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Delegate Batten’s Problematic Photo Ops [1]
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Date: 2025-03-28
In a stunning display of betrayal, Virginia Republican House Delegate Amanda Batten, from the 71st District (James City County), has left many in disbelief. Immediately following the recent General Assembly session, I released a video exposing her shocking "NO" vote cast alongside 17 other House Republicans against a bipartisan state budget that would have granted a salary boost for state supported employees, including our local police officers.
Video here:
For someone long touted as a champion of law enforcement and consistently endorsed by the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, her decision to withhold critical funding is nothing short of appalling.
Delegate Batten’s 2023 VA PBA Endorsement
The scandal deepens when Delegate Batten is seen in a recent group photo, on March 21st, 2025, with John Mellis, a man notorious for his extremist ties as a known Proud Boy. Mellis, a local resident, pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting, and impeding officers during the January 6th Attack. A U.S. District Judge sentenced him to 51 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and a hefty fine of $20,000. His actions were captured on video, and his brazen defiance of our Capitol police, only fuels the outrage.
On social media, Mellis infamously declared, "We're getting up, we're going up, we are going up, baby!" before further inciting chaos with profanity-laced threats as he stormed the Lower West Terrace.
Our local 13News Now television station also did a segment on John Mellis. Video here:
Unsurprisingly, Mellis was among the more than 1,500 January 6 assailants who received sweeping pardons from Donald Trump. Despite his violent record and blatant disrespect for Capitol police, Batten still found it acceptable to pose with him in this photo. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she didn’t notice he made the “OK” sign, a hand gesture now linked to “white power”, but his criminal record is VERY well known and her alignment betrays her “pro-police” stance.
Notably, Batten has also been photographed more frequently on her personal social media with New Kent County’s 5th District Supervisor, Jordan Stewart, who additionally made local headlines last year.
Delegate Batten pictured with NK Supervisor Jordan Stewart at NK Public Safety Foundation Gala
Apparently, after a very heated Board of Supervisors meeting last June, Mrs. Stewart left with her father and began chatting about the events of the meeting in their vehicle. Unbeknownst to her (or her dad), Mr. Stewart had accidentally dialed a contact in his phone and the conversation that transpired was recorded on voicemail. On this voicemail, Mrs. Stewart’s father was caught threatening one of her fellow board members, and based on the transcript from the court hearing (image below), he specifically said, "I wish I had a baseball bat, I would go over there and bust his truck...f****t. Krista up here. I am starting to think more and more the only way to be rid of him is to kill him."
Transcript from conversation
What was most alarming about this recording was the lack of response from Mrs. Stewart, and her refusal to condemn the words of her father, both in the moment and the months to follow. The recipient of this voicemail turned it over to authorities, resulting in the banning of Mr. Stewart from all county facilities and a restraining order being placed to protect the threatened supervisor. It also resulted in Mr. Stewart, who Mrs. Stewart resides with, to surrender any and all firearms while the restraining order stands. The events that unfolded briefly made the news, and a local pastor condemned Mrs. Stewart’s participation in the horrific discussion, but it appears Mrs. Stewart is hoping we either don’t care or we just plain forget. Either way, Delegate Batten’s “photo ops” don’t bode well and while she tries to present herself as a “moderate” Republican, she continues to align herself with some of the most extreme members of our community.
nkccnews.com/…
While it’s ONLY March of yet another election year in Virginia, it is clearly going to be an INTERESTING one! As we near our Q1 financial deadline in 3 days on March 31st, 2025, please consider donating to ensure our campaign has the infrastructure and momentum to FLIP this seat and keep Virginia moving forward!
secure.actblue.com/...
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