A physical altercation last summer at Red Onion State Prison, where he is incarcerated, left them deeply concerned for his safety, his brother Dominic said in an email.
Ebron alleges that officers used excessive force on him last July, but the complaint he filed was deemed “unfounded.” Copies of paperwork he mailed to The Mercury confirm that he was sprayed with mace and force was used on him, though he disputes the details of what the document says happened.
According to Ebron’s complaint, correctional officers assaulted him by spraying mace into his cell and bending his arm and fingers through the cell’s tray slot. After officers escorted him for medical attention, he alleged that he wasn’t given water to rinse off the mace and that an officer tripped him, slamming his face to the ground.
Prison paperwork tells a different story. The official report states that force was appropriately used because Ebron’s arm had been “out of the tray slot.” It also claims that he was “offered decontamination” but refused. As for the body slamming, the report says it happened because Ebron “pulled away from staff and attempted to spit.”
But Ebron, in a letter to The Mercury, says that’s not what happened, and that he was “spitting because they maced me and never let me get any water.”
He’s since asked for security camera footage of the incident to be preserved, believing it will confirm his version of events as well as the officers’ actions.
“Speaking for myself, I know I haven’t been nowhere near perfect, but that doesn’t mean my rights as a human should be discarded,” he wrote.
Ebron is serving a 30 year sentence for a murder he committed during an armed robbery in 2005 when he was 20 years old.
He is one of several Red Onion inmates who have spoken with the media or prison reform advocates over the past year, sharing stories of mistreatment and poor living conditions. Allegations range from excessive force and prolonged isolation to delayed medical care. Accusations of racism and religious discrimination have also surfaced.
Last fall, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) confirmed that at least six inmates burned themselves — though advocates claim that number is higher. Some inmates and advocates say the burns were acts of protest, desperation, or attempts to secure transfers to other facilities.
Speaking at a December 2024 meeting of the state legislature’s Public Safety Committee, VADOC Director Chad Dotson dismissed the idea that self-harm was a form of protest.
“There’s no evidence whatsoever that there was any kind of a plot or a protest,” Dotson said. “All the inmates involved said they did it because they wanted to get away from Red Onion. Two of these have a history of self-harm.”
Red Onion inmate Ekong Eshiet, who is serving time for a 2018 malicious wounding charge, said in an audio recording by Prison Radio — a group that amplifies the voices of incarcerated people — that he was among those who set themselves on fire.
He hoped the act would force a transfer out of the facility and said he had also protested his treatment through a hunger strike. Eshiet has described discrimination from officers.
Eshiet also described his situation as being “in fear for my life.”
In a separate message to The Mercury sent via JPay, an email service for incarcerated people, he raised concerns about continued access to email and the potential for retaliation against those speaking out amid the growing scrutiny on the prison.
An investigation into Red Onion by the state’s new corrections ombudsman is pending, while an internal review is also underway at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County, where a fire broke out during an outbreak last month. However state reports have already identified one issue that may be contributing to problems across Virginia’s prison system: staffing shortages.
‘Critically and dangerously understaffed’
A November 2024 report to state lawmakers confirmed that staffing levels in Virginia’s correctional facilities remain dangerously low, with “very few” educational programs operating and some facilities unable to provide the legally-required out-of-cell time for inmates. The consulting firm CGL concluded that many of the VADOC’s facilities are “critically and dangerously understaffed.”
While Dotson said that Red Onion specifically had a staff vacancy rate of 9% in late December, the November report from CGL indicated widespread staffing issues in VADOC.
“This lack of staff impacts every aspect of facility operations and results in facilities that are unsafe,” the report stated.
While Virginia doesn’t technically use the term “solitary confinement,” it has what state code refers to as “restorative housing.” This form of Isolation is intended for inmates who pose a threat to themselves or others, but advocates have long raised concerns about its prolonged use.
A 2023 state law requires that inmates in restrictive housing receive four hours per day out of their cells — something that, according to the report, is not always happening. Without identifying the facility, the report noted: “Effectively, at one site visited, nearly the entire population had been in Restricted Housing status for an extended period of time at the time of our site visit.”
At Red Onion, the “Step Down Program” is designed to help inmates transition out of restrictive housing. According to Dotson, more than 120 people were enrolled in the program by the end of last year, and over 300 have completed it in the past six years.
“I’m giving you a way to get away from Red Onion — behave,” Dotson said during a presentation at the December committee meeting.
