The Donald Trump campaign will open a field office in Manassas on the same day as an office in Stafford County. In 2020, President Joe Biden won Manassas with 25% more votes than Trump. He also performed well in neighboring Prince William County, winning the county by 27%.
Press release:
Location Name: Trump Force 47 Manassas City Office
Address: 9113 Church St. Manassas, VA 20110
Join us for an exciting event with the Northern Virginia Trump Team as we celebrate the grand opening of our Manassas City Trump Force 47 office! Be a part of the team and get trained to become an official Trump Force 47 captain at 9113 Church St. Manassas, VA 20110. Connect with fellow supporters, and gear up for a pivotal role in the campaign. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a difference and help ensure President Trump wins Virginia and the nation. Free Trump Captain Training will be provided to those who still need it after the launch. See you there!
The Donald Trump for President campaign will open a field office in Stafford County. The event, titled “Grand Opening of the Stafford Trump Force 47 Headquarters,” invites supporters to attend the opening.
President Trump’s Virginia campaign team will meet at 9 a.m. to provide training on the Trump Force 47 get-out-the-vote program. The team will discuss how attendees can participate in efforts to help President Trump and J.D. Vance Senator Vance, Trump’s vice presidential pick, try to win Virginia in the upcoming November election. Official campaign yard signs will be available for those attending the training session.
The new field office is located at 1229 Garrisonville Road in Stafford, in the building once occupied by Fletcher Construction.
Polls taken before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race showed Trump ahead of Biden by two points in Virginia, a state Biden won by 12 points in 2020. Trump now faces Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democrats.
The Prince William Chamber of Commerce launched its new podcast, “The Other Prince William Podcast,” on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The podcast will feature stories from local business owners, highlighting their beginnings and entrepreneurial journeys.
The first episode will feature local artist John Hartt, known for his distinctive and vibrant artwork visible throughout Manassas. The podcast aims to showcase the diverse stories of business owners, discussing how they launched and grew their businesses and how they connect to the community.
Chamber spokeswoman Caitlyn Stephens shared insights into the inspiration behind the podcast. “The Other Prince William Podcast was inspired by the other stories business owners have to tell that we don’t necessarily always hear,” said Stephens. “The stories of how they launched or grew their businesses, how they connect to the community and so much more are the stories many would love to hear.”
Chamber CEO Bob Sweeney and Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger will host the podcast. Stephens described the format and content of the episodes, stating, “Most episodes will be around 20 minutes, and two will be longer special features.”
Davis Younger is seeking a second term as mayor in the November 2024 General Election. While she’s agreed to ask questions of guests on the podcast, she is the only one of eight city council candidates who has not responded to this news organization’s questions about the campaign. Despite multiple requests, Davis Younger has never agreed to an interview for this news organization.
Future guests on the “The Other Prince William Podcast” will include OmniRide CEO Bob Schneider, musician and Shining Sol candles founder Pete Evick, and Villagio Group (Farm Brew Live) President Marcus Silva. Each guest will bring a unique perspective and story of their journey in business.
“We hope listeners enjoy unique stories directly from business owners and leaders, gain insights into what it takes to be successful, and mostly just enjoy conversations that feel very one-on-one,” Stephens added.
The podcast will be available on the chamber’s YouTube channel, website, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Prince William County residents voiced their concerns about drug use and community safety during a recent town hall with Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D). The event included Police Chief Peter Newsham of the Prince William County Police Department and Police Chief Chris Settle of the Culpeper Police Department.
Victoria, a resident of Prince William County, expressed her concerns about drug use in her neighborhood. “We have random people using fentanyl and walking around disoriented,” she said. “We have a lot of kids in the area, and I am afraid for their safety.”
Chief Newsham responded by urging residents to report suspicious activity. “If you have a problem home in the neighborhood, particularly if it is drug-related, you can contact the Prince William County Police Department,” he said. “Our Special Investigations Bureau will look into the property and the landlord’s responsibility.”
Congresswoman Spanberger highlighted federal efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking. “We have passed legislation like the Summer Barrow Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act to support law enforcement and address behavioral health issues,” she said. “Stopping the shipment of fentanyl into our communities is crucial.”
Data Breaches and Identity Theft
Mike asked about data breaches and identity theft. Congresswoman Spanberger emphasized the federal perspective. “The FBI has central authority over these issues. If anyone faces issues like ransomware attacks, it is important to report them,” she said. “We are working to set standards for how data is protected.”
Chief Newsham noted the increase in scam attacks. “We warn folks to be careful. If anyone asks for money or claims to be a public utility, be very cautious,” he said. “Report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
Gun Violence
Don inquired about gun violence. Chief Newsham explained the efforts in Prince William County. “Our criminal investigations division does an excellent job of holding people accountable,” he said. “We also have a community safety initiative to address the root causes of gun violence.”
