Misjudgement day: FBI memo a disappointing revelation

ROSLYN RYAN Editor

If only I had known.

To say the news came as a shock would be an understatement. But there it was, in black and white, the truth I might never otherwise have stumbled upon: I was raised by extremists.

Well, not extremists exactly, but Catholics. And if you happen to put much faith in an internal FBI memo that was recently leaked to the public, they are one in the same. Surely you know the kind of Catholics I’m talking about, even if you yourself don’t practice the religion—the kind who go about pretending to work hard, provide for their families, serve their communities and then sneak off on Sundays to attend church services delivered in Latin and plot the demise of…well, I’m not sure.

In fact, the Catholics the FBI agents described in that now-rescinded and widely denounced memo— the “bad Catholics” who attend the Latin mass and want to take everyone back to the Dark Ages before the church became more open and inclusive—are probably not the people you will ever find on a most wanted list.

In my experience they are people who appreciate and find comfort in tradition, and who enjoy communing with others who feel the same way. I’m sure you could probably find some who wouldn’t mind a return to the old way of doing things, but if looking back nostalgically on the “good old days” makes someone a threat, the FBI is going to have an awful lot of people to investigate.

The memo reportedly even floated the idea of recruiting people to sneak into churches and ferret out the “bad” Catholics. Should those people happen to be infiltrating the specific Latin mass my dad attends, I would caution them against asking him anything about national politics, or the Pacific campaign during World War II, or the VCU men’s basketball team’s recent performance at the free throw line. While doing this would offer a copious amount of information for their report, it will also give the actual extremists time to escape.

One other note to the FBI: no one is an extremist because they are a Catholic—they are extremists because they are extremists.

I’m not sure, to be honest, if the level of outrage some Catholics have expressed about this latest revelation is entirely warranted. No one has suggested, after all, that Catholics be banned from the country, or that Catholicism promotes terrorism or that American Catholics ever gathered to celebrate the horrific deaths of thousands of people in a terrorist attack (each of these things has happened to Muslim Americans in the recent past).

But the report is disappointing, if only for the fact that it so flagrantly vilifies a group of people based solely on their religious beliefs.

Those charged with upholding our laws are duty-bound to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans.

We must demand that they do better.

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Bathroom debate will ultimately come down to which side is the loudest

To the Editor, At the most recent meeting of the Goochland County School Board, speakers for and against non-gender bathrooms spoke. As is often the case, those in favor of endangering children engage in personal attacks against those who oppose endangering their wellbeing.

These people truly believe that wrong is right and right is wrong. There is no way to reason with them. I told a friend of mine almost seven years ago that the next thing that the extremists will push is pedophilia is normal. This bathroom lack of privacy is the part of the opening salvo. Shall we wait to have incidents such as what happened in Loudoun County occur here before we correct this?

Those in doubt about their sex should have their own bathroom. Then the overwhelming majority who know that they are male or female can use bathrooms designated for them in privacy and without fear. My understanding of parliamentary law is that the majority rules, but the minority has a right to be heard. We have certainly heard from the minority.

School Boards and Boards of Supervisors are elected to represent their constituents. That means they represent the will of the majority.

God have mercy on us all. We must stand up for what we know is true, lawful and in the best interest of not only children, but everyone. There are fewer of them. We must out-shout them. The ones who make the most noise will prevail in this environment. Our leaders, many of whom are cowards, will capitulate to the loudest voices. That must be us.

Pamela C. Johnson Hadensville

Leaders should not be spreading false information

Dear Editor, I’m writing in response to the recent school board meeting on Feb. 14 and the school board meeting of July 2021.

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I attended the meeting on Feb. 14 and reviewed the video of the July 2021 meeting.

It’s important for citizens of Goochland to know that what they witnessed at each of these meetings in the large group opposing what they called school board policies (transgender bathroom usage, library issues) was not a grass roots movement but one orchestrated by large donors and spearheaded by groups like No Left Turn and Moms For Liberty. Frequently these groups assign talking points and organize citizens to attend board meetings to stir up mistrust, target marginalized students and stoke fear. It works! Fear is a great motivator.

