This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/us/politics/tyson-fairfax-sexual-assault.html

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Second Woman Accuses Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia of Sexual Assault Second Woman Accuses Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia of Sexual Assault
(about 1 hour later)
A second woman came forward Friday with claims that she had been sexually assaulted by Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, alleging that he raped her while they were students at Duke University in 2000 and demanding that he resign immediately. A second woman came forward Friday with claims that she had been sexually assaulted by Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax of Virginia, intensifying the weeklong political crisis in the state and leading some top fellow Democrats to call for Mr. Fairfax to resign.
The statement released by a lawyer for the woman, Meredith Watson, said her client was coming forward out of a sense of civic duty after learning about allegations disclosed earlier this week by Vanessa C. Tyson, a political science professor at Scripps College, who said she was assaulted by Mr. Fairfax in 2004 during the Democratic National Convention. The woman, Meredith Watson, accused Mr. Fairfax of raping her while they were students at Duke University in 2000, saying in a statement that his actions were “premeditated and aggressive” and demanding that he resign immediately. Ms. Watson spoke out two days after Vanessa C. Tyson, a political science professor at Scripps College, said she was assaulted by Mr. Fairfax in 2004 during the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
“The details of Ms. Watson’s attack are similar to those described by Dr. Vanessa Tyson,” said the statement, released by Nancy Erika Smith, a New Jersey lawyer representing Ms. Watson. The statement described the rape as “premeditated and aggressive.’’ Mr. Fairfax, in a statement issued Friday evening, denied all of the allegations and called the latest one “demonstrably false.” He vowed he would not resign.
The disclosure comes two days after Dr. Tyson issued a statement providing a detailed account of the episode with Mr. Fairfax. Her allegations deepened the political leadership crisis in Virginia, where the governor and attorney general are facing calls to resign after admitting in recent days that they donned blackface as younger men. Mr. Fairfax has denied he ever assaulted Dr. Tyson. “I demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegations,” Mr. Fairfax said. “Such an investigation will confirm my account because I am telling the truth.”
In a statement issued shortly after Ms. Watson came forward, Mr. Fairfax issued another denial, calling the allegation “demonstrably false’’ and vowing that he would not resign. “I will clear my good name,” he added.
“I demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegations,’’ he said. “Such an investigation will confirm my account because I am telling the truth.’’ After days of intense pressure on the state’s Democratic governor and attorney general over past incidents when they wore blackface, the spotlight has swung quickly to Mr. Fairfax, who only days ago had been preparing for the possibility of replacing Gov. Ralph Northam and becoming the state’s second African-American governor if Mr. Northam bowed to calls to resign.
“I will clear my good name.’’ Now Mr. Fairfax is facing those demands himself: After Mr. Watson’s allegation became public on Friday, two Democrats — former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia and Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, both 2020 presidential candidates — said Mr. Fairfax should step down.
“The allegations against Justin Fairfax are serious and credible,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “It is clear to me that he can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia as lieutenant governor.”
For Virginia Democrats and national party leaders, the political turmoil in the state is complicated by issues of race and the state’s racist history as the onetime heart of the Confederacy. Mr. Northam and the attorney general, Mark Herring, are both white men who have admitted wearing blackface in the past. Many Democrats have been calling for Mr. Northam to resign, but some have been offering words of support for Mr. Herring.
If Mr. Northam resigns, Mr. Fairfax is next in line to become governor. If Mr. Northam and Mr. Fairfax were to resign, Mr. Herring would become governor.
On Thursday night, the state’s two Democratic senators, several members of Congress from Virginia and some 2020 Democratic presidential candidates called for an investigation into Dr. Tyson’s allegation against Mr. Fairfax. The Times published accounts from five people on Friday who said that Dr. Tyson had told them over the last two years that she had been sexually assaulted by Mr. Fairfax.
Representative Jennifer Wexton, a Northern Virginia Democrat who was elected to Congress last year, offered Mr. Fairfax no support on Friday.