Congresswoman Spanberger mentioned the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. “It includes funding for localities to apply for federal grants for community-driven violence intervention programs,” she said. “These programs have demonstrated a reduced homicide rate where implemented.”
Domestic Violence
Gigi from Culpeper raised concerns about domestic violence. Chief Settle described the local response. “Domestic violence calls are among our most dangerous. We train officers on domestic violence laws and provide support to victims,” he said. “We work closely with organizations like Safe Services to provide advocacy and support.”
Congresswoman Spanberger discussed legislative efforts. “The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act narrowed the ‘boyfriend loophole,’ recognizing that domestic violence can occur in dating relationships,” she said. “This is an important step forward.”
Aggressive Driving
Maryanne asked about addressing aggressive driving. Chief Newsham described enforcement efforts. “We have increased enforcement and implemented a pilot program for automated traffic enforcement in school zones and at red lights,” he said. “This helps slow people down and reduce traffic fatalities.”
Private Security Firms
Reggie inquired about partnerships with private security firms. Chief Settle explained the collaboration: “We work closely with reputable private security companies, providing them with communication tools to coordinate with law enforcement. This partnership helps enhance community safety.”
Officer Wellness Programs
Tracy asked about officer wellness programs. Chief Newsham emphasized the importance of mental and physical health. “We have a resiliency center with clinicians available to officers and their families. “Our early intervention system helps identify and support officers experiencing trauma.”
Chief Settle described their peer support program. “Our officers are mandated to have mental health wellness checks,” he said. “This helps remove the stigma of mental health and ensures they receive the support they need.”
Infrastructure and Emergency Services
Tiffany expressed concerns about the lack of communication infrastructure in rural areas. Congresswoman Spanberger highlighted efforts to improve connectivity. “We are working with communities to address lapses in communication infrastructure,” she said. “This is important for emergency alerts and responses.”
Firefighter Shortage and Standardization
Jason asked about the firefighter shortage. Congresswoman Spanberger discussed federal support. “We passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act to provide funding for fire and emergency services,” she said. “We are also working on addressing training requirements and mobility between departments.”
The virtual town hall meeting was held on July 9, 2024. Spanberger has held Virginia’s 7th District Congressional seat since 2018. She’s not seeking re-election and is rumored to run for governor in 2025.
Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson are running to replace her.
We’ve asked Democrats seeking a congressional seat in our area where they stand on supporting President Biden’s re-election bid.
In the 10th Congressional District, which includes Manassas, Manassas Park, and western Prince William County, Suhas Subramanyam gave his full-throated support to the president.
“Americans and Virginians understand what’s at stake in this election, and they know that Joe Biden is the only candidate who will fight for our democracy, protect abortion rights, and ensure that Americans have access to affordable health care and prescription drugs. That is why on November 5, voters will come together once again and re-elect Joe Biden as our President,” said Subramanyam.
Jennifer Wexton (D) is not seeking re-election to her seat, one she’s held since 2018, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Republican Mike Clancy is running against Subramanyam
In the 7th District, which includes eastern Prince William County (Woodbridge, Dumfries, Dale City), Stafford, Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania, former Army Col. Eugene Vindman has not responded to multiple requests for comment on whether or not he supports Biden. His opponent, Republican Derrick Anderson, urged Vindman to make a statement.
“It’s been 11 days since President Biden’s disastrous debate, and my opponent still refuses to say whether or not he still supports President Biden,” said Anderson. “He’s hiding like a typical political does. It’s clear President Biden is not fit to serve right now.”
Vindman was campaigning at the Dale City Christian Church on Sunday. Last week, he stumped with Senator Tim Kaine (D) at an unannounced campaign stop in Woodbridge. Abigail Spanberger (D) has held the seat since 2018, is not seeking re-election, and is preparing for a run for Virginia Governor next year.
Kaine, up for re-election this year, has voiced his support for Biden. Virginia’s other Senator, Mark Warner (D), is on the fence.
“Another Trump term would be perilous for rule of law and for our democracy. President Biden has made America stronger, guiding the nation through some of our most difficult days. I am proud of my work on his agenda.
“With so much at stake in the upcoming election, now is the time for conversations about the strongest path forward.
“As these conversations continue, I believe it is incumbent upon the President to more aggressively make his case to the American people, and to hear directly from a broader group of voices about how to best prevent Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House.”
Several donors have called for Biden to end his re-election bid after stumbling through a debate with Donald Trump, which aired on CNN, and an interview with ABC News over the weekend, where the president continued to stumble.
By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
(The Center Square) – If there were any doubts that Virginia is returning to its status as a key battleground state in the upcoming presidential elections, visits by First Lady Jill Biden and former President Donald Trump would indicate confirmation.
