Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) pardoned the father who was arrested after protesting at a school board meeting after his daughter was sexually assaulted.
Scott Smith received the pardon on Friday from Youngkin's office, according to Fox News Sunday.
Youngkin pardoned him https://t.co/5eNxFosXBK
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 10, 2023
“We are in contact with him and I spoke with Mr. Smith on Friday, and I had the privilege of telling Mr. Smith that I would pardon him, and we did that on Friday,” Youngkin said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“We righted a wrong. He should’ve never been prosecuted here. This was a dad standing up for his daughter and just to remind everyone, his daughter had been sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a school and no one was doing anything about it," he continued.
Virginia Gov. Youngkin pardons dad who erupted over high school ‘coverup’ of daughter’s sex assault https://t.co/nP68z8mPH6 pic.twitter.com/mp69xV3X2k
— New York Post (@nypost) September 11, 2023
"Scott Smith, a plumber who erupted at a rowdy school board meeting on June 22, 2021 — reportedly unleashing a storm of profanities — was arrested and subsequently convicted of disorderly conduct," the New York Post reported.
"Smith alleged his then-ninth grade daughter was sexually assaulted by a biological boy donning a skirt in a Stone Bridge High School bathroom — and that the school informed him it was conducting an in-house investigation of the attack," it added.
.@GlennYoungkin Grants ‘Absolute Pardon’ To Loudoun Dad Arrested At School Board Meeting After Corrupt Public Official Lied About The Rape of His Daughter At School By Skirt-Wearing Male https://t.co/m1koxAKxFh
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) September 10, 2023
“I’m thankful that the Youngkin administration gave me an off-ramp to these charges that never should have happened,” Smith told The Daily Wire.
“It’s kind of bittersweet, because I really looked forward to winning this in court. But unfortunately, our justice system is so screwed up right now that I didn’t feel that I could potentially get a fair shot in court," he noted.
The case was part of a movement by conservative Virginia parents that helped lead to Youngkin running for governor and winning in 2021.
The student who committed the sexual assault was later sentenced and added to the state's sex offender registry.
Youngkin's pardon serves as a fitting end to Smith's situation that led to a massive nationwide response that continues over the role of parental rights in public schools.
