Virginia
Trans man killed by Fairfax Police responding to mental health crisis
Parents say fatal shooting inside McLean home was unnecessary

A Fairfax County Police officer on July 7 shot and killed a transgender man who family members say was having a mental health crisis inside the family home where he lived after the man, identified as Jasper Aaron Lynch, 26, lunged at three officers while wielding a wine bottle as a weapon and refused the officers commands to drop the bottle, according to a statement released by Fairfax Police.
Lynch’s parents released their own statement saying the use of deadly force was unnecessary and that the officers should have handled the incident “far differently.”
The police shooting incident and the release by Fairfax Police of body camera footage of the incident was widely reported in the news media.
But the news that Lynch was a transgender man did not surface until Aug. 24, when the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, released a statement disclosing that Lynch was trans and expressed support for his parents’ contention that the shooting was uncalled for.
“Aaron’s death marks the third fatal shooting by the police of a transgender person recorded by HRC since 2020,” the HRC statement says. “Transgender people, especially transgender people of color, are at increased risk of experiencing police brutality, even in the wake of other encountered violence,” the statement says.
In a detailed statement posted on their website, Fairfax Police say police involvement leading to the fatal shooting began shortly after 7 p.m. on July 7 when officers responded to the McLean home where Lynch lived with his parents and sister after receiving a call from a friend. The police statement says the friend said he was concerned for Lynch’s safety because he was throwing objects inside the home and “pacing.”
A police team arrived at the home a short time later that included an officer assigned to the police Crisis Intervention Team and a clinician from the Sharon Bulova Center for Community Health, according to the statement. It says arriving officers were told Lynch left the residence before they arrived and couldn’t be found. The police team left the scene but shortly after police received a second call at about 8:34 p.m. from a friend of Lynch’s saying Lynch had returned to the house and he was again acting erratically. A second police team was then dispatched to the house, the statement says.
“This time, three crisis intervention trained officers arrived at the home and spoke to a family member on the scene,” the statement continues. “The officers found Lynch inside holding a bottle and an object, believed to be a large decorative wooden tribal mask,” the statement says, adding, “The officers attempted to de-escalate the situation with verbal commands inside the foyer of the home.”
The statement continues, “Lynch threw the mask at an officer and began to swing the bottle in striking motion. Two officers attempted to utilize their Electronic Control Weapons,” referring to police tasers, it says. “Lynch ran toward officers while swinging the bottle. One officer discharged his firearm, striking Lynch four times. Officers immediately rendered aid until fire and rescue personnel arrived. Lynch was pronounced deceased at the scene,” it says.
The police statement concludes by saying under department policy, the officers involved have “all been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of an administrative investigation by our Internal Affairs Bureau. An independent review will also be conducted by the Police Auditor.”
Lynch’s parents, Patrick and Kathy Lynch, declare in their own statement released to the media but that did not disclose that their son was transgender, that Lynch was “experiencing a severe mental health crisis on July 7.”
Their statement adds, “He was scared and asked for both 911 calls that were made that day. We believe that the three police officers who answered the second 911 call could have, and should have, handled this far differently.”
The statement continues, “To respond to Aaron’s mental health crisis by shooting him at all, let alone multiple times, cannot be justified. We recognize that, at times, police officers face grave and unknown dangers in the line of duty, but that was not the case for that call at our home regarding our son.”
A spokesperson for the Fairfax Police couldn’t immediately be reached on Friday to determine the status of the Internal Affairs investigation into the fatal police shooting of Lynch.
A link to the police body worn camera video and audio recording of the shooting and an explanation by police of what prompted the shooting can be accessed here:
Virginia
Walkinshaw wins Democratic primary in Va. 11th Congressional District
Special election winner will succeed Gerry Connolly

On Saturday, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the Democratic primary for the special election that will determine who will represent Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.
The special election is being held following the death of the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represented the district from 2008 until 2024, when he announced his retirement, and subsequently passed away from cancer in May.
Walkinshaw is not unknown to Virginia’s 11th District — he has served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020 and had served as Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019. Before he passed away, Connolly had endorsed Walkinshaw to take his place, claiming that choosing Walkinshaw to be his chief of staff was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”
The Democratic nominee has run his campaign on mitigating Trump’s “dangerous” agenda of dismantling the federal bureaucracy, which in the district is a major issue as many of the district’s residents are federal employees and contractors.
“I’m honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I’ve spent my career serving,” Walkinshaw said on X. “This victory was powered by neighbors, volunteers, and supporters who believe in protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and delivering for working families.”
In addition to protecting federal workers, Walkinshaw has a long list of progressive priorities — some of which include creating affordable housing, reducing gun violence, expanding immigrant protections, and “advancing equality for all” by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Fair Housing Act.
Various democratic PACs contributed more than $2 million to Walkinshaw’s ad campaigns, much of which touted his connection to Connolly.
Walkinshaw will face Republican Stewart Whitson in the special election in September, where he is the likely favorite to win.
Virginia
Spanberger touts equality, reproductive rights in Arlington
Democratic Va. gubernatorial nominee made campaign stop at Freddie’s Beach Bar

