As Kruiser is fond of saying, “Everything isn’t awful.” Granted, at the moment, most things are, including the current soap opera known as the election of the Speaker of the House. But you can wash your eyes out with this story.
You may recall a man by the name of Jon Tigges. Tigges is a resident of Loudoun County, Virginia. On June 22, 2021, Tigges went to a meeting of the Loudoun County School Board, which as you may also recall, was having its feet held to the fire by angry parents and community members over a host of issues. Tigges was on hand to voice his opposition to the district’s transgender policies.
Because the crowd was deemed to be “unruly,” Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan paused the meeting, according to Loudoun Now. The attendees voiced their displeasure, and the former superintendent Scott Ziegler (currently under indictment) ordered everyone to clear the room. Tigges refused and was arrested for trespassing. He was found guilty of the charge. He was also barred from all district properties.
Two arrests made at the Loudoun County, Virginia school board meeting after it was declared an unlawful assembly and some parents here to protest against critical race theory and a transgender policy refused to leave right away #CriticalRaceTheory pic.twitter.com/dsZDrqJ0Gp
— Gabriella Borter (@gabriellaborter) June 22, 2021
Tigges has maintained that he was well within his rights to speak up, stating when he announced that he would appeal the verdict that, “Public officials can’t stop public comments just because they don’t like what is being said, nor can they demand that attendees not make noise of any kind.”
The Federalist reports that on Wednesday, Loudoun Circuit Judge Douglas Fleming, Jr., ruled that Tigges had a right to attend the meeting and that Ziegler did not have the right to declare it an unlawful assembly. Tigges savored the win yesterday but also tweeted:
Despite this victory, I have serious concerns about where we are as a country. We’ve been subverted by a darkness that is spilling out in rot at all levels and in both political parties. Nothing will change until We the People value conviction over comfort. Despite the many bad actors here in Loudoun, I’m most concerned about those who call themselves Christians. Many haven’t lifted a finger or opened their mouths in protest to the depravity all around them.
Tigges has good reason to be concerned, and not just because he escaped by the skin of his teeth, albeit justly. The Federalist points out that the National School Boards Association and the Biden administration used the incident to help classify concerned and vocal parents as domestic terrorists.
Hopefully, this debate/impasse/drama that is surrounding the Speaker’s seat can be resolved soon. The GOP promised us that it would get to the bottom of corruption in the DOJ and other parts of the federal government. That issue is not going away on its own, no matter who is the Speaker of the House. Republican members of Congress need to set their sights on that problem instead of each other.
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