“I believe Dr. Vanessa Tyson,” she wrote on Twitter. “I believe Meredith Watson. And I believe Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax must resign.”
Nancy Erika Smith, a lawyer for Ms. Watson, said in the statement outlining her client’s allegations that Ms. Watson was coming forward out of a sense of civic duty after learning about allegations by Dr. Tyson.
“The details of Ms. Watson’s attack are similar to those described by Dr. Vanessa Tyson,” said the statement from Ms. Smith, a New Jersey lawyer representing Ms. Watson.
In an interview, Ms. Smith recounted her client’s claim that Mr. Fairfax assaulted her during spring break in 2000 in a room at the house of Alpha Phi Alpha, an African-American fraternity at Duke.
“It was her sophomore year at Duke and his senior year, and they were hanging out,’’ Ms. Smith said. “They had never dated. She had dated one of his friends. They did not have a romantic relationship. He gets up and walks out. Comes back in. Shuts off the light and locks the door. She knew things were going south when he locked the door.”
Ms. Smith would not describe details of the alleged sexual assault. Ms. Smith said her client did not seek medical attention or go to police or the university administration, saying Ms. Watson perceived Mr. Fairfax as a politically influential figure on campus.
Karen Kessler, a spokeswoman for Ms. Watson, said in an interview that she is not planning on litigation or seeking financial compensation.Karen Kessler, a spokeswoman for Ms. Watson, said in an interview that she is not planning on litigation or seeking financial compensation.
“She has been concerned and angered by what she’s been reading about another victim so she decided to tell her story,” said Ms. Kessler.“She has been concerned and angered by what she’s been reading about another victim so she decided to tell her story,” said Ms. Kessler.
She said Ms. Watson, who graduated from Duke a year after Mr. Fairfax and has worked as a fundraising consultant for non-profit companies, would not be conducting any interviews discussing her allegations. She said Ms. Watson, who graduated from Duke a year after Mr. Fairfax and has worked as a fund-raising consultant for nonprofit companies, would not be conducting any interviews discussing her allegations.
Ms. Kessler is a New Jersey-based public relations consultant and has worked on other sexual misconduct cases with Ms. Smith. Before Ms. Watson came forward, Mr. Fairfax had been grappling with Dr. Tyson’s allegation and repeatedly insisting that had been falsely accused and that no corroboration existed. But in recent days, friends and colleagues of Dr. Tyson’s have come forward to support her.
As Dr. Tyson’s allegations roiled Virginia politics this week, friends and colleagues of hers have come forward to support her. Two professors currently joining Dr. Tyson in a prestigious fellowship at Stanford told The New York Times that she recounted the episode with Mr. Fairfax to them last fall, saying he had sexually assaulted her. Two professors currently joining Dr. Tyson in a prestigious fellowship at Stanford told The New York Times that she recounted the episode with Mr. Fairfax to them last fall, saying he had sexually assaulted her.
“What she told us was pretty much exactly what was in the statement that she released but with vastly less detail,” said Dr. Elizabeth A. Armstrong.“What she told us was pretty much exactly what was in the statement that she released but with vastly less detail,” said Dr. Elizabeth A. Armstrong.
Another fellow, Jennifer J. Freyd, a University of Oregon professor known for her work in sexual violence, also remembers the conversation, relaying how Dr. Tyson described how the incident was “clearly a traumatic experience.”Another fellow, Jennifer J. Freyd, a University of Oregon professor known for her work in sexual violence, also remembers the conversation, relaying how Dr. Tyson described how the incident was “clearly a traumatic experience.”
Mr. Fairfax has vigorously denied Dr. Tyson’s account, which she laid out publicly in a statement her lawyers issued Wednesday. His ability to stay on as lieutenant governor now appears more precarious, with leading Democrats — including Virginia’s legislative black caucus and some members of the Congressional Black Caucus — calling for an investigation and bracing for more details about the accusation.