Biden is scheduled to greet campaign volunteers in Virginia Beach on Thursday, hours before the president and former president will square off in their first presidential debate. Trump on Friday comes from Atlanta to a 3 p.m. rally in Chesapeake.
In January, the president and Vice President Kamala Harris essentially chose Virginia to kick off their bid for reelection by holding a joint event in Manassas with a focus on abortion.
In recent weeks, Trump has signaled Virginia is very much in play between visits and new campaign investments.
The most significant piece of evidence is that the Trump campaign is zeroing in on the commonwealth with plans to open 11 field offices, as reported by CBS News.
Earlier in the month, Trump met with Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin during a closed-door meeting at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling to strategize how to win in the commonwealth. At the time, Youngkin told ABC 13 News Now that the commonwealth appears “competitive” in the presidential race.
“There’s a lot of interest in how this election is going to go,” Youngkin said. “So our political teams have been coordinating on how best to do that and we had to sit down and talk about it and we talked about Virginia and, and how I was able to win my election in 2021. And the lessons learned.”
Youngkin is expected to appear with Trump at the Friday rally. The governor did not attend a March rally by the Trump campaign in Richmond.
A May poll by Roanoke College shows Trump and Biden are neck-and-neck in the commonwealth, despite Biden beating Trump by over 10% in the 2020 election and Hillary Clinton handily winning Virginia in 2016.
The commonwealth has not gone for a GOP presidential candidate in 20 years, when former President George W. Bush was up for reelection.
Updated June 27: The Fox News Channel will broadcast live from the Juke Box Diner in Manassas on Friday, June 28, 2024, at 6 a.m. 5 o’clock in the morning Gov. Glenn Youngkin will join the broadcast, according to the Manassas GOP.
President Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally in Chesapeake, about 200 miles away, at 3 p.m. on the same day. Youngkin, a potential vice presidential candidate, is expected to join Trump at the rally.
Last year, on July 5, 2024, Youngkin appeared on Fox and Friends at the same diner. During his appearance, he discussed education and hiring more police officers. In an interview with Potomac Local News, Youngkin emphasized the need for departments to support their officers, highlighting a partnership with Petersburg that has reduced police vacancies.
Crime is a significant issue in the upcoming November 7 General Election, with violent crime in Prince William County up 70% since 2019. Youngkin stressed the need for prosecutors to take action, noting a decline in monthly direct criminal indictments under Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth. Ashworth faces Republican challenger Matt Lowery in the upcoming election.
During last year’s broadcast, diners were asked whether Youngkin should run for president. Both diners interviewed said he should focus on governing Virginia. Youngkin has been governor since 2022.
The Juke Box Diner at 8637 Sudley Road features classic 1950s decor and serves breakfast all day. Owner Joe Attyah said the Fox News Channel approached him to broadcast from his restaurant, viewing it as an opportunity to promote his business.
Republican candidates Ian Lovejoy and John Stirrup attended last year’s event, with Youngkin encouraging them to focus on public safety issues. The Manassas City Government did not have representatives present at the breakfast.
The diner remains a local landmark, drawing attention from media and political figures alike.
By Bethany Blankley
(The Center Square) – A group of 21 Republican U.S. senators, led by Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, is demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about federal agents releasing illegal border crossers into the U.S. who weren’t properly vetted and were later discovered to have alleged terrorist connections.
They sent a letter to Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray after the U.S. House Intelligence Committee chairman and a retired CIA director raised warnings about potential terrorist attacks happening on U.S. soil before the end of the year, The Center Square reported.
“President Biden is derelict in his duty to protect and defend our country,” Budd said. “These incidents highlight the extreme national security risks posed by the open southern border. We need to expose what happened here, and make sure it never happens again. We need to secure the border and stop the chaos.”
The senators express alarm after eight Tajikistan nationals with alleged terrorist ties to ISIS illegally entered the U.S. and were released by Border Patrol agents or used the CBP One app through the president’s and Mayorkas’ “lawful pathways” program to enter the U.S. instead of being vetted, arrested on the spot and prevented entry.
“We are deeply concerned by reports that a wiretap shows that one of the now-arrested individuals was talking about bombs and that the target of the wiretap was previously released by federal authorities at the southern border with a court date of next year,” they said. They are referring to Border Patrol agents releasing inadmissible illegal foreign nationals into the country by giving them “notice to appear” documents to appear before an immigration judge several years into the future, The Center Square has reported.
Because the alleged terrorists weren’t properly vetted, as is a consistent problem identified by the Office of Inspector General, it was only after they were released that the FBI expressed alarm and they were found and arrested, CBS News reported. The OIG has also found that CBP agents were releasing known and suspected terrorists into the country because of “ineffective practices and processes.”
