School officials covered up his daughter’s rape. Now NSBA wants him labeled a 'domestic terrorist’
Insanity.
As far as injustices in the world go, the story of a Loudoun, Virginia, man who became the poster child for “domestic terrorism” after his daughter was raped is pretty high on the list.
Scott Smith was arrested on June 22 at a school board meeting that was deemed an “unlawful assembly” after attendees voiced opposition to a proposed policy expanding special protections to transgender students. Smith was dragged from the event in handcuffs, his pants falling down, his lip bleeding. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Smith's arrest soon became a national story. The small business owner became the avatar of anti-school board protests, representing the unruly and ignorant anti-mask, anti-critical race theory, and anti-transgender parents in their crusade against the progressive, put-upon school officials.
What few knew until now is Smith attended the June 22 hearing to confront school board members over his daughter’s alleged rape in a school bathroom by a "gender-fluid" boy, according to the Daily Wire.
The details apparently don't matter to the National School Boards Association. In a letter to the White House this month, it actually highlighted Smith’s arrest as an example of why federal law enforcement agencies need to investigate and prosecute parents who oppose mask mandates and the teaching of critical race theory.
“As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased,” the group's letter to the president said, “the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”
It adds, “[We request] a joint expedited review by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and Homeland Security, along with the appropriate training, coordination, investigations, and enforcement mechanisms from the FBI, including any technical assistance necessary from, and state and local coordination with, its National Security Branch and Counterterrorism Division, as well as any other federal agency with relevant jurisdictional authority and oversight.”
The NSBA’s letter went so far as to request the use of Bush-era anti-terrorism legislation.
“NSBA requests that such review examine appropriate enforceable actions against these crimes and acts of violence under the Gun-Free School Zones Act, the PATRIOT Act in regards to domestic terrorism, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Violent Interference with Federally Protected Rights statute, the Conspiracy Against Rights statute, an Executive Order to enforce all applicable federal laws for the protection of students and public school district personnel, and any related measure,” it reads [emphasis added].
In its letter, the group also listed a few of the most outrageous examples of the “threats and acts of violence” suffered by its members. The incident involving Smith is near the top of the list.
The Justice Department announced last week it would mobilize the federal law enforcement apparatus against school board protesters, saying it will investigate and prosecute as necessary.
On Aug. 17, Smith was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 10 days in jail, “all suspended, contingent on a year of good behavior,” Loudoun Now reports.
The prosecutor on the case, Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj, who ran on a pro-leniency platform, also pursued a fine and anger management training for Smith, additional punishments the defendant's attorney found astonishing given the 10-day sentence already seemed excessive for a man with a largely clean record.
It’s an amazing turn of events for a father who simply tried to speak out after his daughter was raped and beaten at school.
Smith told the Daily Wire that on May 28, “a boy allegedly wearing a skirt entered a girls' bathroom at nearby Stone Bridge High School, where he sexually assaulted Smith's ninth-grade daughter.”
The family’s attorney, Elizabeth Lancaster, told the Daily Wire “a boy was charged with two counts of forcible sodomy, one count of anal sodomy, and one count of forcible fellatio, related to an incident that day at that school.”
The sheriff’s office confirmed via a public records request the existence of a report with "Offense: Forcible Sodomy [and] Sexual Battery" matching the date and location of Smith’s rape.
Yet, on June 22, during the school board’s hearing on the proposed policy for transgender students, school board member Beth Barts said, "Our students do not need to be protected, and they are not in danger. Do we have assaults in our bathrooms or locker rooms regularly?"
Superintendent Scott Ziegler responded, "To my knowledge, we don't have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms."
“Have we had any issues involving transgender students in our bathrooms or locker rooms?” asked board Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan.
Said Ziegler, “I think it's important to keep our perspective on this, we've heard it several times tonight from our public speakers, but the predator transgender student or person simply does not exist.”
Smith was arrested at the hearing during a heated exchange with a pro-transgender policy activist. Smith claims the woman accused him of fabricating the story of his daughter's rape, going so far as to question the girl's mental health. This enraged Smith, who then called the woman a "bitch." This is when law enforcement officials intervened. A police officer grabbed Smith's arm, prompting the father to yank it back. A scuffle ensued. Smith was then forcibly removed from the assembly and barred from the school board building.
Loudoun County officials voted on Aug. 11 to approve the transgender policy.
Smith learned later his daughter’s alleged assailant reportedly assaulted a second girl at the same school, even though Smith was assured the relevant authorities were handling the first matter.
“A teenager from Ashburn has been charged with sexual battery and abduction of a fellow student at Broad Run High School,” the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement. “The investigation determined on the afternoon of October 6, the 15-year-old suspect forced the victim into an empty classroom where he held her against her will and inappropriately touched her.” Smith’s attorney says the suspect is the same boy who allegedly attacked her client’s daughter, a fact the Daily Wire confirmed via a confidential government source.
Smith said he “called his probation officer and he told me ‘yep, I put him in juvie yesterday.’”
The Smith family also said they contacted the Special Victims Unit detective, who reportedly told them, “I can’t tell you what happened, but it happened and it’s bad.’”
The family said prosecutors have informed them the court date for their daughter’s alleged rapist has been moved back to Oct. 25 to accommodate the two separate charges.
There is much more to this story, including details of how left-wing groups conspired to slander and harass dissenting parents. I highly recommend you give the report a read.
When one talks about injustice, it doesn’t get much worse than the case of Scott and Jess Smith. Their daughter was raped and beaten. School administrators attempted to deal quietly with the matter in-house, and then school board members denied it even happened. Smith was later bloodied and arrested for attempting to speak out, and the county’s normally lenient prosecutor threw the book at him. The Smith family then learned their daughter's rapist allegedly sexually assaulted a second girl at the same school. Now, the NSBA is using the Smith family's tragedy as justification for mobilizing the federal government against concerned parents.
It’s just insult on top of insult. Unsurprisingly, the ordeal has inspired Smith to get involved in local politics, something he says he hasn’t really cared about until now.
If you want to radicalize someone, this is how you do it.
Infuriating
Unbelievable. It's hard to believe sometimes that we live in a supposedly civilized first-world country.