RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia state senator searching for the Republican nomination for governor filed a federal lawsuit Monday over her legislative colleagues’ current determination to censure her.
The Virginia Senate permitted a measure rebuking Sen. Amanda Chase for a “sample of unacceptable conduct” final week in a bipartisan vote. The vote adopted a protracted debate that featured scathing criticisms of Chase from each Democrats and Republicans.
In a information launch saying the lawsuit, Chase’s workplace stated she was “being singled out and selectively penalized for taking unpopular political positions.”
The censure measure was launched after Chase used a flooring speech to defend Ashli Babbitt, a lady who was fatally shot by U.S. Capitol Police through the January revolt on the U.S. Capitol. Chase herself is certainly one of many state lawmakers from across the nation who attended a rally shortly earlier than the assault on the Capitol, however she was not a part of the group that later stormed the constructing.
Chase, who has a protracted historical past of inflammatory remarks, had beforehand referred to as for martial legislation to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. She repeated former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, and misplaced entry to her Fb account after falsely blaming leftist activists for the Capitol revolt.
The lawsuit, which Chase threatened to file final week, seeks an injunction stopping the Senate clerk from permitting the publication of the censure decision within the chamber’s official journal.
It additionally asks the courtroom to challenge a judgment that the censure violated Chase’s First Modification rights and order the expungement of the censure. Chase, who was just lately demoted in seniority, can be searching for to have her rank restored.
Named as plaintiffs are Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar and Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who in his function presides because the president of the Senate. Schaar didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail searching for remark, and a spokeswoman for Fairfax had no fast remark.
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