Their arrests were made after Wray in April testified before Congress that Islamic terrorist and other national security threats were coming through the border. He referred to an “increasingly concerning … potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall,” referring to ISIS-Khorasan, ISIS’s Afghan affiliate. In March, he also testified that ISIS-connected smuggling organizations were coming through the border and the FBI was investigating.
The senators point to “multiple recent releases of aliens on the terrorist watchlist into the United States,” including from Afghanistan, Jordan, Somalia, Uzbekistan and others.
They cite an example of an Afghan national and suspected member of the terrorist group Hezb-e-Islami (HIG) who illegally entered the U.S. in California and was arrested on March 10, 2023. Instead of being processed for removal, he was enrolled in an Alternatives to Detention monitoring program for two weeks and then “allowed to roam free in the U.S. for ten months, unmonitored, until ICE agents arrested him again due to potential terrorist ties,” the senators said.
Another example is of a Somali national on the FBI Terrorist Watchlist as “a confirmed member” of the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, who illegally entered the U.S. in California in March 2023. Instead of being processed for removal, he was released into the country. Nearly one year later, he was arrested in Minnesota for his alleged involvement in the use, manufacture or transportation of explosives or firearms, they said.
Another is an Uzbekistan national with alleged ties to ISIS who illegally entered the U.S. in Arizona in February 2022. He was arrested by Border Patrol agents and instead of being processed for removal, he also was released into the U.S. In May 2023, the Uzbekistan government issued an international notice that he was wanted for his ties to ISIS, “which U.S. officials failed to discover until March of this year,” the senators note.
They also point to two Jordanians “posing as Amazon subcontractors attempted to breach Marine Corps Base Quantico” last month as examples of DHS failures. One had overstayed his student visa by roughly 18 months; the other illegally entered the U.S. in California in April. Instead of being detained and processed for removal, he was released on his own recognizance to appear before an immigration judge. One of the men was on the Terrorist Watch List.
These are in addition to the greatest number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) illegally entering the U.S. in the last nearly three fiscal years, according to CBP data. In fiscal 2024 through June 20, 316 KSTs have been apprehended, with the majority, 199, at the northern border, according to CBP data.
The greatest number of KSTs to ever be apprehended in U.S. history was in fiscal 2023 of 736; with the majority, 487, apprehended at the northern border, including an Iranian with terrorist ties, The Center Square first reported.
The senators asked DHS to respond to questions about the names and identities of arrested KSTs, where they illegally entered the U.S., if they claimed asylum, what the vetting process was, if they were connected to ISIS or other terrorist organizations, among other questions.
DHS was given a deadline of Tuesday to provide the requested information.
Republican Derrick Anderson emerged as the winner of the June 18, 2024, Republican Primary for Virignia’s 7th Congressional District.
The district includes eastern Prince William County, Stafford, and Spostylvania counties, and Fredericksburg.
Anderson secured 16,203 votes, accounting for 45.25% of the total votes cast. He will face Democrat Eugene Vindman in the upcoming November 2024 General Election.
The primary race saw Anderson leading comfortably among his competitors. His closest rival, Cameron Hamilton, garnered 13,333 votes, representing 37.23% of the electorate, which was not enough to close the gap with Anderson. Jon Myers came in third with 4,585 votes, capturing 12.80% of the total vote. The remaining candidates, John Prabhudoss, Maria Martin, and Terris Todd, received significantly fewer votes, with each securing less than 3% of the total.
Our country is the weakest it has been since the event that drove me to run for Congress: the botched withdrawal in Afghanistan. I lost five of my guys, including Green Berets, in Afghanistan, and I was disgusted by the weakness portrayed by the United States during the chaotic withdrawal that saw 20 years of progress and sacrifice wasted in the blink of an eye,” Andesron said in his election night speech on June 18. “We will secure our border to make sure our communities are safe again, our nation is secure, and to guarantee that those who immigrated here legally still have access to the American dream they came here for. We will make living more affordable. It’s time Washington be reminded that their policies are impacting each of us more than they try to understand, and it starts right in our pocket books, wallets, and at our kitchen tables. That ends today.”
Anderson made a bid for the nomination in 2022, but lost to Yesli Vega.Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) has held the the 7th District congressional seat since 2018. She’s not seeking re-election to Congress but is running for Virginia Governor in 2025.
Pivoting to the General Election, Anderson tells us he’ll be knocking doors in Prince William County tomorrow, June 22, 2024.
Vindman, of Dale City, ran a campaign solely to oppose Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President. He and his twin brother Alexander Vindman were key figures in Trump’s first impeachment in 2020.
Vindman cruised to victory over a sea of Democrat candidates vying for the nomination, winning nearly 50% of the vote in the district. He out raised them, too, raking in more than $5 million, mainly from out-of-state liberal donors who oppose Trump.
