Criminals, illegals and bureaucrats above the law In Virginia

OPINION:

“No one is above the law.” It’s a phrase that rolls effortlessly off the tongues of politicians. Whether they believe it is the issue.

Virginians, unfortunately, are learning that their elected “leaders” don’t believe it and that certain groups are above the law.

Among the slew of gun control bills offered this session, HB110 lists penalties for having a firearm near certain state government buildings, including when leaving a handgun unattended in a motor vehicle. However, Democrats tucked in a carve-out that explicitly put legislators above the law, stating that these penalties “shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly.” Only after it was exposed and received significant public pushback was the carve-out dropped from the bill.

That was mere hypocrisy. On the dangerous side, Virginia news has been rife with stories of criminals receiving slaps on the wrist and then proceeding to commit more heinous crimes.

Take the recent case of Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant who was charged with murdering a woman at a Fairfax County bus stop. Before the murder, Mr. Jalloh had more than 40 charges against him in Fairfax County, including for rape, stabbings and other assaults. However, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano dropped most of the previous charges, trotting out all manner of excuses about why his office couldn’t pursue prosecutions.

Worse, Mr. Descano’s office was specifically warned by Fairfax County Police about Mr. Jalloh in an email that said, “Unfortunately, based on [police’s] numerous dealings with him, it is not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again.”

The commonwealth’s attorney’s agenda appears to focus on holding certain people above the law, even at the cost of everyone else’s safety. In 2019, Mr. Descano dropped a murder charge against an MS-13 gang member who allegedly went on to murder a man in Reston just hours after being released on yet another charge.

Before that, Mr. Descano dropped charges against another illegal immigrant who was accused of raping a woman in the area. His office also agreed to let a 19-year-old illegal immigrant out of jail this month after the man was charged with nine counts of assault and battery for allegedly groping girls in the halls of Fairfax High School. Thankfully, a local judge denied the bail request, finding the man a danger to the public.

On top of local policies allowing some people to remain above the law, the new governor’s own sanctuary agenda protects dangerous illegal aliens from justice. Shortly after she was sworn in, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order barring local law enforcement from aiding the Department of Homeland Security in arresting and deporting illegal immigrants. The Trump administration condemned the move.

In March, the Homeland Security Department specifically asked Ms. Spanberger and local authorities to commit to holding Mr. Jalloh in detention so the suspected murderer could be picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The governor’s office pushed back, saying the department must go beyond what is legally required and obtain “a signed judicial warrant to ensure this violent criminal is deported.”

This demand is another example of procedural Calvinball on behalf of those above the law.

Federal policies contributed to the March fatal shooting of Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, head of Virginia’s Old Dominion University ROTC program. The accused shooter was an Islamic extremist who had been released from prison early while serving a sentence for aiding the Islamic State group. Mohamed Bailor Jalloh had reportedly bought his weapon from a person whom the Biden Justice Department declined to prosecute for making illegal straw purchases of guns used in other crimes, including a 2021 homicide.

According to media reports, the straw purchaser was simply made to sign an apology letter and then let off the hook. Now, an American veteran is dead.

This wholesale neglect in enforcing the law in Virginia (and elsewhere) has resulted in chaos, destruction and terror for law-abiding Americans. It adds insult to injury when Americans have to hear many of the officials responsible drone on and on about the lawlessness of their opponents.

Virginia residents are increasingly aware of double standards in how the commonwealth’s laws are created and enforced. As a consequence, some of the worst people are above the law.

• Michael Chamberlain is the director of Protect the Public’s Trust.