Parents with Concerns About CRT

American Federation of Teachers

Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial victory in Virginia in November 2021, widely credited to his promise to restore parental rights in public schools in the Democratic-leaning state, set off panic in the national education establishment.

Newly disclosed records reveal the American Federation of Teachers hired a prominent Democratic pollster the following month to survey parents and devise messaging to shore up AFT’s weaknesses – particularly by tarring dissenting parents as racists – and shared it with a senior Department of Education official.

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Parents Question Why Virginia High School Staging Drag Musical, Brunch

West Potomac High School Principle Jessica Statz

A high school theater troupe is staging the risque musical “Kinky Boots” just outside the nation’s capital “in collaboration” with a leading Virginia school syste’’s “Pride” programs, prompting concern and questions from some parents.

The Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia, will perform “Kinky Boots” eight times between Thursday and May 4, according to emails obtained by The Daily Signal.

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Politicians of All Stripes Focus on Post-Election Audits Before 2024 General Election Even Happens

Poll workers counting ballots

Various state legislators are focusing on post-election audits ahead of the November 2024 general election, with Republicans looking to implement or improve audits in some states, while Democrats in one state are trying to prevent an audit of the presidential election.

Post-election audits have been on the books of some states for years, most famously, the “hanging chad recount” fought over in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The issue of post-election audits and the ensuing litigation has received renewed attention since the 2020 presidential election, after numerous irregularities were discovered. The Arizona Senate post-election audit was one of the more famous following the 2020 race. Dispositive evidence that irregularities “moved the needle” one way or another is still a point of contention.

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Google Agrees to Nearly $400 Million Settlement with 40 States over Location-Tracking Probe

Google agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states after an investigation found that the tech giant participated in questionable location-tracking practices, state attorneys general announced Monday.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called it a “historic win for consumers.”

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Dem-Aligned Pro-Trans Group in Virginia Helps Kids Run Away from Home, Places Them with ‘Queer Friendly’ Adults

A pro-trans group in Virginia with ties to the Democrat party says it will help gender-confused students run away from home and will place them with “supportive, queer friendly” adults, according to internal materials obtained by The Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak.

The Pride Liberation Project is a pro-LGBT student organization that raises money using the Democrat platform ActBlue to help minors leave their families.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: Punishing Pennsylvania, Liberating Virginia

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are moving their states in opposite directions.

Gov. Youngkin is focused on lowering the cost of living and improving Virginia’s appeal as a place to do business. Boeing’s recent announcement that it is moving from Illinois to Virginia is an example of his efforts. Youngkin’s aggressive pro-jobs push led CNBC to call Virginia the No. 1 state in the country for business.

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21 States Join Lawsuit to End Federal Mask Mandate on Airplanes, Public Transportation

Twenty-one states have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued mask mandate on public transportation, including on airplanes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are leading the effort. Moody filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida along with 20 other attorneys general. DeSantis said the mask mandate was misguided and heavy-handed.

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Sixteen States File New Lawsuit Against Federal COVID Vaccination Mandate

Sixteen states again are challenging a federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers who work at facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Friday’s filing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana comes after the issuance of final guidance on the mandate from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), arguing the guidance is an action that is reviewable.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled by 5-4 vote Jan. 13 against the original Louisiana challenge to the mandate and a similar Missouri filing.

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New Virginia Attorney General Fires Entire Civil Rights Branch of the AG’s Office

On Friday, one day prior to being sworn in as Virginia’s new Attorney General, Jason Miyares (R-Va.) fired 30 employees in the Virginia Attorney General’s office, including the entirety of the Civil Rights Division.

As reported by the Daily Caller, 17 of the 30 employees who were fired were attorneys. Following the mass firing, Miyares spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita said that the new Attorney General was “restructuring the office, as every incoming AG has done in the past.” She noted that Miyares and former Attorney General Mark Herring (D-Va.), whom Miyares narrowly defeated in November, “have very different visions for the office.”

In response, Herring’s former spokeswoman Charlotte Gomer criticized the move, claiming that the fired employees were “dedicated and professional public servants who do important work, like investigate wrongful convictions, protect Virginians’ civil rights, help to ensure free and fair elections, and prevent human trafficking and opioid abuse.”