However, a class action lawsuit filed by the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union argues that despite the program’s stated purpose, inmates are still being confined longer “than is justified.”
Current and formerly incarcerated individuals have told The Mercury that lockdowns are a frequent occurrence in Virginia prisons — sometimes triggered by fights for security reasons, other times seemingly used as a method of population control when staffing is low.
During a late January phone call with The Mercury, Kevin Rashid Johnson appeared to experience one firsthand. As he spoke, sirens blared in the background, signaling the start of a lockdown he said before the call ended.
Johnson, who previously led a hunger strike at Red Onion, is now incarcerated at Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Oakwood and has been in several facilities around Virginia amid his life sentence for murder. He was one of the first to alert reporters and activists about the men who burned themselves last year and has been vocal in his dissatisfaction with Dotson’s response.
“This man goes in the media, ‘Oh, it’s just (inmates) being manipulative,’” Johnson paraphrased. “Who the hell is going to set themselves on fire trying to be manipulative? That goes to one of the most primal fears in man — fire.”
Without naming Johnson or specific advocates, Dotson dismissed their pushback when confirming the burnings, calling them “bad-faith efforts to try to score cheap political points by advocacy groups.”
Johnson, however, urges people to consider what drives someone to harm themselves in the first place. A Black man incarcerated in Southwest Virginia, Johnson says his time in prison has been marked by racism from a system largely staffed by white officers.
With a formal investigation into Red Onion on the horizon, Johnson remains skeptical of what, if anything, will change.
Corrections Ombudsman Andrea Sapone stepped into her role last September, and by December she was already hearing from members of the legislature’s Corrections Oversight and Public Safety committees, as well as members of the public advocating for their incarcerated loved ones. In response, she announced plans to streamline the complaint process for future investigations and plans to launch an inquiry into Red Onion. As of late February, her office has filled four of the five positions needed to carry that investigation.
However, Johnson sees an inherent conflict of interest in the process. Since Sapone works for the state, he believes an independent third party should handle the investigation.
Others, meanwhile, see Sapone’s position — created through legislation — as a step toward meaningful oversight and accountability in the prison system.
A crowd gathers near Virginia’s Capitol on Jan. 8, 2024 for a rally about allegations of abuse stemming from some Virginia prisons. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
‘High rehabilitative needs’
Flames appear to have quite literally ignited at a juvenile facility in Virginia.
Transcripts from a 911 call obtained by The Richmond Times-Dispatch detail a chaotic scene on Feb. 9 at Bon Air Correctional Center, where a “jailbreak of sorts” unfolded. A group of minors gained control of their housing unit and started a fire, while the sole guard on duty barricaded herself in her office to call for backup. State police responded with pepperball guns to regain control of the situation.
An internal investigation is underway, and “charges are pending,” according to Department of Juvenile Justice spokeswoman Melodie Martin. She noted that many youth housed at Bon Air have committed violent crimes.
“This is a very challenging population with high rehabilitative needs. Occasionally, some of the behavior exhibited in the community repeats itself in the facility,” Martin said in an email. “This is to be expected through the therapeutic process, and we support and thank the dedicated staff who invest in this high need population.”
But advocates argue that incidents like the one on Feb. 9 might also stem from persistent concerns about living and working conditions that they have warned about for years.
Martin declined to disclose specific staffing numbers but said vacancies at Bon Air dropped by 39% between January and June of last year. She added that the Feb. 9 call for assistance was “not based on staffing,” but rather the department’s protocol prohibiting the use of “chemical agents or other law enforcement tools” on facility residents — leaving state police to deploy pepperball guns instead.
But, much like VADOC, allegations have surfaced that low staffing levels may contribute to unsafe conditions for both employees and residents, as well as reduced access to rehabilitative programming.
Staff exit surveys obtained by the Legal Aid Justice Center and advocacy group Rise For Youth reveal mounting frustrations among former employees.
“Y’all ask for too much being that we’re always on single coverage,” one survey from Feb. 22, 2024, read. “(I am) tired of getting drafted everyday.”
Another former employee expressed concern about how staffing shortages impact the youth at Bon Air.
“Residents on the existing side of campus are constantly locked down due to staff shortage which is completely inhumane. If my child were locked up at this facility, as a parent, I would be extremely upset about the dynamic,” a respondent wrote in a survey dated March 11, 2024.
They added that staff are “overworked and underpaid” and that the staffing crisis poses a direct security risk.
