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Juggalo Justice: Insane Clown Posse’s March on DC in Portrait

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Juggalos are a deeply misunderstood subculture; the FBI classifying them as a gang in 2011 proves that. However, under the veneer of face paint, clown personas, costumes, and Faygo is a community of people that are deeply committed to one another. This was on full display at the Juggalo March on Washington DC this past Saturday. From a certain perspective, Insane Clown Posse (ICP), the hip-hop group that Juggalos originate from, are only the vehicle by which this community of people can come together. Free from the judgement of the mainstream that has spent years ridiculing their own unique brand of subculture, the Juggalos at the march on Washington were entirely accepting of themselves and those who came to document their struggle against the FBI gang classification.

Our experience documenting their march on Washington DC was special. Our entire team, including one journalist, two photographers, a videographer, and one of the magazine’s owners, all felt this. Perhaps it was the obvious juxtaposition of the Trump rally on the other side of the national mall, which was full of white resentment, loathing of the other, and militia groups, versus the camaraderie of the Juggalos, who were diverse, warm, and eager to tell their story – a story that starts with being deeply misunderstood.

As these portraits will hopefully show, the Juggalos considered themselves to be “family” above anything else, coming from all corners of the US to march in solidarity with one another. And throughout the day the chant that we consistently heard rise above the raucous was “family.” In today’s hyper-contextualized world, that is something we should all be able to relate to.

They came from all over America.


And were supported directly by the artists they love, like Violent J

Mothers. Fathers. Kids.

Because they are misunderstood and misrepresented.

So they demonstrated as a community.

And marched together.

 Accepting of each other.

Regardless of how they represented themselves.

For them, it was all about family.

And everything which comes with that.

 

*Words by Landon Shroder 

RVA Mag Inside Look: The Day Trump Supporters and Juggalos came to Washington DC

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Out of the weirdest days experienced, this one probably topped the list.

This past Saturday, while Richmond had its own win against white supremacy, the strangest conglomeration of rallies simultaneously converged on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

On the East End, just past the Washington Monument, Trump supporters assembled at the “Mother of All Rallies,” a group supporting “America, freedom, and patriotism,” according to their Facebook page. It turned out to be the baby of all rallies, as no more than a couple hundred people gathered, filling only about a quarter of the large space allotted on the East Lawn of the Mall.

Trump Supporters Pose with Trump Float.

“It’s just to show that we’re still here, that people really do like true, traditional American values,” said Christopher Greeley-Hermida, a Floridian and living historian. “It’s not just about Trump. When Trump came into office, he gave us enough confidence to get together.”

Country music blasted from the stage between speakers as protesters wore red, white, and blue, carried Trump signs, flags and buttons. A few counter-protesters were scattered throughout the crowd, and a small group of ANTIFA appeared on the sidelines. When any threat of misconduct developed between the two groups, a group of unarmed, nonpartisan militiamen barricaded themselves around the counter-protesters to prevent any conflict. Washington DC Park Police were also present.

Militiamen Guard a Counter-Protester.

“[Today] has been a mixed bag,” said Yve, a member of ANTIFA who preferred to use only her first name, of the Trump supporters. “One of the [militiamen] came over and had a really civil conversation about ideologies and really what’s at the root of both of our mentalities, and determined that we’re essentially on the same side.”

The rally lasted the entire day and featured speakers like Bruce Nathan, a Florida gubernatorial candidate on the Republican ticket, Christian radio host and singer Monica Matthews, and Marco Gutierrez, found of Latinos for Trump. Representatives from Gays for Trump and Bikers for Trump were also present.

“The problem isn’t Trump, the problem is the Republican party isn’t moving at his pace,” said Dave Delp, who claims to be frustrated that Congress has not been more supportive of Trump’s policies. “The Republicans haven’t been standing behind him, and that’s basically what we’re upset about.”

The majority of patrons were individual Trump supporters without any white nationalist group association; However, the Proud Boys, a national alt-right fraternal organization, did attend the rally. The Proud Boys, a group founded in 2016 by former Vice Magazine co-owner Gavin McInnes, also participated in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville on August 12.

