The liberal TV news blackout of the “gender-fluid” rapes in Loudoun County, Virginia was finally broken Wednesday evening by NBC Nightly News and correspondent Catie Beck. But it was anything but fair as the network took to suggesting the cases and the school district were being exploited by parents as well as the state and national Republican Party as they looked for an upset in the tight race for governor and beyond.
After desperately trying to ignore the firestorm for two weeks, anchor Lester “fairness is overrated” Holt broke the news to his audience. “A school board in Virginia is at the center of a firestorm. Parents demanding resignations after they say a sexual assault on campus was covered up,” he announced before questioning the motives of parents: “Now, it is a hot button issue in the state's very tight governor's race.”
Beck’s report started fine, noting that at a school board meeting Tuesday night “parents reach a boiling point. Once, again, school board members facing the heat.”
Although she omitted the “gender-fluid” identity of the attacker, Beck gave a half-decent rundown of the facts in the case:
Many parents demanding new leadership after they say a sexual assault at a county school was covered up by administrators to advance a transgender bathroom policy.
(…)
A judge finding this week a 14-year-old male student guilty on two counts of sexual assault. Officials saying he wore a skirt, entered a girl's bathroom and assaulted a 15-year-old female student back in May. He was later accused of assaulting another student at another school in October.
She even pointed to the facts that suggested a massive cover-up attempt by the school board:
BECK: School leaders say they notified authorities of both allegations immediately. Though at a June meeting, the superintendent saying this.
BETH BARTS (School board member, Leesburg District): Do we have assaults in our bathrooms, in our locker rooms?
SCOTT ZIEGLER (School superintendent): To my knowledge, we don't have any records of assaults occurring in our rest room.
“Angry parents calling that a lie after the release of an internal e-mail sent from the superintendent to school board members in May notifying them of the incident,” Beck reported.
But soon after admitting all that, she shifted gears to questioning the motives of parental outrage and interest in the district.
“It's the latest example of this divided district turning into a culture war battleground. Other issues include mask mandates and Critical Race Theory,” she said. “But some in the school community say the voices at board meetings don't speak for the majority of parents and that some may be trying to sway the governor's race.”
Beck spoke with a failed school board candidate and a radical leftist teacher who suggested all the outrage and the show of defiance by parents was staged for political purposes:
BECK: How would you describe what is going on?
CATRICE NOLAN: I would describe it as created chaos. I think it's been created.
BECK: One Loudoun teacher saying, while there should be accountability on the assaults, she questions the timing.
UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: It all came about all at once. It exploded when all of the elections so close.
This was another case of bias by omission because Beck failed to note that the father of the first victim, Scott Smith, was arrested at a school board meeting in June when he tried to speak about it. In fact, the clip she used of the members dismissing rapes on campuses came from that meeting.
Those claims were followed up with a soundbite Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin speaking about what was happening in Loudoun. That was then countered with a Barack Obama soundbite where he declared: “We don't have time to be wasting on these phony trumped up culture wars. This fake outrage.”
And although she did speak with a Loudoun parent who attested to the true grassroots nature of the parental outrage toward the school board, Beck concluded the segment with comments from University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato purporting that “Loudoun is a perfect proving ground for what Republicans hope to do in 2022. They need to capture the suburbs again.”
ABC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC were still holding strong to the blackout. NBC didn't give an explanation to why it took them so long to mention the rapes despite discussing the Virginia election on Sunday and Tuesday.
NBC’s late arrival to the story and then dismissal of parental outrage was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Amazon, Ford Motor Company, and T-Mobile. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC Nightly News
October 27, 2021
7:12:53 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: A school board in Virginia is at the center of a firestorm. Parents demanding resignations after they say a sexual assault on campus was covered up. Now, it is a hot button issue in the state's very tight governor's race. Here's Catie beck.
[Cuts to video]
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed.
CATIE BECK: In Loudoun County, Virginia last night, parents reach a boiling point. Once, again, school board members facing the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: Resign or be removed.
BECK: Many parents demanding new leadership after they say a sexual assault at a county school was covered up by administrators to advance a transgender bathroom policy.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 1: All of you must go, and we will take back our schools.
BECK: A judge finding this week a 14-year-old male student guilty on two counts of sexual assault. Officials saying he wore a skirt, entered a girls bathroom, and assaulted a 15-year-old female student back in May. He was later accused of assaulting another student at another school in October.
School leaders say they notified authorities of both allegations immediately. Though at a June meeting, the superintendent saying this.
BETH BARTS (School board member, Leesburg District): Do we have assaults in our bathrooms, in our locker rooms?
SCOTT ZIEGLER (School superintendent): To my knowledge, we don't have any records of assaults occurring in our rest room.
PROTESTERS: Shame on you! Shame on you!
BECK: Angry parents calling that a lie after the release of an internal e-mail sent from the superintendent to school board members in May notifying them of the incident.
Ian Prior has two children attending Loudoun schools.
IAN PRIOR: They knew this controversial bathroom policy they were trying to pass would get derailed if this news got out.
BECK: The superintendent recently apologized saying he wrongly interpreted the question and does not believe there was any intent to deceive. Yesterday students walking out in protest saying they did not feel safe in school.
It's the latest example of this divided district turning into a culture war battleground. Other issues include mask mandates and Critical Race Theory.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 3: Critical Race Theory, in fact, pits black people against white people.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 2: Can we get a motion to remove masks?
BECK: But some in the school community say the voices at board meetings don't speak for the majority of parents and that some may be trying to sway the governor's race.
Catrice Nolan ran for a school board seat and says she faced online harassment.
How would you describe what is going on?
CATRICE NOLAN: I would describe it as created chaos. I think it's been created.
BECK: One Loudoun teacher saying, while there should be accountability on the assaults, she questions the timing.
UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: It all came about all at once. It exploded when all of the elections so close.
BECK: Virginia candidates now putting education center stage. Republican Glenn Youngkin today.
GLENN YOUNGKIN (R): In Loudoun County today, we have a school board that is clearly, clearly guilty of gross negligence.
BECK: President Obama stumping for Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
BARACK OBAMA: We don't have time to be wasting on these phony trumped up culture wars. This fake outrage.
BECK: Do you think this is a politically motivated minority?
PRIOR: What I’ve seen is that parents they go out there; they are fired up. They're defending their kids.
BECK: Political experts say the fiery topics are galvanizing Republicans.
LARRY SABATO (UVA): Loudoun is a perfect proving ground for what Republicans hope to do in 2022. They need to capture the suburbs again.
BECK: The proof comes in an election less than a week away. Catie Beck, NBC News.
