Virginia Father will no longer face charges for saying activist displayed ‘grooming behavior’

A father who had been facing criminal prosecution for a tweet accusing a far-left education activist of “grooming,” got a reprieve on Thursday when prosecutors told the judge they would no longer be moving forward with the case.

“After a review of the facts and evidence for the four claims brought by Mr. [Jorge] Torrico, the Commonwealth does not believe there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the above-mentioned charges,” Fairfax County, Virginia, assistant prosecutor Paul Vitale wrote in a court filing.

The Daily Wire reported on Tuesday that Harry Jackson was facing four misdemeanors after Torrico filed complaints against him.

Jackson fired off a tweet accusing Torrico of “grooming” behavior after Torrico attended an online PTSA meeting for the school, where he does not have a child, and interacted with a student leader.

On February 23rd, 2022, Jackson appeared in court and his lawyer, Marina Medvin, asked for the charges to be dismissed, calling them unconstitutional. The Fairfax prosecutor’s office did not agree, instead asking for a postponement so it could “investigate,” Medvin said in court documents.

“It appears that the Commonwealth’s Attorney had done nothing during the five months that this case was pending and needed more time. The Commonwealth’s continuance request was granted over Defendant’s objection,” Medvin wrote.

On March 14, two more criminal summons were issued by a magistrate following more complaints from Torrico. On April 1, Medvin again filed to have the case thrown out as the unconstitutional persecution of protected speech.

The summons said Jackson’s words could break the law by being insults that “tend to violence and breach of the peace,” but there was nothing about calling an activist’s behavior grooming that was a call for violence, she said. The summons invoked an obscure law enacted in 1950 making it illegal to impugn the chastity of a woman.

In a filing Thursday, Descano’s office moved to “nolle pros” the case, which means it is not seeking to move forward, but could re-file the charges. Medvin was not satisfied with this.

“The government’s request is a constitutional copout. By seeking to nolle prosequi instead of joining Defendant in his Motion to Dismiss and securing dismissal on constitutional grounds, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is opening the door to continued harassment of Harry Jackson and any other individual whom the Complainant and others like him find offensive,” she wrote in a court filing in response.

“The Defendant is seeking enforcement of his constitutional right to free speech. The Defendant is seeking dismissal with prejudice, a true closure in a criminal case.”