(FreedomBeacon.com)- A prosecutor elected with the support of a left-wing megadonor has filed a criminal prosecution against a parent due to heated discussions about admissions and race at an exclusive Virginia public school.
Harry Jackson, former president of the Thomas Jefferson High School (TJHS) Parent Teacher Student Association and Republican activist, is being prosecuted by Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano for his provocative description of Jorge Torrico’s interaction with a student.
Descano got $392,000 from financier George Soros’ Justice and Public Safety PAC in 2019. According to Ballotpedia, he was elected in 2020 and is currently facing two recall attempts, one of which is being led by the county Republican committee.
A 1950 Virginia legislation bans false remarks about a “female’s character for virtue and chastity,” which is the foundation for Descano’s four felony summonses for Jackson. According to Jackson’s request to dismiss, a 2020 reform deleted gender-specific language from state law, rendering the intrinsically gendered statute “unconstitutionally vague.”
“Can someone who isn’t a woman be chaste in the eyes of the law?” According to the motion. “Can a man who believes he has been insulted by another man file a criminal complaint under this statute?”
RightDefense.org, an organization created this year to fund legal defense for conservatives accused of criminal charges in Virginia and D.C., focusing on safeguarding constitutional rights, is affiliated with Jackson’s lawyer Marina Medvin.
According to the organization’s website, Jackson is accused of raising concerns about an adult who desired to spend time alone with youngsters at a nearby school.
In September, Torrico filed a handwritten criminal complaint with TJHS Principal Ann Bonitatibus, saying that Jackson “attempted [to] character assassinate me.” It also included Jackson’s November 2020 tweet accusing Torrico of “exhibiting ‘grooming’ conduct” at a virtual school meeting the night before, which was miswritten as 2021 in the complaint.
According to Nomani’s account of the incident, Jackson was referring to Torrico’s online interaction with TJHS’s student body president, who requested Torrico’s email to offer information about an upcoming event for middle school children like Torrico’s son. With a smiling face emoji, Torrico replied, “thank you.”
Principal Bonitatibus claimed she had “redirected” Torrico to the middle school principal when Nomani and other parents complained. Bonitatibus noted, “FCPS has clear criteria concerning which platforms are used for adults to communicate with pupils.”
According to Torrico’s complaint, another individual afterward challenged the cycling advocate, “why do you target youngsters – by attempting to convince them to ride bikes?” This, he claims, proves Jackson “promoted the libel.”
In a March 2021 tweet, Torrico referred to Jackson as a “vile man” who had “lied and libeled many people.”
Jackson responded by saying it was a poor effort at character assassination from a monster who stalks kids online.
He has a new court date set for April 22 due to the latest claims.