Virginia Del. Kathy Tran, whose bill to loosen restrictions on abortions sparked outrage from conservatives across the county, and two other lawmakers postponed a town hall meeting Saturday because of “security and safety concerns.”
State Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, a co-host of the town hall, said Tran received online threats online during the week.
Local law enforcement was concerned about how to deal with possible protesters.
Surovell said the decision “had nothing to do with” revelations late Friday that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, appeared in a 1984 medical school yearbook photo showing one man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe.
Tran has said she “misspoke” during a legislative session about her bill and wished she had more clearly stated that her bill would not allow infanticide in Virginia, as some suggested after an edited clip of her testimony went viral on social media.
Tran said she and her family have received death threats through telephone messages, email and social media, leading to extra police protection for her and her family and difficult discussions with her young children. She could not immediately be reached for comment about the postponed town hall.
“While we are very disappointed to have to make this decision, the safety of our neighbors and constituents is paramount,” Tran, Surovell and state Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The event was scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. at South County High School in Lorton.
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