In interviews with The Times this week, five people said that Dr. Tyson told them over the last two years that she had been sexually assaulted in an encounter at the convention, and that her account was consistent with her public statement this week. The people said she provided varying levels of detail to them, but three of them said she identified the assailant as Mr. Fairfax, a lieutenant governor, or a politician on the rise.In interviews with The Times this week, five people said that Dr. Tyson told them over the last two years that she had been sexually assaulted in an encounter at the convention, and that her account was consistent with her public statement this week. The people said she provided varying levels of detail to them, but three of them said she identified the assailant as Mr. Fairfax, a lieutenant governor, or a politician on the rise.
Dr. Tyson did not tell anyone in 2004 about the encounter with Mr. Fairfax, according to people close to her legal team, and she did not notify or file a complaint with police.Dr. Tyson did not tell anyone in 2004 about the encounter with Mr. Fairfax, according to people close to her legal team, and she did not notify or file a complaint with police.
But throughout academia, there has been an outpouring of encouragement for Dr. Tyson, 42, who has taught at Scripps College in California and Dickinson College in Pennsylvania over the last decade, and earned a Ph.D in political science from the University of Chicago.But throughout academia, there has been an outpouring of encouragement for Dr. Tyson, 42, who has taught at Scripps College in California and Dickinson College in Pennsylvania over the last decade, and earned a Ph.D in political science from the University of Chicago.
[Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping American politics with our newsletter.][Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping American politics with our newsletter.]
More than 740 academics have signed a letter of support for her, according to its organizer, Nadia E. Brown, a political scientist at Purdue University who said Dr. Tyson also told her of the assault. A GoFundMe account, set up by a political scientist at Menlo College in California, had raised more than $20,000 as of Friday morning. A hashtag has sprung up on Twitter: #IBelieveVanessa.More than 740 academics have signed a letter of support for her, according to its organizer, Nadia E. Brown, a political scientist at Purdue University who said Dr. Tyson also told her of the assault. A GoFundMe account, set up by a political scientist at Menlo College in California, had raised more than $20,000 as of Friday morning. A hashtag has sprung up on Twitter: #IBelieveVanessa.
“Everything she said in her statement was exactly what she told me when we talked,” said Diane L. Rosenfeld, a founding director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard Law School, who said Dr. Tyson told her of the assault in December 2017.“Everything she said in her statement was exactly what she told me when we talked,” said Diane L. Rosenfeld, a founding director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard Law School, who said Dr. Tyson told her of the assault in December 2017.
“She’s not doing this for any fame,” Dr. Rosenfeld added. “She’s not suing him for money, so disbelievers and doubters can’t say, ‘Oh, she just wants money.’ She just wants, as she says, the Virginia voters to know who this person is.”“She’s not doing this for any fame,” Dr. Rosenfeld added. “She’s not suing him for money, so disbelievers and doubters can’t say, ‘Oh, she just wants money.’ She just wants, as she says, the Virginia voters to know who this person is.”
Dr. Tyson’s account was also partly corroborated late Wednesday night by Representative Bobby Scott, Democrat of Virginia, whose aides said Dr. Tyson told the congressman a year ago that she had made an allegation of sexual assault against Mr. Fairfax, without offering details.Dr. Tyson’s account was also partly corroborated late Wednesday night by Representative Bobby Scott, Democrat of Virginia, whose aides said Dr. Tyson told the congressman a year ago that she had made an allegation of sexual assault against Mr. Fairfax, without offering details.
Dr. Tyson has declined to give an interview to The Times. She has said she was spurred to come forward by the realization that Mr. Fairfax might soon become Virginia governor. That possibility arose after the disclosure last week of a racist photograph on Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook page, and his subsequent admission that he had once blackened his face as part of a Michael Jackson costume, leading to widespread calls for him to resign.Dr. Tyson has declined to give an interview to The Times. She has said she was spurred to come forward by the realization that Mr. Fairfax might soon become Virginia governor. That possibility arose after the disclosure last week of a racist photograph on Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook page, and his subsequent admission that he had once blackened his face as part of a Michael Jackson costume, leading to widespread calls for him to resign.
