Virginia lieutenant governor compares sexual allegations against him to lynching
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax compared the sexual allegations he faces to Jim Crow-era lynchings.
america today
Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is charged with killing his wife in a possible murder-suicide in Virginia, authorities said.
Here’s what you need to know about Fairfax, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2021.
Who is Justin Fairfax?
Mr. Fairfax, a Democrat from Pittsburgh, began working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in 2010.
“We were disappointed when Justin left the U.S. attorney’s office after just two years because we strongly believed that he had a very promising future,” longtime Justice Department prosecutor Gene Rossi told the New York Times.
He first ran for public office in 2013, running for attorney general of Virginia. He received 68,177 votes, losing to Mark Herring by about 4,000 votes.
In 2017, he ran for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, defeating Jill Vogel by a landslide 53-47. He became the second black politician to win a statewide election in Virginia, WAVY reported.
He ran for governor in 2021, but lost in the Democratic primary, receiving only 17,471 votes.
Fairfax and his wife reportedly had two children.
Did Justin Fairfax have a criminal history?
In 2019, Fairfax faced sexual assault allegations dating back at least 15 years.
Vanessa Tyson, who worked with Fairfax at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, claimed that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on him at a Boston hotel.
He denied the charges, claiming the contact was consensual. He called the allegations “stunning and hurtful” and said he knew they were “not true.”
A second woman, Meredith Watson, also reported that Fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2000 while attending Duke University.
Fairfax faced calls from the state Democratic Party and others to resign as lieutenant governor, but ultimately remained in the job.
After the second accusation, he said: “I deny this latest baseless allegation. It is demonstrably false.” “I have never forced myself on anyone. I demand a full investigation into these baseless and false allegations. I am telling the truth and such an investigation will corroborate my account. I will clear my name and I have nothing to hide.”
Fairfax was not charged, but filed a defamation suit in 2021 after CBS aired an interview with his accusers. The suit was subsequently dismissed.
