Southeast

Georgia Senate advances bill to define antisemitism in state law

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2024

Georgia Senate advances bill to define antisemitism in state law

A bill to define antisemitism in Georgia law, known as House Bill 30, initially stalled in 2023 but received unanimous endorsement from a key Senate committee on Monday.
The revised version of the bill gained support, notably from Republicans expressing solidarity with Israel in its war with Hamas.
Opponents fear that House Bill 30 could be used to shield criticism of Israeli war crimes against Palestinians, leading to clashes during the vote.

A bill to define antisemitism in Georgia law stalled in 2023 over how it should be worded. But a revised version won unanimous endorsement from a key Senate committee Monday, backed by Republican support for Israel in its war with Hamas and a surge in reported bias incidents against Jewish people in the state.

“I think the whole world saw what happened on Oct. 7 and the fallout to Jewish communities around the world,” said Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch of Sandy Springs, the only Jewish member of Georgia’s legislature. She is a co-sponsor of the measure that won the support of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But fears of opponents who say House Bill 30 would be used as a shield to block criticism of Israeli war crimes against Palestinians are stronger than ever, showing how what was already a fraught topic in early 2023 has become downright raw with the Israel-Hamas war. Some protesters chanting “Free Free Palestine!” were dragged from the committee room by police officers after the vote. Other opposition witnesses told lawmakers they were privileging political support for Israel.

GEORGIA LAWMAKERS WILL TURN ATTENTION TO ANTISEMITISM, ELECTIONS AS 2024 REGULAR SESSION BEGINS

“What it does do is weaponize attacks and hatred against my community and to silence Palestinian and Muslim Georgians, making threats against me somehow more important than threats against my own neighbors and implying that my safety can only come at their expense,” said Marissa Pyle, who said she is Jewish. “Making other people less safe does not help me.”

Rep. Esther Panitch fist bumps Sen. Ben Watson after House Bill 30, an antisemitism bill, was passed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building on Jan. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

The bill already passed the House last year and Monday’s vote signals the measure is likely to pass the state Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp. The Republican governor has previously said he supports the measure.

The committee also advanced Senate Bill 359 on a split vote. The measure attempts to target the distribution of antisemitic flyers in residential neighborhoods by adding littering, illegal sign placement, loitering, misdemeanor terroristic threats, disorderly conduct and harassing communications to the list of crimes that draw enhanced sentences under Georgia’s hate crimes law. The law would also make any two crimes subject to Georgia’s hate crimes law eligible for prosecution under the state’s expansive anti-racketeering statute.

In at least eight states nationwide, lawmakers are working on measures to define antisemitism, part of an upsurge of legislation motivated in part by the Israel-Hamas war. Arkansas passed such a law last year, and like in Georgia, a South Carolina measure passed one chamber in 2023. New bills are pending this year in Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and South Dakota.

Sponsors say a definition would help prosecutors and other officials identify hate crimes and illegal discrimination targeting Jewish people. But some critics warn it would limit free speech, especially in criticizing the actions of Israel. Others don’t oppose a law, but object to the measure defining antisemitism by referring to a definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

“When can we anticipate the legislature moving forward on a bill that addresses Islamophobia?” said Asim Javed of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project. Javed added that the bill “stifles our First Amendment rights by censoring any criticisms of Israel.”

GEORGIA ANTISEMITISM BILL LIVES AGAIN AFTER NEW VOTE

But the warnings of free speech harms by the opponents were met by personal stories of harms suffered by the supporters, including Rabbi Elizabeth Baher of Macon’s Temple Beth Israel. She recounted how an antisemitic group hung a Jew in effigy outside the synagogue as worshipers were arriving for services in June.

“We the people of Georgia stand united against bigotry and discrimination. Our diverse tapestry is woven with threads of resilience, understanding and mutual respect,” Baher said.

Also among those who testified was David Lubin. He’s the father of Rose Lubin, who grew up in suburban Atlanta but moved to Israel, becoming a staff sergeant in the Israeli army before she was stabbed to death in Jerusalem on Nov. 6. Lubin said that when her daughter was a student at suburban Atlanta’s Dunwoody High School, she reported a student making antisemitic remarks and making “Heil Hitler” salutes.

“We need laws in place to deter the threat and convict those who commit the actions of hatred,” David Lubin said.

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Southeast

Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.

Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.

Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.

Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original.

“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.

NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER

“It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.

Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.

In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”

“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.

“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”

“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.

The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.

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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.

Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

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Southeast

Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

Published

15 hours ago

February 28, 2026

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)

Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day.

He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later.

Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing.

A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding.

In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported.

REPEAT OFFENDER ON PAROLE FOR MURDER TIED TO BRUTAL JAIL ASSAULT, ESCAPE HOURS AFTER ROBBERY

Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)

Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”

“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said.

“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”

Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia. (Provided)

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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person.

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states.

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Southeast

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.

The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.

The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)

“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS

Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.

The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.

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