By Danielle Wallace
Published April 10, 2022

A Virginia parent and former PTA president who openly criticized what
he categorized as race-based admissions at an elite public high school
was delivered a win Friday after four criminal charges were dropped.

Dr. Harry Jackson, a father and former naval intelligence officer,
opposed the policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology in Alexandria that based admissions more on race and less on
merit. Steve Descano, a Democratic prosecutor backed by billionaire
George Soros, pursued criminal charges of libel and slander with
prejudice against Jackson over tweets published in 2020.

Cut!

"I would like to stress this point—what makes this case unique is that criminal charges were brought to suppress free speech. Criminal
charges! Not a civil lawsuit but criminal charges," RightDefense.org
attorney Marina Medvin, recently retained to represent Jackson, told
Newsweek Friday.

"In this day and age, I believe it is the only case of its kind,"
Medvin continued. "This should never have happened. But a magistrate
allowed it to happen—four times. And then a Soros-funded prosecutor
allowed an innocent man to be criminally prosecuted for the duration of
seven months."

Newsweek reported that Descano aimed at dropping prosecution, but
Medvin sought to have the charge dismissed by a Fairfax County judge in
order to "restore the public's trust in the First Amendment."

The separate but related case involving the school admissions policy,
which a federal judge previously ruled as discriminatory against Asian Americans, is also piquing the interest of the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ruled in February that even the
school’s amended admissions policy still equated to "racial balancing,"
but a three-judge 4th Circuit appeals panel decided on March 31 that
the school can temporarily continue to use the policy. A coalition of
community members, parents and alumni filed an emergency request to
vacate the stay pending an appeal filed by the school system.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday called for a
response from Fairfax County Public Schools, which has until Wednesday
to present its arguments. Roberts will then decide on the application,
which could include referring the case to the full court, according to
Fox 5 DC.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-parent-fighting-race-based-admissions-policy-wins-supreme-court

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