In her statement, Dr. Tyson described a forced sexual encounter with Mr. Fairfax in a Boston hotel room while the two were working at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. It began with kissing that was “not unwelcome,” she said, but quickly escalated into non-consensual oral sex.In her statement, Dr. Tyson described a forced sexual encounter with Mr. Fairfax in a Boston hotel room while the two were working at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. It began with kissing that was “not unwelcome,” she said, but quickly escalated into non-consensual oral sex.
She asked for privacy, insisting that she wanted to resume her life as an academic and professor. “I do not want to get embroiled in this highly charged political environment,” she wrote in the statement.She asked for privacy, insisting that she wanted to resume her life as an academic and professor. “I do not want to get embroiled in this highly charged political environment,” she wrote in the statement.
At the time of the alleged assault, Dr. Tyson was already volunteering at a Boston rape crisis center. She had helped start the center’s Survivor Speakers Bureau, where she shared her story about being sexually abused as a child. She also started a self-esteem program for female juvenile offenders in Massachusetts, according to a biography posted on her personal web page.At the time of the alleged assault, Dr. Tyson was already volunteering at a Boston rape crisis center. She had helped start the center’s Survivor Speakers Bureau, where she shared her story about being sexually abused as a child. She also started a self-esteem program for female juvenile offenders in Massachusetts, according to a biography posted on her personal web page.
Her work at the rape crisis center made her attack feel “especially degrading,” she said in her statement. She said she did not speak of it for years because she felt “deep humiliation and shame.”Her work at the rape crisis center made her attack feel “especially degrading,” she said in her statement. She said she did not speak of it for years because she felt “deep humiliation and shame.”
In separate interviews Thursday and Friday, five friends of Dr. Tyson said she told them of the encounter either in late 2017, early 2018 or last Fall. One, a mutual friend of Dr. Tyson and Mr. Fairfax, who asked not to be named to protect his own privacy, said he dated Dr. Tyson in the late 1990s and believed her account. Given her experience with abuse as a child, he said, she was not the type of person to become intimate in the way she described with someone she had just met.In separate interviews Thursday and Friday, five friends of Dr. Tyson said she told them of the encounter either in late 2017, early 2018 or last Fall. One, a mutual friend of Dr. Tyson and Mr. Fairfax, who asked not to be named to protect his own privacy, said he dated Dr. Tyson in the late 1990s and believed her account. Given her experience with abuse as a child, he said, she was not the type of person to become intimate in the way she described with someone she had just met.
The distinguished Stanford fellowship she began last fall is merely the latest rung up the academic ladder for Dr. Tyson, who had a working class upbringing in the Los Angeles area, the biracial daughter of a single white mother. Her mother often took her to Los Angeles Dodgers games when she was growing up, buying cheap tickets for seats in the bleachers, and today Dr. Tyson remains an avid fan.The distinguished Stanford fellowship she began last fall is merely the latest rung up the academic ladder for Dr. Tyson, who had a working class upbringing in the Los Angeles area, the biracial daughter of a single white mother. Her mother often took her to Los Angeles Dodgers games when she was growing up, buying cheap tickets for seats in the bleachers, and today Dr. Tyson remains an avid fan.
Dr. Tyson graduated from Princeton in 1998 and would later tell the Princeton Alumni Weekly that she identified as African-American partly because that was the way the world saw her. “I am biracial, but I could not pass for white,” she said.Dr. Tyson graduated from Princeton in 1998 and would later tell the Princeton Alumni Weekly that she identified as African-American partly because that was the way the world saw her. “I am biracial, but I could not pass for white,” she said.
She would go on to obtain a masters and doctorate, both in political science, at the University of Chicago.She would go on to obtain a masters and doctorate, both in political science, at the University of Chicago.