I urge Goochlanders to go to the school board live stream website and watch the public comments on those two dates. Observe that talking points used time and time again on July 2021 about CRT begin divisive, the incorrect assumption that it’s taught in public schools (one speaker makes the analogy to indoctrinating young men into ISIS), the vague issues with “transgenderism” are repeated by people walking up to the podium claiming they

Please see LETTERS, Page 7 hadn’t planned on speaking but were moved to, as they read the written notes they conveniently had in their hands, repeating the same tropes.

The same orchestration occurred on Feb. 14, this time complete with signage and stickers proclaiming “Privacy Matters.” And accompanied by the shout of “Groomers” by some in the audience who clearly don’t understand the meaning of that word.

When the current iteration of our school board was elected they adopted new codes of ethics, they aimed for transparency. Parents have ample time to review curricula, books and policy and to opt out if they don’t want their children reading certain material or receiving certain teachings (sex ed/family life for one). It is only because an outside group without knowledge of the way Goochland operates came in and assumed we do things differently that our citizens suddenly became suspicious of our school board, our teachers and our librarians. These groups were aided and abetted by some within our community who are also pushing the agendas of No Left Turn and Moms For Liberty, as well as the 1776 project. These groups have contributed substantially to the campaign of a school board member (see VPAP). The motivation appears to be power and control. Nothing should motivate our school board other than the education and safety of our students.

A supervisor working to get Angela Adams re-elected and Karen Wirsing elected demanded the names, addresses and other information of the parents and guardians of all Goochland public school students three days before the Feb. 14 meeting under the Freedom of Information Act. The school complied. One can only assume, and this is the kindest assumption, that this person is using that information to contact voters and ask them to support Angela Allen and Karen Wirsing in November’s election. This is a violation of the Code of Ethics this supervisor signed. One might also assume, especially if you’re a parent of an LGBTQ+ student who might have seen this person laughing at the cries of “Groomer” shouted at them during that meeting, that they might use them for nefarious purposes as well.

Time will tell.

I trust our school board, our superintendent, our teachers and librarians to make sound judgments when it comes to our students. I expect them to aim high, to abide by the Code of Ethics they signed. My trust has not been misplaced but I see outside factors and players attempting to spread fear and misinformation and undermine our schools.

Jenifer Strozier Goochland

School board member should not have been attacked for asking question

Dear Editor, The Feb.14 Goochland County Public Schools school board meeting was very sad. I was appalled by the personal attacks against one school board member, Angela Allen. These attacks stemmed from her asking a very simple question in a social media post about the school’s transgender bathroom and locker room practices. She took no policy position.

How did an elected representative become the subject of this kind of public character assassination and vitriol for simply trying to understand the school division’s position and her constituent’s thoughts and concerns? Goochland – we are better than this.

Anyone who meets Angela immediately recognizes her intelligence, compassion and caring personality. She has a servant’s heart for this office that shows in her dedication to the work on behalf of the school division and her constituents. She does not assume that others have ill intent, which is the opposite of how she is being treated. Is it a policy or an open practice that allows students to use bathrooms and locker rooms different than their biological sex? It depends on who you ask – the answer isn’t clear and that is the crux of the problem. The school’s division’s position needs to be clarified and communicated clearly. With a great deal of respect for the hard work they do, I ask the school board members to step up and be forthcoming and transparent on this important policy matter. It is unfair and hurtful to vilify the one messenger who is trying to do this.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Lascolette Columbia

Investigating intricacies of commonwealth’s attorney role

Dear Editor, I am writing this article to address what many feel is the most important race in this year’s election cycle, the election of the commonwealth’s attorney. I could not understand why the party of the incumbent commonwealth’s attorney (CA) would ask another candidate from the same party to run against the incumbent. Is the incumbent performing his tasks so badly that he needs to be replaced? I began asking questions.

I was very uncomfortable with three areas of concern. First, I believed that Mike Caudill is a great CA. Second, this race could possibly split our party worse than the last sheriff’s race. Third, who would be Caudill’s replacement?