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Commentary: Virginia Paves the Way for Trump’s Return

There has been a great deal of discussion of the widespread Republican victories last week, many of them belaboring the obvious. Fundamentally, the United States is a political society based on personal freedom, a free market, and on democratically legislated and responsibly enforced laws. The current administration’s belief in virtually unrestricted immigration, higher taxes, authoritarian regulation—including COVID vaccine mandates, and a heavy redistribution of wealth from those who have earned it to those who have not—are all antagonistic to the ethos that the United States has had for all of its history. In the circumstances, some sort of reversal was almost inevitable and is the off-year American electoral custom. 

Those who were surprised by the Republican victory in Virginia and the near-dead heat in New Jersey had not recognized the extent of the affront to traditional democratic voters of the Sanders-woke-leftward lurch.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: 2021 Lessons for Republicans

Man in camo holding an American flag

The 2021 elections are filled with key lessons for Republicans.

Vice President Kamala Harris had already warned in a Virginia visit late in the campaign that “what happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens in 2022, 2024 and on.”

If Republicans learn the lessons of 2021 – and apply them to 2022 and 2024 – they can prove Harris was truly prophetic.

It is already clear that the Democrats’ power structure in Washington has learned nothing. In 2009, after losing Virginia and New Jersey, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through Obamacare four days later. Remember, she said cheerfully “Congress [has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.” 

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Attorney General Garland Grilled by GOP Senators over Department of Justice Memo Targeting Parents at School Meetings

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday faced a litany of hard-edged Senate questions about agreeing to allow federal law enforcement to investigate alleged incidents of outspoken parents at school board meetings.

Garland, in a memo, agreed to responded to a Sept. 29 letter from the National School Board Association to President Biden asking that the FBI, Justice Department and other federal agencies to investigate potential acts of domestic terrorism at the meetings. Parents across the nation have been voicing their concerns about the curricula being taught to their children, in addition to instances like the one currently playing out in northern Virginia, in which there was an apparent coverup of the sexual assault of a female student in a bathroom.

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Commentary: The One Number That Puts Youngkin in the Governor’s Mansion

Some more thoughts on the FOX News poll showing former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe up by 5 points over Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin just three (and now two) weeks out from the November 2nd election.

One of the numbers in the poll? McAuliffe’s support among black voters at +63. Which is shorthand for a 79/16 gap — which sounds atrocious (and quite frankly, is atrocious for a party built on the premise that all men should be free).

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Commentary: An American Horror Story

Close up of Capitol with Trump and America flag in the wind

Thomas Caldwell’s wife awakened him in a panic at 5:30 a.m. on January 19.

“The FBI is at the door and I’m not kidding,” Sharon Caldwell told her husband.

Caldwell, 66, clad only in his underwear, went to see what was happening outside his Virginia farm. “There was a full SWAT team, armored vehicles with a battering ram, and people screaming at me,” Caldwell told me during a lengthy phone interview on September 21. “People who looked like stormtroopers were pointing M4 weapons at me, covering me with red [laser] dots.”

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Daily Caller News Foundation Interview: Iranian Immigrant Parent Dimis Christophy Encourages Others to Speak Out and Not Be Intimidated

  The Daily Caller News Foundation interviewed Iranian-Christian Dimis Christophy, a Loudoun County, Virginia parent who unleashed on his child’s woke public school board during a meeting on August 10th. TRANSCRIPT: Christophy: Just to clear up, I know, King and Queen are not pronouns. I get it. Okay. There’s a…

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Wisconsin Leaders React to Afghan Refugees Coming to the State

There are more questions than answers about the likely thousands of Afghans who are coming to Wisconsin.

The Pentagon on Tuesday said 22,000 Afghan refugees will be sent to military bases in Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin base is Fort McCoy.

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Over 200 Afghan Allies Arrive on First of Many Expected Flights to Bring Thousands to the US

Over 200 Afghan allies arrived at Fort Lee, in Virginia, on the first of many expected flights bringing thousands of people who assisted the U.S. military to America, Axios reported Friday.

President Joe Biden promised to help Afghan interpreters and other people who aided U.S. forces during the war, according to Axios. Over 700 people and their family members are expected to come to the U.S. on special immigrant visas as American forces withdraw from Afghanistan.

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‘Meet the Press’ Anchor Chuck Todd Was Senator Klobuchar’s Landlord, Never Disclosed Relationship

Amy Klobuchar and Chuck Todd

Sen. Amy Klobuchar rented a Virginia home from NBC host Chuck Todd, who never disclosed the relationship during his many interviews with the Minnesota politician.

That’s according to a Thursday report from Breitbart editor Alex Marlow, who discusses the relationship in his new book, “Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruptions.”