With the general election heating up and LGBTQ rights under increasing threat nationwide, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger brought her “Span Virginia Bus Tour” to Arlington’s Freddie’s Beach Bar for a campaign stop filled with cheers, policy pledges, and community spirit.
Spanberger, who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 through early 2025 for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, also served as a federal law enforcement officer specializing in narcotics and money laundering cases, and as a CIA case officer working on counterterrorism and nuclear counterproliferation.
Spanberger is running against Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor of Virginia, who said she was “morally opposed” to a bill protecting marriage equality in the commonwealth.
She was joined by other Democratic candidates and supporters: lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Ghazala Hashmi, attorney general candidate Jay Jones, Virginia state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), and Congressman Don Beyer.

Freddie’s was packed wall-to-wall with supporters, many of whom wore “Spanberger for Virginia” shirts in the progressive Pride flag colors. In her speech, she made it clear that LGBTQ Virginians’ rights are on the ballot this year.
“I’m so excited to be here, and I am so grateful to the entire staff of Freddy’s for letting us overtake this incredible venue that is not just an awesome place to come together in community, but is a symbol to so many people of joy, of happiness, of community and of celebrating our friends and our neighbors,” Spanberger told the packed restaurant. “It is exciting to be here, and particularly during this Pride month, and particularly as we reflect on the 10-year anniversary of Obergefell and the reality that we still have so much work to do.”
“The reality is there are so many people who still would be inclined to take us backwards,” she said. “In this moment when we see attacks on people’s rights, on people’s humanity, on Virginia, on our economy, on research, on public education, on food security, on health care, on Virginians, on their jobs, on public service and on people — it can get heavy.”
“What it does for me is it makes me want to double down, because once upon a time, when I was talking to my mother about some horror show or sequence of activities coming out of a particular administration, she did not really have the patience to listen to me and said ‘Abigail, let your rage fuel you’ — and the conversation was over. And so I reflect on that, because, in fact, every day there is so much fuel to be had in this world and in this moment.”
One of the points Spanberger continued to emphasize was the importance of steadfast state government officials following the election of President Donald Trump, which has led to rollbacks of LGBTQ and bodily autonomy rights as a result of the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court.
“What the past few years have shown us is that a Supreme Court decision, no matter how many years we have celebrated its existence, does not protect us in the long term. And so as governor, I will work to make sure that every protection we can put in place for the dignity, the value, and the equal rights of all Virginians is a priority.”
During her speech, Spanberger highlighted several of the key values driving her campaign — protecting reproductive freedom and human rights, lowering healthcare costs, safeguarding Virginia’s environment, and ensuring that public education is affordable, accessible, and rooted in truth, not politics.
Spanberger went as far as to say that she wants to amend the state’s constitution to remove Section 15-A. “The reality is that in Virginia, we still have a ban in our state constitution on marriage equality. It is of the utmost urgency that we move forward with our constitutional amendment.”
“We will work to ensure that that terrible constitutional amendment, that was put in years ago, is taken out and updated and ensuring that Virginia is reflective in our most essential documents of who we are as a commonwealth, which is an accepting place that celebrates the vibrancy of every single person and recognizes that all Virginians have a place, both in that constitution and in law,” she added.
Following the event, two supporters spoke to the Washington Blade about why they had come out to support Spanberger.
“I came out because I needed to show support for this ticket, because it has been a particularly rough week, but a long few years for our rights in this country, in this state, with this governor, and it’s — we need to flip it around, because queer people need protection,” said Samantha Perez, who lives in Ballston. “Trans people need protection. Trans kids need protection. And it’s not gonna happen with who’s in Richmond right now, and we just need to get it turned around.”

“The whole neighborhood’s here. All our friends are here,” said Annie Styles of Pentagon City. “It means the world to me to take care of each other. That’s what a good community does. That’s not what we’ve had with the Republicans here or across the nation for a really long time. It’s time to show that care. It’s time to make sure that good people are in a position to do good things.”

State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) will face John Reid in the race to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor.
Hashmi won the Democratic primary with 27.49 percent of the vote. She defeated former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado and Alexander Bastani.
“Tonight, Virginians made history,” said Hashmi in a statement. “We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”
Reid, a gay conservative talk show host, in April won the Republican nomination to succeed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The incumbent governor days after Reid secured the nomination called for him to withdraw his candidacy amid reports that a social media account with his username included “pornographic content.” Reid, who would become the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in Virginia if he wins in November, has strongly denied the reports.
Former state Del. Jay Jones defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in Democratic attorney general primary. Jones will face Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares in November.
Youngkin cannot run for a second, consecutive term.
Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will face off against Earle-Sears in November. The winner will make history as the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.
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