Although many spirited, contentious arguments broke out over the course of the day, the rally was a peaceful one, and both Trump supporters and counter-protesters actively engaged in political conversations with each other. Although the two sides didn’t quite see eye-to-eye, it was a refreshing contrast to the behavior exhibited at the white supremacist rallies held over the summer throughout the country.

A Trump Supporter Debating with a Counter-Protester.

Nonetheless, on the other end of the Mall at the Lincoln Memorial, a very different event featured a massive turn-out from a small part of American subculture. Fans of the Insane Clown Posse (ICP), a Detroit-based hip-hop duo, who call themselves Juggalos held a march protesting the FBI’s 2011 classification of Juggalos as a “loosely organized hybrid gang.”

And between these two events, one bride lived out every woman’s dream as she was married on the National Mall with a Trump rally to her right and a Juggalo march to her left. The perfect way to start a marriage.

Juggalos Marching on Washington DC.

Despite huge Internet circulation of the march, which was seen as a joke by many Facebook users, in reality this clown gathering was no laughing matter. Many Juggalos are negatively affected by the FBI’s label, and having a Juggalo-related tattoo or wearing an ICP t-shirt is reason enough for a police officer to permanently mark these horrorcore hip-hop fans as “gang-affiliated.”

“With being a person of color, I’ve already got a big target on my back,” said Richard Williams, a Juggalo from Oakwood, CA. “But now with this whole gang thing, just with me being black and just wearing an ICP jersey or a t-shirt, I’m targeted even more by the police. Just walking down the street, I’ve been stopped by the police. I’ve been asked questions, I’ve had my tattoos taken photos of, asking me questions about the ICP and Juggalos, who our ‘leader’ is and everything, and I’m like, ‘I’m not a gangbanger dude, I’m going to work.’”

According to several testimonies from those who attended the march, these labels have caused fans to be fired from their jobs, lose adoption rights, and kept them from enlisting in the military. They claim the label has also led to discrimination from police officers as well as non-Juggalos.

Richard Williams Explains why Juggalos are a Family.

“I’ve made many mistakes, but being in a gang isn’t one of them because I’m not a gang member,” Laura King said, a speaker at the Juggalo march. “I’m a Juggalo.”

King received a DUI and was put on probation. The first six months of this probation went routinely; However, after one of her normal check-ins, an officer reported King had a gang tattoo on the back of her neck. Although King obtained her Juggalo-themed tattoo five years before Juggalos were labeled as a gang, having the tattoo gave police grounds to officially identify her as a gang member. Several severe stipulations were added to her probation, such as random house inspections regardless if King were present.

“The treatment from the FBI and the powers that be is unfair to Juggalos,” said Williams. “If it’s starting with us, just as music fans, who could be next? Could members of the Kiss Army be next? Could fans of Beyoncé be next? This is a pure example of our rights slowly being stripped away.”

Family was a Word Heard Constantly

While seeing such a large gathering of the “Dark Circus” was a first for many, the Juggalos proved themselves to be exactly what they claim: a laid back, free spirited group of music fans who are unapologetically themselves, without the judgement of others. The stark contrast between one end of the Mall and the other was palpable as over 1,500 Juggalos joined together as a family to peacefully protest and listen to music. ‘Family’ was a word heard over and over throughout the day. 

“It makes me feel very prideful to be a Juggalo,” said Big Baby Sweets, who traveled from Cleveland, Ohio and goes by her Juggalo nickname. “I got into it when I was really young in school, and it was a real family thing for me because I was a Juggalo, my sister was a Juggalo, my brother, my cousins. You go to concerts and that’s how it starts.”

Fans were most excited when Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, the men of ICP, arrived to speak and performed later that evening. “We’re the good guys here today,” Violent J said. “We’re actually in the right this time!”

Juggalos on the National Mall

The crowd often chanted, “You fucked up” when a speaker made a blunder, or “Fuck that shit” anytime the FBI was mentioned. Their favorite chant was simply, “Family,” since above all, Juggalos consider themselves one giant, oddball family.

“We’re different,” said rally host Kevin Gill. “We’re not dangerous.”

Just another day of free speech in the Nation’s capital.

*Photos by Madelyne Ashworth, Landon Shroder, and Allison MacEwen.