Interviews conducted by the Legal Aid Justice Center with some Bon Air inmates revealed that school has not always been available to them and many feel they are frequently in a state of “lockdown.”
Both staff and incarcerated youth “are hurting,” said Valeria Slater, director of Rise For Youth. She wasn’t surprised by the February outbreak of violence among some.
“If you are not providing all that’s necessary for these young people to truly be successful, then there is going to be deterioration — it’s a natural consequence,” she said “So when the fire broke out, I mean, how was it not anticipated that eventually it would boil over?”
For former Department of Juvenile Justice Director Andrew Block, the situation is troubling.
“My heart goes out to the staff and kids who I’m sure are incredibly stressed and scared and exhausted,” he said.
Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond, has been gathering feedback from families of incarcerated individuals in both adult and juvenile facilities since taking office last year. When it comes to the Department of Juvenile Justice, she said the response from officials does not seem to align with the concerns raised by families or the documented complaints from former staff.
“It’s sort of like two different accounts,” Cousins said, adding that she wants to get to the bottom of the discrepancies.
Both Cousins and Block believe the Commission on Youth could play a role in addressing these issues, whether through focused hearings or a formal study to explore legislative or departmental actions.
“I am gathering information from advocates and plan to speak with the commission members in the next month or so,” Cousins said.
Potential solutions so far
While targeted reforms for facilities like Red Onion and Bon Air may be on the horizon, broader legislative efforts to improve conditions in Virginia’s correctional system are also underway.
Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, and Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax, sponsored measures aimed at reforming how facilities handle restrictive or solitary housing. The legislation requires that before an individual is placed in a restrictive setting, they must first be considered for a less-severe alternative. If isolation is deemed necessary, they must undergo both physical and mental evaluations.
Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax, a co-patron on the bill, voiced concerns that restrictive housing often perpetuates itself — trapping people in a cycle where declining mental health makes it even harder for them to adjust their behavior and transition out of isolation.
During a visit to Red Onion and Wallens Ridge facilities last summer, Seibold was “shocked” by the numbers of people held in solitary conditions. While state law mandates that such incarcerated individuals receive time outside their cells, she was troubled by the way the policy was being applied.
“They were technically outside, but in cage-like structures,” Seibold said. “That was really disturbing. Yes, they’re outside, but they’re still isolated in a cage. So to me, that’s still a continuation of solitary.”
The current law requiring out-of-cell time was signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2023. Now, the new bill aimed at expanding solitary reforms awaits his decision.
If signed, advocates say, the law would impact both youth and adult correctional facilities.
“It says ‘persons in correctional center centers’ — that means Bon Air counts,” Slater said.
Another measure from Bagby, which passed with bipartisan support, seeks to prohibit the shackling of youth during court proceedings. Under current law, juveniles can be restrained in court regardless of their behavior or the nature of their offense — a practice that several states have already outlawed.
As young people first enter the criminal justice system, some advocates argue that keeping them out of incarceration altogether could reduce the likelihood of future offenses.
Tom Woods, an associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, believes Virginia could reinstate criminal justice reforms he helped shape more than a decade ago.
A decade ago, then-Department of Juvenile Justice Director Andrew Block consulted with Woods to reform how long certain offenders were confined in correctional facilities, diverting some to probation programs that allowed them to remain with their families.
The goal, they explained, was twofold: to prevent unnecessary incarceration and to create a more manageable staff-to-resident ratio in facilities.
“Every day and every hour” in juvenile facilities needs to be directed towards rehabilitation and preparing those in custody to leave, Woods said.
Since then, leadership changes have brought policy shifts, moving away from those reforms. But Woods argues that reinstating them could not only improve outcomes for youth but also help ease Bon Air’s staffing struggles.
“It takes a certain kind of person and time to get the right people in the right positions,” Woods said. “If you’re already feeling the pressure in terms of the population as it is, you need to look for ways to reduce that pressure quickly.”
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In Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial race, immigration enforcement is a key issue. Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger pledges to rescind Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s February executive order requiring local law enforcement to assist federal immigration crackdowns, arguing it wastes resources and harms community trust. She advocates keeping immigration enforcement federal with judicial oversight. Republican nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears supports Youngkin’s policies, emphasizing rule of law and border security, drawing on her immigrant background. The debate highlights contrasting views on public safety, resource allocation, and immigration reform, with immigration remaining a top concern among voters and shaping the campaign’s direction.
Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger says one of her first acts if elected would be to undo Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s February directive requiring Virginia law enforcement to help carry out federal immigration crackdowns — a policy she argues wastes local resources and undermines community trust.