I was asked by protagonists and antagonists to follow the facts in order to decide whether Mike Caudill needed to be replaced. I spoke to many on both sides of the issue and realized that I needed to learn more about both jobs, that of the CA and the sheriff’s office.

I started interviewing many people to learn of what both jobs really consisted. It was quite an education. I spoke to judges, CAs, law enforcement officials and one defense attorney. Most of them I will not mention by name because their jobs disallowed political involvement. So, they spoke to me off the record.

We are talking about two departments, each with different responsibilities that overlap and cannot function without the other. As one judge put it, “the two offices must work together with a healthy tension.” Let’s talk about those two jobs that cause that tension.

Law enforcement must deal with the bad guys and, more importantly, their victims. The sheriff’s department must investigate the dirt. Dig in it, crawl around in it, listen to the horror stories, see the pain and the tears. Then they must take that information and turn it over to the CA’s office. Both must get together, diagnose the initial investigation, determine if more is needed and prep to go to court. This is one major area of “tension” that exists between both departments in every jurisdiction, not just in Goochland. As one of my interviewees put it, “generally, at this point, all law enforcement wants is to lock them up and throw away the key.”

As explained to me by several folks, the CA’s job is not to convict. The CA’s job is to “be fair to both sides.” I think the statement should have been “fair to all sides.” I have had a 30-year relationship with Larry Catlett, long time defense attorney, who will try his last case in March as he retires. Larry tried several cases through the years against Mike Caudill. He said that he was a fine attorney but more importantly, he was centered. In all the cases, Mike was always fair and, Larry, win or lose, never walked away with a bad taste in his mouth. He said people must remember that many of the folks that Mike must prosecute are Goochland citizens and he must look out for everyone in the community and, in many cases, is under a great deal of pressure from LE and family and friends on both side of the case. It’s a tough decision whether to go forward when LE or the victim’s family is pushing to indict.

Law enforcement brings all the information to the CA and that office must determine if there is enough evidence to indict and whether to move forward.

Then you have the judges. The CA must know his judge. As one judge explained it to me, you have judges with whom getting a conviction is very, very hard but when you get the conviction, a strong sentence is easy. Then there are those where the conviction is easy, but the sentences are light. I was told that in most cases, it didn’t matter if there were five counts or 45 counts against the defendant, if convicted, the sentence would be about the same.

After explaining that some folks wanted to unseat the sitting CA in Goochland, one judge interrupted me at the beginning of our conversation and asked me if he could ask me a question.

“What does the county think will be the result if they put an inexperienced prosecutor in this position with no one in the office who knows what is going on?’’ he asked. Unlike many CA offices throughout the Commonwealth, where the CA is an administrator and has a chief prosecutor and a host of assistant CAs to carry on when the new CA walks into the office, Goochland’s CA is both the administrator and the chief prosecutor and only has one assistant. As one former assistant CA pointed out, the job involves a special kind of law and doesn’t offer a lot of room for mistakes. It is a job that you must grow

Please see LETTERS, Page 8 into, in which it is critical to be mentored by an experienced prosecutor.

I also spoke to the head of the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He said that both the sheriff’s office and the CA from Goochland do an outstanding job for the task force. As of when I wrote this article, no one has been able to give me facts that show the Mike Caudill is unqualified to be CA.

Now, are there folks that want the CA removed from office using facts that have nothing to do with job performance? Absolutely! There folks that say that he is not “warm and fuzzy” or he supported a different candidate for another office that was different than the one that they supported. Is that the reason to remove him from office? That will be the voter’s decision.

The commonwealth’s attorney’s office is not perfect. The sheriff’s office is not perfect. Can they work out their differences? I believe that they will do just that because both departments realize that one can’t perform their job without the other. Goochland is so lucky to have two great departments.

More importantly, what I did learn from every person that I interviewed was this common thread: If Goochland County elects an inexperienced person to be commonwealth’s attorney, it will be a recipe for disaster.