*Video by Charles Rasputin

 

DACA: Virginia DREAMers, Politicians React to Trump’s Decision to End Program

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The Justice Department announced recently that it is going to end the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country if they fulfilled certain requirements.

Recipients of DACA, often called DREAMers, are young people who were brought to the United States at an early age without proper immigration documentation. In order to receive DACA status, a young person must come forward and apply for deferred action. To qualify, the applicant must have been brought to the United States at a young age, continually resided in the United States for the last ten years, be in school or the military, and have a clean criminal record.

If and when the program is ended 800,000 people nationwide would be affected and 12,000 of those are in Virginia.

“Before we ask what is fair to illegal immigrants, we must also ask what is fair to American families, students, taxpayers, and jobseekers,” President Trump said in a statement announcing the end of the Obama-era program.

Many state politicians, local non-profits, and even a few young people currently residing in Richmond have responded to Trump’s decision, which is set to go into effect in six months.

Photo Credit: Ashley Luck and Dai Ja Norman

“President Trump’s decision to rescind DACA is a heartless attack on 800,000 young people who were brought here by their parents at a young age,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe in a statement. “It will plunge families, communities, businesses, and schools into terrible uncertainty for no reason other than to keep a political promise to extremists on the far right-wing of his party.”

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) President Michael Rao recently spoke out in support of students currently enrolled under DACA.

“DACA students are an integral part of our community, and VCU will continue to assist DACA students as they complete their educations and move on to contribute to our society,” Rao said in a statement. “We will continue to advocate for DACA students within the legal bounds that govern us as a public university. We are committed to safeguard their privacy and confidentiality to the fullest extent allowed by law.”

On Sept. 7, a group of DACA students held a rally in front of VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library to voice their opposition and stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by the decision.

“Once my DACA expires I’m not going to be able to obtain in-state tuition,” VCU senior Jessica Moreno-Caycho, member of the student organization Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society (PLUMAS), said in an interview with CBS6. “It’s going to be hard for me to continue my studies. I’m not going to have a valid driver’s license. I’m not going to have a valid work permit, so my livelihood and how much I earn is definitely going to be affected.”

Photo Credit: AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin

And at the end of last month, the DREAMERS of Virginia, an organization that advocates for immigration rights, completed a 70-mile walk from Charlottesville to Richmond in support of immigration.

This decision also affects individuals within Richmond’s music scene.

Andreas Magnusson is a music producer who works with musicians from all over the world, including bands such as Black Dahlia Murder and Haste The Day. Magnusson originally came to the United States when his mother got a loan from Sweden to study computer science.

Becoming attached to the US by the time she earned her associate’s degree, Magnusson and his mother moved to Richmond as she went on to earn her master’s degree under a student visa. Magnusson was entering the third grade when they moved to Richmond.

After finishing school, Magnusson’s mother obtained a H1-B visa, which allows immigrants that have specialized knowledge to work for their employer in the U.S. By the time they submitted their green card application, it got denied due to a piece of paper work being expired by a few months. By the time the paperwork was approved, Magnusson was over the age of 21, and couldn’t obtain a green card through his mother.

“The second that happened, I was here illegally,” Magnusson said.

Magnusson applied for DACA as soon as it was introduced, and was able to obtain a driver’s license, which he wasn’t allowed to have before DACA was implemented.

“Luckily, after two years of not having a car and being miserable, Obama instates DACA and I’m able to get a license and function a little bit more like a normal person,” Magnusson said. “All this time, I’m paying taxes. The IRS doesn’t care where you’re from, but the United States would not recognize me as a legitimate person because I’m technically here illegally. If I get pulled over in a car, I can get deported.”

In addition to paying taxes, Magnusson pays for an immigration lawyer, who he’s had since he was 10 years old. Immigration lawyers tend to nickel-and-dime people who need their services, Magnusson said.

“If I write his paralegal an email, just for her to respond, I get a bill for $45 dollars,” Magnusson said. “Every two years I pay $480 to renew my DACA. Because I don’t want to mess it up, I have an immigration lawyer, and I pay them about $1,200 each time. It basically costs right under $2,000 dollars every two years just to be here.”

Because DACA participants are not allowed to travel outside of the U.S., Magnusson has not been able to travel back to Sweden in over a decade.

“The last time I went, I was 22 or 23,” Magnusson said. “I’m 35 now. I’ve had family members die, I’ve had grandparents get too old to where they can no longer come visit because they can’t make that flight.”

Despite his situation, Magnusson claims that some people are more sympathetic to him than they would be if they had spoken to a person of color who lives under DACA.

“Anyone that I’ve explained my situation to, they all feel for me,” Magnusson said. “The whole thing feels so racist because, for me, I’ve never had anyone really tell me anything that’s like ‘you have no right to be here.’ But at the same time, those people would say that to somebody that looks and sounds different from I do.”

Several groups in Virginia are working to fight racial discrimination associated with deportations. One of these groups is ICE Out of RVA, a community organization that advocates for the end of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and deportations in the Richmond area. The group recently called for the release of documents detailing ICE enforcement activities under the Freedom of Information Act.(FOIA)

“We try to build community as the primary means of building defense,” said a member of ICE Out of RVA, who asked to remain anonymous. “We try to build the base in the community because historically, we haven’t had any support from external factors or the government.”

Racial profiling plays a major factor in deciding who gets targeted for deportation, the member said.

“Racial profiling is that much more of a useful tool to the collaboration of the police and ICE,” the member said. “There are checkpoints and entire communities that are surveillanced by police. You are just going to be that much more targeted for either your race, your immigration status, or both.”

Despite allowing some immigrants to stay in the country, the member believes that DACA has helped perpetuate the idea of someone being a “good” or “bad” immigrant.

“DACA has always been a double-edged sword, in that indoctrinating immigrant youth was a way of leveraging that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ narrative,” the member said. “People definitely believe that there are people who don’t deserve to be here, even amongst the immigrant population, and DACA was another tool of that.”

The member also said that no matter what legislation is being passed, the parents of the documented immigrants will always be negatively impacted.

“They’re ultimately the ones at risk no matter what policies or legislation is passed,” the member said.

On Sept. 12, ICE Out of RVA held a demonstration outside of ICE’s Richmond office in response to the DACA decision, as well as in response to “Operation Mega”, a nationwide operation that planned to target 8,400 undocumented immigrants. The operation would have taken place over the course of five days starting on September 17, but was canceled due to Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, according to NBC News.

On the state level, Attorney General Mark Herring announced last week that he has joined 15 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the decision. The lawsuit argues that the termination of DACA violates equal protection and due process laws.

“Simply put, there is no upside to ending DACA, only downside,” Herring said in a press release. “It will hurt Virginia’s economy and make our communities less safe. It will needlessly tear families apart, burden social services, and turn our back on promising, talented young people who want our country to success. I’m hopeful that Congress will do the right thing and fix this problem right away, but if they do not, we’ll be ready to defend Virginia DREAMers in court.”

Besides Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington are among the states that have filed the complaint.

Any DACA application submitted after Sept. 5 will no longer be accepted, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

 

 

Virginia Politics Sponsored by F.W. Sullivans

 

 

Gov. McAuliffe rejects request from President Trump’s voter fraud commission

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Given his loss of the popular vote in the 2016 election, President Trump has continued to maintain that there was widespread voter fraud. Regardless of there being no evidence to support this claim, the White House in May established the ‘Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’ to investigate any alleged voter fraud. Trump claims that at least three to five million people have voted illegally – roughly the same number he lost the popular vote by.

On Wednesday, the commission sent a letter to Virginia and the 49 other states requesting a list of all registered Virginia voters, the last four digits of their social security numbers, their addresses, date of birth, political affiliation, and their voting history.

But on Thursday Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement  that he has, “no intention of honoring the request.”

“Virginia conducts fair, honest, and democratic elections, and there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in Virginia,” he said in his press release. The press release went on to say, “This entire commission is based on the specious and false notion that there was widespread voter fraud last November. At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump’s alternative election facts, and at worst is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression.“

The press release finished by saying that he wasn’t going to move resources away from the upcoming gubernatorial election in November.

