The chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia said on Thursday, February 15, 2024, that he will make “personnel changes” after the party published a social media post attacking House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, over the decades-old drug conviction he moved past to become the first Black person to lead the Virginia House of Delegates.
About Don Scott’s background
The controversy came just weeks after Scott’s ascension to the speakership drew bipartisan praise as a story of redemption and difficulty overcome. Scott, a U.S. Navy veteran, served nearly eight years in federal prison after a drug conviction in 1994. Now a lawyer, Scott joined the House of Delegates in 2020.
Reactions to the post
The derogatory post was deleted after it was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, screenshots captured by other users sparked condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum, including a denunciation by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
In his own social media response, Governor Youngkin said: