Far-right conservative group drops false, threatening election flyers in Prince William, Fauquier

By Cher Muzyk Times Staff Writer Oct 5, 2023 Updated Oct 6, 2023



These false and threatening doorhangers were found on homes in the Bristow area on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Prince William County Office of Elections

UPDATED: Residents in Fauquier and Prince William counties were surprised this week when they received flyers falsely threatening that they could lose their Social Security income, bank accounts and even their child custody rights if they did not vote in the upcoming Nov. 7 election. … The flyers were reported to the offices of elections in both counties. Prince William County General Registrar Eric Olsen said he contacted Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth and the Virginia Department of Elections for possible investigations.

“I contacted the commonwealth’s attorney because the egregiousness of the message was pretty absurd,” Olsen said in an interview with the Prince William Times on Thursday. “The information (on the flyers) was completely off-base and would make people very concerned about their rights on multiple levels.” … Ashworth confirmed in an email that her office “did receive a photograph of the flyer from the registrar and … we are looking into it.”

The flyers say they are distributed by “Virginia Voter Assistance” and that the group “does not support or oppose candidates for public office.” … “Virginia Voter Assistance” is a “special project” of Look Ahead America, a conservative political nonprofit founded in 2017 by Matt Braynard, the former director of data and strategy for the Trump presidential campaign, according to its website.

Based in Washington, D.C.,the group’s mission is to serve “millions of rural and blue-collar patriotic Americans who are disaffected and disenfranchised from the nation’s corridors of power.” … In the last few years, the group’s main objectives have been advocating for those arrested for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters attempting to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.

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This story has been updated with a response from Look Ahead America. Reach Cher Muzyk at cmuzyk@fauquier.com