Loudoun County father Scott Smith, who was convicted of disorderly conduct in August 2021 for protesting the sexual assault of his daughter and her public school's attempted cover-up, reacted to being pardoned by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA).
"It's very relieving to be able to wake up this morning and focus on something else. That's for sure," Smith told WMAL Radio on Monday morning.
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Smith said the pardon was a "long, drawn out, monthlong negotiation process."
Youngkin signed the pardon on Friday. Smith's daughter had been sexually assaulted by a biological male wearing a skirt in a girls restroom at Stone Bridge High School.
I’m pleased to grant Scott Smith a pardon. He is a dedicated Loudoun County father who was wrongfully prosecuted and convicted for standing up for his daughter at a 2021 Loudoun County School Board meeting after she was sexually assaulted at school. https://t.co/6dWf88U2b1 pic.twitter.com/WCEvciUfzT
— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) September 10, 2023
"I spoke with Mr. Smith on Friday, and I had the privilege of telling Mr. Smith that I will pardon him, and we did that on Friday," Youngkin said on Fox News Sunday. "We righted a wrong. He should've never been prosecuted here. This was a dad standing up for his daughter."
When he received a phone call from the governor on Friday, Smith accepted the pardon.
Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj responded to pardon on social media.
"Gov. Youngkin is once again using Loudoun County for his political gain," Biberaj said.
I encourage my Democratic colleagues to remember that a young girl was assaulted and her father was arrested for standing up for her. Berating her father on social media doesn’t help the survivor nor does it encourage other survivors to report sexual assault. https://t.co/JkRUk8n0xa
— ANC6B10 (@Anc6B10) September 11, 2023
"It's pretty rich for her to call Youngkin for pardoning me a 'political stunt' when this would have never happened if she didn't try to pull a political stunt at the very beginning," Smith responded to Biberaj.
He added, "She's the most evil person that I've ever met, and I've met some evil people. I fear that she's going to get reelected though. People need to pay attention to this."
Washington, D.C., attorney Denise Rucker Krepp slammed Biberaj's attack on Smith following the pardon.
"I encourage my Democratic colleagues to remember that a young girl was assaulted and her father was arrested for standing up for her. Berating her father on social media doesn’t help the survivor nor does it encourage other survivors to report sexual assault," she said on social media.
Smith's confrontation with Loudoun County school officials at a June 22, 2021, school board meeting went viral. He later called for an apology from the National School Boards Administration after it characterized him and other parents as "domestic terrorists" in a Sept. 29, 2021, letter to President Joe Biden.
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The NSBA letter requested assistance from various federal law enforcement agencies, the U.S. attorney general, and the FBI to target these parents for “acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials ... could be the equivalent of a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."
"I am not a 'domestic terrorist.' I am just a father who will go to the ends of the Earth to protect his daughter. I will not ever give up in that endeavor until my family is both protected and fully vindicated," Smith said.