Marlow states that Klobuchar and her husband, attorney John Bessler, began renting an Arlington, Va., home from Todd in 2008, shortly into her first term as a U.S. senator. Monthly rent for the three-bedroom house was $3,200, earning Todd $38,400 annually.

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Commentary: Virginia Can’t Seem to Make up Its Mind About Its New Math Curriculum

Classroom of students with teacher at blackboard

What the heck is going on with the Virginia Department of Education?

A little over a week ago reports surfaced that the state would be doing away with advanced math classes for all grades except 11 and 12.

But then reports came out noting the state’s education chief disputed those reports, saying “absolutely acceleration is not going away in mathematics courses.”

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Virginia Politician Pushes for Reparations Through Scholarships to Public Universities

Democratic Virginia Delegate David Reid has introduced legislation, passed by the House of Delegates, which would require some public universities to provide reparations to ancestors of slaves who worked at the universities.

The legislation, ”Enslaved Ancestors College Access Scholarship and Memorial Program,” now awaits a vote in the state senate.

It would require a number of universities to provide reparations. Those universities include Longwood University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Military Institute and the College of William and Mary.

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FAKE NEWS: CNN Botches Story About Virginia Man Arrested at Police Checkpoint in Washington D.C.

Virginia man who was arrested at a police checkpoint in Washington D.C. over the weekend, has been released from custody following a brief court appearance.

Although initial news reports hyped the story, investigators said they do not consider Wesley Beeler, a security contractor who was working in the area, to be a threat to public safety.

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Favorite Christmas Songs by State

Christmas Day has finally arrived and although many people’s plans may look quite different this year, there is one thing about the holiday season that can never be changed: catchy, calming and irresistible Christmas songs.

Whether a person listens to Christmas music all 365 days of the year or only starts once winter has set in, almost everybody has a favorite jingle that inevitably gets played more often around the holidays.

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Most Popular Thanksgiving Side Dishes by State

Thanksgiving is all about spending quality time with family and friends away from the everyday responsibilities such as work and school, but the holiday really centers around the large afternoon feast where so much food is consumed that a nap is usually required immediately afterward.

And everybody knows that Turkey is the mainstay of traditionally Thanksgiving meals, hence the nickname Turkey Day, but what about the side dishes? Which classic sides are more popular than others?

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Northam Restricts Large Groups, Night Drinking, Expands Mask Mandate Ahead of Thanksgiving

Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced new coronavirus restrictions Friday, only a few weeks ahead of Thanksgiving.

“COVID-19 is surging across the country, and while cases are not rising in Virginia as rapidly as in some other states, I do not intend to wait until they are. We are acting now to prevent this health crisis from getting worse,” the governor said in a statement.

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FBI: Groups Also Discussed Kidnapping Virginia Governor

Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia’s governor during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing for a group of men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

Special Agent Richard Trask also revealed new details about investigators’ use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to arrest and charge six men last week in the plot aimed at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

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President Trump Visits Virginia, Draws Massive Crowd

President Donald J. Trump spoke at a campaign rally Friday night in Virginia drawing a crowd of over ten thousand people. 

The event took place in Newport News, Virginia outside of an airport hanger near the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.

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Commentary: Everyone Calm Down About Elections Breaking America Talk

First off and very quickly, if you’re into podcasts? Check out Joe Rogen’s interview with the UK Spectator’s Douglas Murray regarding how social justice warriors will undoubtedly double down during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Worth the 20 minutes on background as you go about your day.

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Health Officials Seek to Block Trump Rally in Virginia

A Virginia health official is warning of a “severe public health threat” if a planned campaign rally for President Donald Trump goes forward Friday evening.

Dr. Natasha Dwamena, a Department of Public Health district director, said in a letter Thursday that the 4,000 people expected to attend Trump’s rally at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport would be breaking Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order generally banning gatherings of more than 250 people. She said the rally should be canceled, rescheduled or scaled down to comply with the governor’s order.

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Trump Will Win Virginia, Delegation Chairman Says Following Poll Showing Biden and President in 5 Point Race

A new poll shows Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by only 5 points, nearly at the margin of error of 3.9 percent, but the president’s delegation chairman says that does not factor in Trump’s grassroots effort.

The Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University released the poll, which is available here.

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Liberty University Hires Outside Firm to Investigate Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Tenure

Liberty University says it is conducting a forensic investigation of Jerry Falwell Jr. a week after he resigned as president.

Falwell resigned last Tuesday after amid conflicting claims about a sexual relationship his wife Becki Falwell had with a business partner, The Associated Press reported. Falwell reportedly participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.