Respectfully submitted,

Stan Corn Goochland

Commonwealth’s attorney role demands experience

Dear Editor,

Sometime later this year, most likely in the month of May, the citizens of Goochland will have the opportunity to vote to decide who will be the Republican candidate for the commonwealth’s attorney’s office at a Mass meeting, the exact day and location of which has yet to be determined. That may come as a surprise to some, who might wonder why, since the current office holder, Mr. Michael Caudill, has held the position for over six years, is running for re-election as a Republican and by all measures has done an outstanding job for the county. If you guessed this has nothing to do with actual qualifications and mostly to do with who likes who, then you will have guessed correctly! However, the position of commonwealth’s attorney is so important to all the citizens of Goochland County that only qualifications and job performance can be the deciding factors.

Mr. John Lumpkins has announced that he is pursuing the commonwealth’s attorney position and is backed by some members of the Goochland County Republican Committee, while other members of the committee are backing Mr. Caudill. Mr. Lumpkins’ LinkedIn profile lists multiple positions he has held over the last 26 years with various law firms including his own with a focus on, and I quote, “corporate law for small businesses, estate and trust planning, estate and trust administration, and real estate.” Over that same time period, Mr. Caudill has served a two-year stint as the assistant commonwealth’s attorney for Orange County, a four-year stint as the deputy commonwealth’s attorney for Goochland County and then the last six years as the commonwealth’s attorney of Goochland. The result is that Mike Caudill has years of experience in handling and prosecuting cases of child abuse, domestic violence, rape, assault and murder, illegal drug cases and many others. He is so well-respected that he is frequently asked for assistance in prosecuting cases from surrounding county prosecutors! Mr. Caudill can also take considerable pride in the fact that his office has achieved a 100% conviction rate in child pornography cases. What Mr. Caudill deals with every day is entirely different from the legal work involved in real estate and trust planning and administration, Mr. Lumpkins’ stated areas of expertise for over two decades.

I am extremely hard-pressed to find anything in Mr. Lumpkins’ background that has prepared him or equipped him with the skills necessary to be the extremely competent commonwealth’s attorney that Goochland County needs and deserves. Fortunately, we already have that in Mike Caudill. There are many types of doctors, just as there are many types of lawyers. However, if I needed a heart transplant, I surely would prefer a heart surgeon who had performed them successfully for 10 years as opposed to an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in knees and hips but suddenly decided he wanted to perform heart transplants. If we need a commonwealth’s attorney to prosecute murder, rape, assault, fentanyl and child porn cases here in Goochland, do you want one that has successfully done so for the last decade or a brand new one who for the last 20 years has devoted his time to working on real estate, trust and bankruptcy law? The answer is clear, case closed!

Let’s not let the decision of who will serve us as our commonwealth’s attorney come down to politics, personality or personal grudges. We are blessed in this county to have Michael Caudill as our commonwealth’s attorney. Please make it a goal to come out and vote for Mike in the upcoming Republican Mass Meeting. In all honesty, the safety and security of our county depend on it. We do not need Mr. Lumpkins put in a position of having to learn on the fly, especially with the welfare of Goochland County and its citizens at stake!

Glenn R. Diersen Sr. Goochland

Mike Caudill brings

right experience, knowledge of law

Dear Editor,

Have any of you noticed that there’s a commonwealth’s attorney’s race going on in Goochland County? Kinda looks like four years ago when campaign signs littered every pig path and right-of-way along our roads, doesn’t it? It seems the county can’t enforce our litter laws for all the trash on our roads so I suppose they couldn’t enforce a law for signs either. But, our litter situation is for another time and letter.

On Feb. 15, 2023, a debate/forum was held at Goochland’s American Legion Post 215 between Mike Caudill, Goochland’s current commonwealth’s attorney, and John Lumpkins, who is running against Caudill. The event was moderated by WRVA’s John Reid.

Caudill and Lumpkins detailed their qualifications and each candidate was given a certain amount of time in which to answer questions people had submitted ahead of time.

After hearing the two candidates, it became immediately apparent that Lumpkins is ill-suited to become the top prosecutor in a two-attorney office