Virginia senator who called U.S. Capitol rioters ‘patriots’ is censured
By Gregory S. Schneider
Jan. 27, 2021 at 3:42 p.m. EST
The Virginia Senate voted Wednesday to censure state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield) over a long pattern of behavior that includes referring to the insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as “patriots” and making insulting comments toward the Virginia Capitol Police and the clerk of the Senate.
The rare censure resolution was entered by Sen. John Bell (D-Loudoun) but also received support from Republicans. It passed 24-9 after lengthy debate.
“The need to protect the honor of this body compelled me to proceed,” Bell said.
In long, sometimes angry remarks before the vote, Chase, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, accused fellow senators of trying to humiliate her. She suggested that if censure were approved she would take the body to court.
But other GOP lawmakers said they felt compelled to act. Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment (R-James City), one of three Republicans to vote for censure, said the issue was one of “hypocrisy” on Chase’s part and a lack of integrity.
Chase has describe herself as a version of former President Donald Trump “in heels.” She suggested after the Jan. 6 riot that left-wing “antifa or BLM agents of destruction” were really to blame — an assertion that contradicts the evidence. Chase spoke to the crowd of Trump supporters in Washington on the day of the riot, but left before they went to the Capitol and crashed through security lines.
Over the past year, Chase has “demonstrated an open and omnidirectional hostility to the occupants of this room,” Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) said Wednesday.
Obenshain, who was one of several Republicans who raised procedural concerns about the resolution. He said he had hoped to vote against it but instead would abstain from voting, to make clear that he disapproved of Chase’s behavior. Five other Republicans also did not vote.
Last week, the full Senate also voted to strip Chase of her lone committee assignment. She was removed from three other committee posts last year after her decision, in late 2019, to quit the Senate Republican Caucus to protest the reelection of caucus leaders who had criticized her after a string of controversies, including cursing at a Capitol Police officer over a parking spot.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/amanda-chase-virginia-censure/2021/01/27/b126bf46-60cf-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html?wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_local_politics__alert-local-politics&utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert&pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.M1BXoG0kFntzjZQxjtcoM0Brbg1FCNHtQR8xMpyFA5k
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