RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Conference NAACP President Robert N. Barnette, Jr. released a statement Saturday calling for the censure of Virginia Senator Amanda Chase.

“The Virginia State Conference NAACP calls on the Virginia Senate to swiftly censure State Senator Amanda Chase. Not only was she in Washington, D.C. during the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol, but she supported and sympathized with the insurrectionists. 

“Following the incident, Senator Chase described the participants as ‘patriots who loved their country.’ Those who attempted a coup at the United States Capitol were no patriots.

“Senator Chase’s pattern of divisive, race-baiting politics must be stopped once and for all. Her recent attempt to censure Senator Louis Lucas – the first Black president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate – is simply a racist sideshow distraction from the truth.

“The Virginia Senate should not permit anyone who defends sedition and engages in race-baiting to serve.”