“I would rescind his executive order, yes,” Spanberger told The Mercury in a lengthy policy interview earlier this month, referring to Youngkin’s Executive Order 47 issued in February. The order gave state police and corrections officers authority to perform certain immigration duties and also urged local jails to fully cooperate with federal deportation operations.
The governor said at the time the measure was meant to keep “dangerous criminal illegal immigrants” off Virginia’s streets. Spanberger countered that Youngkin’s approach illustrates how immigration enforcement can pull local agencies away from their core responsibilities while pushing state agencies into federal civil enforcement.
“Our immigration system is absolutely broken,” she said. “The idea that we would take local police officers or local sheriff’s deputies in amid all the things that they have to do, like community policing or staffing our jails or investigating real crimes, so that they can go and tear families apart … that is a misuse of those resources.”
Spanberger’s stance sets up a sharp contrast with her opponent — Republican nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who has embraced the order and tied it to her own story as a legal immigrant from Jamaica.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger during an interview with editors and reporters of the Virginia Mercury at her campaign headquarters in Richmond on Aug. 5., 2025. (Photo by Marcus Ingram for the Virginia Mercury)
The divide between the two candidates underscores how immigration has become one of the most combustible issues in Virginia’s 2025 campaign for governor — and how Youngkin’s policies continue to shape the race even as he prepares to leave office in January.
That influence stretches beyond Youngkin’s executive order. In late February, Youngkin also launched the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force, a sweeping federal-state operation staffed with more than 200 personnel from agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, state police and corrections, which has claimed hundreds to thousands of immigration and gang-related arrests in Virginia.
Keep enforcement federal, Spanberger says
Spanberger, who represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District in Congress before launching her gubernatorial bid, argued that immigration enforcement should be handled by federal officials with judicial oversight, not by local police diverted from their own duties.
She said Democrats are often wrongly portrayed as opposing law enforcement when they object to policies like Youngkin’s that conscript local agencies into immigration sweeps.
“If someone has a criminal violation at the state level or at the federal level … local resources are required to arrest that person or put them in a local jail before transferring them to federal custody. Absolutely the locality should participate in that,” she said.
But Spanberger insisted the standard should be the same for immigration cases as for any other criminal matter.
“They have to have a warrant to pick somebody up off the street, so they meet that same standard,” she said. “And they can easily go get that detention order signed by a judge or a magistrate, if they want that local support.”
Without those safeguards, Spanberger argued, local cooperation with ICE undermines community policing, creates constitutional concerns and strains already tight budgets. She pointed to her former district of Prince William County, which she said spent more than $1 million housing detainees under a prior partnership with federal immigration authorities.
Earle-Sears emphasizes rule of law
Earle-Sears, who initially agreed to a similar policy interview with The Mercury but canceled minutes before it was to take place, has publicly and repeatedly defended Youngkin’s executive order.
“I am a legal immigrant and now a naturalized citizen. Working together, the governor, attorney general, and I have made Virginia safer,” she said in February when announcing the policy. “Now, working with President Trump, we can take on the scourge of dangerous and violent illegal immigrants.”
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at the state Capitol earlier this year. The Republican nominee for governor has defended Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s immigration policies while offering few details on her own. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
In December, while unveiling a “No Sanctuary Cities” budget proposal, she described the bureaucratic hurdles her own family went through when immigrating to the U.S. and argued that others should follow the same path.
“My father and I had to file documents and wait to be granted permission to enter the United States. Under Governor Youngkin’s leadership, Virginia stands firm: we are not a sanctuary state,” she said.
“The rule of law is not negotiable — it is the foundation of our safety, our freedom, and the promise of opportunity that defines America,” she added.
Earle-Sears’ broader ideas on immigration remain unclear, as she has not gone beyond a handful of public statements and her campaign website offers no issue page outlining her positions.
Dispute over Youngkin’s deportation claims
The candidates also diverge sharply on Youngkin’s claim in July that all 2,500 immigrants arrested and deported by the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force are “violent criminals.”
Spanberger said she has seen no evidence to support the governor’s sweeping assertion.
“If they were violent criminals, presumably, they were arrested on those charges for the violent crime that they committed, in which case, there would be clear documentation,” she said. “Frankly, as somebody who believes in upholding the law, I want people to be arrested for the crimes that they are committing.”
Civil rights groups have also raised alarms, arguing that Youngkin’s mandate is “playing politics with people’s lives.”
