Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors in Virginia voted early Wednesday in favor of a resolution that calls for the resignation of Del. Dave LaRock, who represents portions of Loudoun, Clarke and Frederick counties.
Chair-At-Large Phyllis Randall and supervisor Juli Briskman had been critical of LaRock’s comments and actions about the 2020 presidential election.
The resolution focuses on the Republican’s repeated statements that the 2020 election was “rigged” and fraudulent votes were cast.
“Del. LaRock continues to promulgate disinformation about a certified free and fair election; misleads the public by making false assertions of who stormed the U.S. Capitol and has not lived up to his oath of office to protect and defend the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia against all enemies foreign and domestic and has demonstrated that he is unfit to represent Loudoun County with honesty and integrity and should resign from office forthwith.”
Contacted by WTOP, LaRock called the push for his resignation a “political witch hunt” and a misuse of government resources.
“I am amazed that at least two supervisors are so blinded by their hatred of what I and many conservatives stand for that they are violating the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and their own Code of Conduct by using Loudoun County staff and other resources to engage in a political witch hunt,” he said. “It is my opinion that any supervisor who supports this should resign.”
The vote came one week after LaRock told WTOP he regretted using the word “colored” when he suggested that his critics focus on the business of the county and its minority community.
The Loudoun County and Winchester Area NAACP branches joined the call for LaRock to step down, in part because of his use of the term.
“In response to the mounting pressure for his resignation, LaRock has responded with racist remarks referring to the very constituents he is accountable to as somehow different from the ‘colored community’ he believes the NAACP represents,” according to the organization.
LaRock, who was first elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2013, often aligns himself with President Donald Trump.
In the wake of scrutiny over the remark about the minority community, LaRock posted a defiant message on Facebook: “There is a witch hunt underway seeking to punish any and everyone who rejects the pernicious lies that mischaracterize and condemn President Trump’s dedication to our country and the patriotic motives of people who support him.”
