A routine traffic stop is going viral today for all the wrong reasons.
At 2:00 am last Sunday, a member of the Christiansburg Police Department pulled over Democratic Virginia State Delegate Chris Hurst on suspicion of drunk driving.
The officer observed Hurst’s vehicle swerve in-and-out over the fog line several times.
When he approached the vehicle, he noted the smell of alcohol and observed that the Democrat’s eyes were red.
The officer proceeded to conduct field sobriety tests and administered a portable breath test to determine Hurst’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). We should note that this test is not admissible as evidence in court.
Nevertheless, it registered that Hurst had a BAC level of .085, above the legal limit. Yet because Hurst’s girlfriend was sober and could drive and the officer concluded that Hurst would be under the legal limit by the time they reached the station for a formal breathalyzer, he let him go.
The officer since admitted that he knew Hurst was a delegate. While this naturally raises questions about the lack of accountability politicians face, a little-known section of the Virginia Constitution would have invalidated Hurst’s arrest regardless.
Section IV, Article 9 states that “unless they have committed treason, a felony, or a breach of peace, legislators are immune from arrest while the General Assembly is in session.”
Townhall further reports:
The incident comes as Hurst has been championing the gun control bills that are being considered by the General Assembly after Democrats gained control of the state legislature. Hurst demonized the gun rights rally in Richmond that occurred on Martian Luther King Jr. Day.
He has a history of advocating for banning “weapons of war” because “weapons meant for war should stay on the battlefield.” Hurst ran to become a delegate after his then-girlfriend, along with her cameraman, was shot and killed while she was giving a report on-air.
the other side tried to say our precautions about the gun rally in Richmond were unfounded. they’re wrong and our gun safety proposals are wanted by a majority of Virginians. We’ll finish the job and do what the majority demands. https://t.co/UKPXxDtE5H
— Delegate Chris Hurst (@ChrisHurstVA) January 21, 2020
[email protected] is running for Congress and delivers a message we should all agree with — weapons meant for war should stay on the battlefield. Hope you give him a follow and help his campaign. https://t.co/f9tNZfLJa1
— Delegate Chris Hurst (@ChrisHurstVA) May 16, 2018
I brought pillows and blankets, they brought their bravery and courage to lobby lawmakers when armed militias are outside. #IStandWithVirginia https://t.co/nN1B5GdRF5
— Delegate Chris Hurst (@ChrisHurstVA) January 20, 2020
As I was on the ground during the Second Amendment rally, it was certainly no white nationalist gathering. It is worth noting that despite the massive number of firearms that were in Richmond, no one was shot or injured.
Even more so, Hurst’s drunk driving was more dangerous to the public’s safety than “weapons of war” in the commonwealth. According to the Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles, 262 people were killed and 2,982 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in 2018. Contrasted with the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for 2018, only 8 Virginians were known to have been killed by a rifle of any kind.
AAN Staff
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