“For years, Virginia’s governor has been pushing the same dangerous, false narrative as the Trump administration that immigrants commit crime at higher rates than people who were born here, despite the fact that no data exists to support that conclusion,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said in a statement.
Earle-Sears has not directly addressed the governor’s 2,500 figure but has frequently pointed to grim cases of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in arguing for tougher enforcement.
“We’ve seen too many tragic stories after dangerous criminals in this country illegally were put back on the streets, and this executive order will make sure we send them back to where they came from,” she said earlier this year.
The Laken Riley Act
The immigration debate has also touched on Spanberger’s record in Congress.
Earle-Sears has faulted her for initially voting against the Laken Riley Act, named for a Georgia college student killed by a Venezuelan national who entered the country unlawfully. The law, which eventually passed after Spanberger left Congress, requires federal authorities to detain immigrants accused of theft and burglary while their cases proceed.
Spanberger said she opposed the bill in its first iteration because it “was essentially putting incredible burdens on localities removing any form of due process” and would not have prevented Riley’s murder.
“As a mother of three daughters, I was deeply offended that they would utilize that young woman’s murder as a political talking point,” she said. “At the time of that vote, her father was in the press saying that he was deeply distressed by the fact that her murder was being utilized in the way that it was.”
David Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg, said Spanberger has staked out a position that balances criticism of Trump-era immigration policies with support for reforms viewed as moderate.
“Spanberger has been fairly vocal in criticizing the Trump administration’s methods of dealing with undocumented immigration,” Richards said.
“Her voting record on bills centered around immigration has been mixed, supporting some of the more moderate bills, but voting ‘no’ on some key GOP bills like the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act. … It falls in line with her presenting herself as a pragmatic candidate.”
By contrast, he said, Earle-Sears has been relatively quiet on immigration, surfacing the issue primarily when it intersects with her biography or when amplifying President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“She did talk about the issue back in June, saying that she, as an immigrant, did things the ‘right way.’ But overall, she has skirted the issue,” Richards said.
“She may feel that the issue is not one she can really win with in Virginia, although, as more immigration related arrests happen in the commonwealth, she may have to start talking about this.”
The bigger picture
The fight over immigration in Virginia is inseparable from national politics. Youngkin has aligned himself closely with Trump on enforcement strategies, boasting of joint operations with ICE and staging press events around courthouse raids and “gang and immigration sweeps” that have drawn criticism from Democrats and civil liberties groups.
Spanberger, while denouncing Youngkin’s executive order, has also argued governors should play a more constructive role in pushing Congress to modernize immigration law. She cited bipartisan bills like the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the Dignity Act as examples of incremental progress, even if they fell short.
“There are many places where the governors of states can bang on the table and tell Congress, ‘Stop making this such a political issue that you campaign on every two years and just fix it,’” she said.
She added that immigration is not only a humanitarian concern but also a pressing economic issue for Virginia, from hospitals seeking visas for foreign-trained nurses to seafood producers dependent on seasonal guest workers.
Earle-Sears, meanwhile, has emphasized border security and public safety, drawing a bright line between legal immigrants like herself and those who arrive unlawfully.
“Any local elected official who instructs law enforcement to defy efforts to keep Virginians safe abandons their duty and breaks the trust of the people they swore to protect,” she said last year.
Looking ahead
With polls showing immigration remains a top concern among Republican voters — and a complicated one among independents — the issue is likely to stay at the forefront of this year’s election cycle.
Activists gathered outside the Chesterfield County courthouse in June to protest against the arrests of immigrants by federal agents. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
Spanberger is betting Virginians will see Youngkin’s executive order as overreach that diverts local resources and harms public safety by discouraging immigrant communities from reporting crimes. Earle-Sears is counting on voters to view strict enforcement as common sense, framed by her own story of navigating the legal immigration system.
“Maybe she is waiting for a Trump endorsement,” Richards said of Earle-Sears. “But if immigration remains in the headlines, she may not be able to avoid it.”
For now, voters face a stark choice between a Democrat who vows to unwind the governor’s crackdown and press Congress for broader reforms, and a Republican who pledges to double down on enforcement in the name of law and order.
