Senators file bill to censure Amanda Chase

Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) is facing a potential censure from the Virginia Senate after she participated in and encouraged the protest-turned-insurrection on January 6.

The bill, sponsored by Senator John Bell (D-13), Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-33), Senator George Barker (D-39), and Senator Adam Ebbin (D-30), cites Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which says that no person shall, "hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath . . . as a member of any State legislature . . . to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof"

You can read the rest of the bill below:

WHEREAS, Senator Amanda F. Chase, a member of the Senate of Virginia since 2016, took such an oath; and

WHEREAS, on the morning of Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Senator Amanda F. Chase addressed a crowd gathered in Washington, D.C., to urge that action be taken to overturn the lawfully conducted 2020 presidential election; and

WHEREAS, the morning's events were a catalyst to the deadly insurrection that followed, when members of the crowd forcibly entered the United States Capitol where the Vice President of the United States and members of Congress were convening in a Joint Session of Congress to count the certified electoral votes for the President and Vice President of the United States, as prescribed by the Constitution of the United States for the orderly transition of presidential power; and

WHEREAS, in the aftermath of the insurrection that led to multiple deaths, including that of a Capitol Police officer; injured numerous others; desecrated the United States Capitol; threatened the lives and safety of those who are entrusted with carrying out the will of the American people; and required an emergency response from 200 Virginia State Troopers and 1,300 members of the Virginia National Guard, who were put in harm's way to quell the violence and restore order, Senator Amanda F. Chase continued to voice support for those who participated, calling them "[p]atriots who love their country" and propagating unfounded claims regarding the nature of the events, the identities of those who took part, and the validity of the presidential election; and

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia provides that each house of the General Assembly may "punish [its members] for disorderly behavior"; and

WHEREAS, Rules 18 (h) and 53 (b) of the Senate provide that the Senate may, by a majority vote, censure one of its members; and

WHEREAS, the inflammatory statements and actions of Senator Amanda F. Chase before, during, and after the events that led to the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, constitute a failure to uphold her oath of office and conduct unbecoming of a Senator; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, by the Senate, That the Senate of Virginia does censure Senator Amanda F. Chase for fomenting insurrection against the United States.