Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax (D) accused fellow Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) of treating him “like George Floyd and Emmett Till” when the former governor asked Fairfax to resign after they appeared. allegations of sexual assault against him in 2019.
Fairfax denounced this Tuesday night during a government debate while standing alongside McAuliffe and several other Democratic candidates.
“Everyone on that stage called for my immediate resignation, including Terry McAuliffe three minutes after a press release came out,” Fairfax said at the debate, which was hosted by CBS 6. “He treated me like George Floyd. treat like Emmett So far. No due process. I immediately took my guilt. ”
McAuliffe and his campaign did not respond to the comment.
Fairfax’s comment answered a question about police and Floyd, who died in police custody last year after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin is currently on trial on murder and homicide charges.
Till was a 14-year-old black man who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman.
Critics quickly pointed out on social media that Fairfax, unlike Floyd and Till, is alive.
Fairfax was charged with rape and assault in 2019. Meredith Watson, a former classmate at Duke University, said Fairfax raped her in 2000. Vanessa Tyson, a professor at Scripps College, said Fairfax assaulted her in a hotel room at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
The lieutenant governor has vehemently denied the two charges and compared them to false allegations of rape of white women that led to the lynching of black men even though their accusers were black.
Tuesday’s debate marked the first televised debate in the Commonwealth’s Democratic primaries. The five candidates, including McAuliffe, Fairfax, former Virginia Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D), State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D) and Del. Lee Carter (D) attended the event at Virginia State University.
McAuliffe, who served as governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018, including a stint as president of the National Association of Governors, is considered the leader in the race. He attacked Tuesday in the second half of the debate from Fairfax, as did McClellan and Foy.
Government primaries will be held on June 8th. Early voting begins on April 23.