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The content presents a detailed examination of immigration policy debates in Virginia, highlighting Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger’s criticism of Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s enforcement measures. It emphasizes concerns about local law enforcement resources, community trust, and civil rights, while portraying Spanberger’s approach as pragmatic and reform-oriented. The Republican perspective, represented by Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, is included but less elaborated, focusing on law and order and strict enforcement. The overall tone and framing lean slightly left of center, favoring a more moderate Democratic viewpoint on immigration reform without dismissing conservative concerns entirely.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Esther Wickham | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-25 18:15:00
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found George Mason University (GMU) violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies favoring race in hiring and promotions. OCR’s probe, prompted by faculty complaints, concluded GMU’s leadership under President Gregory Washington promoted discriminatory practices. OCR proposed a Resolution Agreement requiring GMU to commit publicly to nondiscrimination and a personal apology from Washington. The GMU Board of Visitors is reviewing the findings, but Washington’s attorney rejected OCR’s conclusions, citing flawed investigation methods and denying discrimination. GMU must comply by September 1.
(The Center Square) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced George Mason University violated federal law by hiring and promoting staff based on race and other characteristics.
In July, OCR launched an investigation into GMU due to multiple complaints filed by professors alleging that university leadership had adopted unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion policies from 2020 that give preferential treatment to prospective and current faculty, the department said in a press release.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. Institutions that are found in violation of Title VI can lose federal funds.”
OCR notified GMU President Gregory Washington that under his leadership, the Fairfax, Virginia-based university violated Title VI by supporting DEI practices and policies.
“In 2020, University President Gregory Washington called for expunging the so-called ‘racist vestiges’ from GMU’s campus. Without a hint of self-awareness, President Washington then waged a university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “Despite this unfortunate chapter in Mason’s history, the University now has the opportunity to come into compliance with federal civil rights laws by entering into a Resolution Agreement with the Office for Civil Rights.”
OCR has issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to GMU to resolve the civil rights laws violations.
The department’s agreement requires GMU to publicly commit to nondiscrimination in hiring and promotion, including a personal apology from the president for promoting unlawful discriminatory practices.
The school’s Board of Visitors said Friday it was reviewing the steps outlined in the resolution and will “continue to respond fully and cooperatively to all inquiries from the Department of Education, the Department of Justice and the U.S. House of Representatives and evaluate the evidence that comes to light,” the board said in a statement on Friday. “Our sole focus is our fiduciary duty to serve the best interests of the University and the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
But on Monday, Washington rejected the Department of Education’s demands.
In a 10-page letter to GMU’s board on Monday, Washington’s attorney, Douglas Gansler, alleged that OCR cut corners and only interviewed two university deans, Inside Higher Ed reports.
“To be clear, per OCR’s own findings, no job applicant has been discriminated against by GMU, nor has OCR attempted to name someone who has been discriminated against by GMU in any context. Therefore, it is a legal fiction for OCR to even assert or claim that there has been a Title VI or Title IX violation here,” Gansler wrote.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article primarily reports on the findings and actions of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding George Mason University’s alleged violations of federal law related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. While it includes statements from both the OCR and the university’s leadership, the language used—such as quoting the OCR’s strong criticism of GMU’s DEI efforts and highlighting the university president’s rejection of the findings—frames DEI policies in a negative light. This framing, along with the focus on alleged unlawful discrimination against non-minority groups, aligns with a center-right perspective that is often critical of DEI initiatives. The article does not merely neutrally report the facts but subtly emphasizes the controversy around DEI, suggesting a center-right ideological stance rather than a purely neutral or balanced report.
www.youtube.com – NBC4 Washington – 2025-08-25 09:28:12
SUMMARY: As summer ends, students and teachers at Raymond Elementary in D.C. prepare excitedly for the new school year. The school boasts a brand-new playground and courtyard, with dedicated staff like Miss Tracee Robinson, a second-grade teacher known for her “Not Like Us” rap parody. Teacher Alexandria Henderson has a DonorsChoose wishlist totaling over $1,100, including carpets, headphones, and snacks. Thanks to Pepco’s $1,100 donation, her wishlist is fully funded. Principal Miss Hubbard and the community express gratitude as the school gears up for Monday’s first day, celebrating support from NBC4, Telemundo 44, and corporate partners.
News4’s Molette Green helps get Raymond Elementary hyped for school with a longtime teacher’s rap and a big donation for supplies.
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NBC4 Washington / WRC-TV is the No. 1 broadcast television station and the home of the most-watched local news in Washington, D.C. The station leads the market in providing timely and breaking news and information in text, video and graphics across more than 15 platforms including NBCWashington.com, the NBC4 app, NBC4 streaming news channel, newsletters, and social media.
