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Virginia Democrat County Official Facing Dozens of Charges For Embezzlement, Election Fraud

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


A Democratic county official in Virginia is facing a long string of charges against him including some related to alleged election fraud and embezzlement.

According to various reports, a grand jury indicted Buchanan County Supervisor Trey Adkins on May 2, according to WJHL-TV in Johnson City, Tenn.

According to the outlet, Adkins is facing 34 counts of making a false statement related to election fraud; 11 counts of violating absentee voting procedure; eight counts of public embezzlement; 11 counts of forgery of public records; 15 counts of uttering related to public records; and three counts of conspiracy to make a false statement related to election fraud.

According to court documents cited by the local news outlet, an investigation into the allegations has been ongoing for more than two years. The report also said that a prosecutor from neighboring Russell County was appointed to be a special prosecutor for the case, which also involves the Virginia State Police.

Russell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Zach Stoots has been on the case since the beginning.

“The Rules of Professional Conduct prevents any lawyer participating in the prosecution of a criminal matter that may be tried to a jury from making an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or should know will have a likelihood of interfering with the fairness of a trial by jury,” Stoots said in a press release. “Based on the Rules of Professional Conduct, my office will not be making any further statements on the pending matters.”

“According to the records, the jury found that the supervisor Trey Adkins falsified absentee ballots and forged signatures to win an election for public office,” WJHL reported.

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The Western Journal adds:

Adkins first won election to the five-member Buchanan County Board of Supervisors in 2011, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The counts of embezzlement stem from allegations that Adkins supplied county-owned gravel to private individuals through his personal construction company.

Adkins’ aunt, Sherry Lynn Bailey, also was charged with 12 felonies in the indictment, according to WJHL.

Adkins released an 11-minute video on his personal Facebook page in response to the charges, strenuously asserting his innocence.

“We’re charged with voter fraud,” Adkins plainly states in the video.

“The issue they’re having is how the envelopes were witnessed. So, you know, it’s not that somebody didn’t get to vote the way they wanted to, or there was some kind of big fraud going on. That’s the term they use for the code section that they applied to it, and we’ll address that,” he added.

“We knew this would come to a head eventually, and it has. The charges are out there, we know what we’re facing, we know what the accusations are and we’re thankful for that. It’s going to bring an end to it,” he told WCYB.

“I’ve not been accused of taking money, I’ve been accused of giving people grapple. Simple as that,” Adkins said.

“And let me be clear about something else here. We will most definitely fight this in court. And once we are able to make a statement and explain who’s who and what’s going on, it’s going to shock this county,” Adkins stated.

He also said he has no plans to step down from the board of supervisors.

After he released the video, Adkins has not spoken to the press, referring reporters to his attorney. It’s not clear when the trial will take place.

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Earlier this month, a new survey found that the vast majority of Americans want stricter voter integrity laws, not ones that are laxer, the latter of which critics say is what Democrats in Congress are pushing.

Record numbers of voters are demanding stricter voter identification measures in order to be able to cast ballots as well as broad reforms in all 50 states.

According to new polling data seen by the Washington Examiner’s “Secrets” column, 84 percent of Americans want voter ID, attributing to large numbers of black and Hispanic voters who are behind the dramatic increase in support as the country eases into the 2022 midterm election cycle.

The outlet notes further:

The polling from the Honest Elections Project for two groups, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the National Conference of State Legislatures, is the latest to show that the push by Biden and his media allies has fallen flat, especially among minorities who the president claimed would be hurt by election integrity laws passed in states such as Georgia.

“Photo ID laws are a case in point: Support for photo ID laws is seven points higher than a year ago. Left-wing special interests and politicians like President Biden carried out an intense, often misleading, a campaign meant to stir opposition to policies like strong voter ID. Their efforts have had the opposite effect. More people than ever — including most black and Hispanic voters — back photo ID laws,” said the polling analysis provided to Secrets.