Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax threatened with impeachment following second sexual assault claim

Democrats turn on Fairfax

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published February 8, 2019 8:32PM (EST)

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (AP/Steve Helber)
Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (AP/Steve Helber)

Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, who only one week ago was poised to ascend to the top executive position in the commonwealth, is now facing the loudest calls for resignation put upon Virginia's top three elected Democrats after a second woman accused him of sexual assault on Friday. Remarkably, it is becoming increasingly likely that the first person to lose his job in an uproar set off by a KKK/blackface scandal is an African-American.

More members of Fairfax's own party called for his resignation on Friday after a second woman came forward with allegations that she was sexually assaulted by the embattled lieutenant governor.

New allegations from a woman named Meredith Watson, who claims Fairfax raped her in 2000 while the two were students at Duke University, prompted Democratic Virginia House of Delegates Member Patrick Hope to announce he plans to introduce articles of impeachment for Fairfax unless the Democratic lieutenant governor resigns by Monday.

39-year-old Fairfax has denied the allegations, calling them “unsubstantiated” and “demonstrably false.”


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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