U.S.

Virginia in Chaos, Top Three Officials Rocked by Scandal.

Editor-In-Chief Orlando Angelone

RICHMOND, Va (Duke's Dispatch) - Ever since a Far-Right blog posted photos from Governor Ralph Northam's 1984 yearbook depicting 2 people in racist attire, one in black face, the other in a klan hood, he and the entire Virginia Democratic Caucus have been in crisis.

There were immediate calls for Northam to resign, but he has held strong and has refused to resign, and says that he will, "Focus the rest of [his] term on racial justice."

Attorney General Mark Herring faced some backlash after he admitted to wearing blackface in 1980 in a costume depicting one of his "favorite rappers at the time." Herring has faced the least amount of backlash and has said that he, "will not resign."

As of this point the official who has the most backlash during this controversial time is Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who has faced two allegations of sexual assault, one in 2000 whilst in college at Duke University, and the other in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

The first allegation came just after the Northam photos, were released. The woman alleging, Vanessa Tyson, said that Mr. Fairfax and her met at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston and they soon realized that they had a mutual friend. They soon hit it off, and Fairfax invited her to his hotel room to get some documents, things soon escalated and she said that, "What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault."

After the incident, Ms. Tyson said that they, "Never spoke again, and [she] tried to avoid him."

Soon after this allegation became public, many people, including the Virginia Democratic Caucus, called upon Lt. Gov. Fairfax to resign.

Fairfax refused to resign, still proclaiming his innocence, and some Virginia Democrats started calling for impeachment, with Delegate Patrick Hope Stating that he would, "Introduce articles of Impeachment against the Lieutenant Governor." Though he soon backed off of that threat.

Fairfax had hoped that the crisis he was facing would soon go away, but then another woman, this time a Meredith Watson, claims that Justin Fairfax assaulted her in the year 2000 whilst they were both studying at Duke University. Ms. Watson's Lawyers claim that, "Mr. Fairfax's attack was premeditated and aggressive," Though Lt. Governor Fairfax denies the allegation, saying that, "the interactions were consensual."

Fairfax has stated with both allegations that he believes these claims to be "attacks on his character" and that he hopes "no one [will] rush to judgment"

The Lieutenant Governor has also called for an investigation by the F.B.I. on both allegations, saying that, "due process will provide the fairness, justice and honesty that is necessary."

These scandals have put the entire V.A. government in chaos, and at this point, time will only tell when the scandals will die down. These controversies have become national news, being commented on by CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. It was also the main point of a Saturday Night Live skit and their weekend update segment. It has also been in large parts of late night, being mentioned in the Late Show, Late Night, Live with Jimmy Kimmel, and the Daily Show.