Now a professor of politics at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., Dr. Tyson is also the author of a book, “Multiracial Coalitions and Minority Representation in the US House of Representatives,” published in 2016.Now a professor of politics at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., Dr. Tyson is also the author of a book, “Multiracial Coalitions and Minority Representation in the US House of Representatives,” published in 2016.
In a statement issued Thursday, the college confirmed that Dr. Tyson “shared with several members of the Scripps community the details about a 2004 sexual assault,” and said those conversations “are consistent” with her written account.In a statement issued Thursday, the college confirmed that Dr. Tyson “shared with several members of the Scripps community the details about a 2004 sexual assault,” and said those conversations “are consistent” with her written account.
Dr. Tyson’s personal story has also lately merged with her professional life. Fellow academics say that especially since the 2016 election, and with the rise of the #MeToo movement, she has been thinking about sexual assault in the context of political science.
Last year, after a prominent political scientist in the Midwest was accused of sexual harassment by a former student, Dr. Tyson became part of a collective of feminist political scientists that called itself #MeTooPoliSci, said Dr. Brown of Purdue, one of the group’s organizers.
The group, dedicated to addressing harassment and imbalances of power within the political science field, mounted a letter-writing campaign and silent protests, and raised money to pay for victims’ legal expenses, Dr. Brown said. It also issued the letter of support for Dr. Tyson this week.
“In addition to being political scientists,” its authors wrote, “many of us are also scholars of the politics of race, gender, and sexuality, and as such, we recognize the all-too-familiar tropes that are being deployed to try to shame, silence, and delegitimize Dr. Tyson.”
“I really see her as speaking truth to power,” Dr. Brown said. Referring to Dr. Tyson’s openness about her childhood experience, she added: “She’s sharing her story pretty much in a matter-of-fact way. She doesn’t pull you aside to tell you what happened; she doesn’t talk about it in hushed tones. She owns it.”
Friends describe Dr. Tyson as gregarious, and a mentor to younger scholars, particularly people of color. “Academics are socially awkward people,” Dr. Brown said. “We tend to be a lot more introspective and quiet and reserved, and she pulls people out of their shells.”Friends describe Dr. Tyson as gregarious, and a mentor to younger scholars, particularly people of color. “Academics are socially awkward people,” Dr. Brown said. “We tend to be a lot more introspective and quiet and reserved, and she pulls people out of their shells.”
Bernard Fraga, an assistant professor of political science at Indiana University, said Dr. Tyson mentored him after they met at political science conferences.
“It was very clear that she was an advocate for young scholars especially,” he said, as well as for “minority scholars of color who were often marginalized in our discipline.’’
Dr. Freyd, the Oregon professor who is also doing a fellowship at Stanford, said that she and Dr. Tyson have become close despite having known each other for only a few months. On Thursday, Dr. Freyd joined 35 other fellows at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences to support her.Dr. Freyd, the Oregon professor who is also doing a fellowship at Stanford, said that she and Dr. Tyson have become close despite having known each other for only a few months. On Thursday, Dr. Freyd joined 35 other fellows at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences to support her.
“We are incredibly proud to call Vanessa Tyson a colleague,” their statement said. “We know her to be a thoughtful scholar of integrity and compassion and stand with her in this difficult time.”“We are incredibly proud to call Vanessa Tyson a colleague,” their statement said. “We know her to be a thoughtful scholar of integrity and compassion and stand with her in this difficult time.”
Next Tuesday, Drs. Tyson and Freyd are planning a symposium at Stanford — arranged well before Dr. Tyson disclosed her allegations. It is titled “Betrayal and Courage in the Age of #MeToo.”Next Tuesday, Drs. Tyson and Freyd are planning a symposium at Stanford — arranged well before Dr. Tyson disclosed her allegations. It is titled “Betrayal and Courage in the Age of #MeToo.”