Gov. Youngkin pardons Virginia dad who protested after daughter's sexual assault

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday pardoned Scott Smith, a father who was convicted for protesting the Loudoun County School Board after his daughter was brutally sexually assaulted at school by a boy with a skirt in the girl's bathroom.

"Scott Smith is a dedicated parent who’s faced unwarranted charges in his pursuit to protect his daughter," Youngkin said when issuing his absolute pardon to Smith. "Scott’s commitment to his child despite the immense obstacles is emblematic of the parental empowerment movement that started in Virginia."

Smith was charged with obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct in June 2021 after he expressed his frustrations at a school board meeting following his teenage daughter's rape the previous month at Stone Bridge High School. He pleaded not guilty, but was convicted in August 2021.

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