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Virginia Man Arrested on Charges of H-1B Visa Fraud Worth $21 Million

A Sterling man was arrested last week on charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and for inducing aliens to come to the United States using fraudulently obtained H-1B visas, the Department of Justice said.

According to court documents, Ashish Sawhney, 48, allegedly used four corporations to orchestrate the improper submission of fraudulent applications for H-1B specialty-occupation work visas, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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Jail That Released Ibrahim Bouaichi Due to Health Risk of Coronavirus Had No Cases of COVID-19

Ibrahim Bouaichi, an inmate in Virginia who was released on bond from jail due to the Coronavirus pandemic, made headlines last week for allegedly killing his accuser.

At the time of his release, the jail where Bouaichi was held had no recorded cases of COVID-19.

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Study Shows Collective Bargaining, Now Reinstated in Virginia, Shields Police Officers from Discipline

A recent study of collectively bargained deals negotiated by police unions nationwide found these deals often scale back accountability and shield police from disciplinary action.

Before this year, public-sector collective bargaining was banned in Virginia. But after Democrats won control of the House and Senate, party leaders were able to pass legislation to end that prohibition, and Gov. Ralph Northam signed it into law. The law will go into effect in May 2021.

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Ibrahm Bouaichi, Virginia Inmate Released Due to Coronavirus Pandemic, Arrested for Murdering Accuser

A Virginia inmate who was released from jail because of the Coronavirus pandemic is back in police custody for allegedly murdering his accuser.

Ibrahm Elkahlil Bouaichi, a 33-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly raping his ex-girlfriend Karla Elizabeth Dominguez Gonzalez in October 2019 and held without bond, was arrested Wednesday morning for shooting and killing Gonzalez on July 29.

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Despite Supreme Court Win, Energy Companies Cancel $8 Billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline

The developers of the long-delayed, $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline announced the cancellation of the multi-state natural gas project Sunday, citing uncertainties about costs, permitting and litigation.

Despite a victory last month at the United States Supreme Court over a critical permit, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy said in a news release that “recent developments have created an unacceptable layer of uncertainty and anticipated delays” for the 600-mile project designed to cross West Virginia and Virginia into North Carolina.

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New Virginia Gun Laws Take Effect Amid Nationwide Unrest

A host of gun control laws, passed months ago and spearheaded by Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, took effect on Wednesday in the commonwealth after months of fierce opposition from pro-firearm groups.

Northam signed the slew of gun restrictions in April after they passed the state’s General Assembly, where Democrats hold the majority, USA Today reported. The lawmakers faced dissent from over 20,000 angry citizens — many of whom were heavily armed — in the state’s capital in late January, according to Fox News.

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Crews Inspect, But Won’t Yet Remove, Richmond’s Statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee

Workers for the state of Virginia inspected Richmond’s huge statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monday before its planned removal. While protesters have toppled some other Confederate statues and some cities have moved swiftly to remove what critics see as symbols of white supremacy, this monument won’t be so easy to take down.

Virginia’s Department of General Services said in a statement that it plans to remove the statue of the Confederate general on a date to be determined, as soon as possible. But officials said it must be done safely, given the memorial’s weight and height.

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Democrat Governor of Kentucky Orders Police to Take Down Tag Numbers of Church-Goers, Other Easter Gatherings So Government Can Impose Two Week Quarantines on Citizens

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told police to take down tag numbers of people attending churches and other gatherings on Easter so the government could go to their homes and impose a 14-day quarantine over COVID-19 concerns.

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World Health Organization: Abortion Is ‘Essential’ During Coronavirus Pandemic

Abortion is considered an essential service during the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said in a statement Saturday.

The WHO said in its statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation that “services related to reproductive health are considered to be part of essential services during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

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2A Ground Zero: ‘It’s Not a Virginia Thing; It’s an America Thing’

RICHMOND, Virginia – Thousands of 2nd Amendment supporters gathered peacefully in Virginia Monday, demonstrating that the commitment to defend the God-given, constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms extends far beyond the Commonwealth’s borders.

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Ahead of Second Amendment Lobby Day and Rally in Virginia Monday, Warnings of a ‘Set-Up’ Against Supporters Spread

RICHMOND, Virginia – Supporters of the 2nd Amendment have received warnings about being set up at the annual rally at the Commonwealth of Virginia capitol, which has become ground-zero for the constitutionally protected right of Americans to keep and bear arms.

For nearly two decades, Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) has organized an annual trek to the General Assembly on Martin Luther King Day to peacefully assemble and lobby their legislators on the 2nd Amendment.

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