“In 131 days Virginia’s Department of Elections will again conduct a statewide election for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, as well as 100 House of Delegates races and numerous other positions. I’m not going to divert resources that could potentially compromise that important work to enable this politically motivated and silly posturing.”

According to the Associated Press, the commission gives secretaries of state approximately two weeks to provide about a dozen points of voter data. Besides the above information listed, any information on felony convictions and military status was also requested.

In addition to Virginia, California and Kentucky have all stated that they will not share the voter information.

 

The man behind the Mellow Yellow RV: Exclusive with Lt. Gov. contender Glenn Davis

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Campaigning brings to mind town halls, shaking hands, holding babies, and TV ads with winning smiles. What doesn’t come to mind is a camper named “Mellow Yellow”, the mobile campaign headquarters for Del. Glenn R. Davis (Virginia Beach), a Republican vying for the spot of Lieutenant Governor in the upcoming primary.

On a recent afternoon, Davis parked his camper outside of RVA Mag’s office on Monument Avenue for a chat. When the door opened, Davis was quickly putting on his suit jacket while juggling a phone call at the same time. It was evident he was in full campaign mode.

Sitting down with Davis in Mellow Yellow, a mid-sized Winnebago, felt strangely familiar and welcoming. His energy was apparent and he was comfortable and friendly. With his name emblazoned on the side of the van, Davis’s confidence was evident on a whiteboard attached to his mini-fridge with the simple word “WIN!!”.  

The Hampton Roads native opened up easily when speaking about the divisiveness of his party.

“There are a lot of people that associate with our party because of fiscal conservativeness,” said Davis. “But the social side, they’ve sometimes had differing viewpoints, and maybe some of the hard traditional views of the Republican party has…that’s where we have to realize no one agrees 100 percent all the time.”

In an attempt to hear the differing viewpoints of Virginians, Davis has logged over 51,000 miles to reach people in every corner of the Commonwealth. When pressed on Republican issues that lack connection to younger people, he noted that most party members can’t really agree on the details anyways.  

“If you read the party platform, it doesn’t give the details. People feel that they fit under that with different beliefs and different levels,” said Davis. “I think what brings us all together is a commonality of the principles just in concept.”.

Davis is no stranger to politics. After serving on Virginia Beach’s City Council from 2009 to 2015, he won a delegate seat in the 84th District. He spoke frequently of his time serving on city council, but his start, however, was in a technology start-up, which connects to his fondness for President Trump .

“I’m an entrepreneur, I’m a business person… It’s not about emotion with Donald Trump,” he said.

Davis stressed that he wouldn’t govern with emotion. “You govern based on rationale, logic, numbers…and that’s what I value [in] what he’s doing in Washington and that’s what I‘m looking at in Virginia,” he said. Although, when prodded about the division being caused by the President’s policies and rhetoric, Davis didn’t directly confirm or deny whether it represented his own platform.

Given that our interview in Mellow Yellow was parked in the shadow of the Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue, our conversation naturally turned to the controversy surrounding the monuments.

In a recent Facebook post from May 26, Davis defended Robert E. Lee in response to Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Susan Platt’s call for the removal of all Confederate statues in the Commonwealth. Davis went so far to call him a “great Virginian.”  However, this is a deeply complex issue and a recent poll conducted by the Richmond Times found that close to half of respondents supported taking down the monuments.

“Here’s the thing about polls: they tell you yes or no. They don’t tell you why or why not,” he said. “There may be other things that they’re feeling, that they’re seeing, experiences, that don’t show up inside that poll answer, those are things that should be addressed.”

This is in stark contrast to what Mayor Levar Stoney, along with other Democratic hopefuls have come out and said about the issue. In a video interview with RVA Mag, Mayor Stoney talked about the lack of context surrounding the monuments and how the whole story needs to be told in 2017.

Acknowledging this dark period of our nation’s history Davis went on to say, “The way we were taught, it was a part of our nation’s history which existed, but we were also taught what people did to eliminate it, the sacrifices people made–Harriet Tubman–so many that did.”

But there is another aspect to the conversation over the monuments that is currently playing out in real-time, specifically how white nationalists are now hyper projecting their message onto these monuments. Most recently, the rally led by white supremacist Richard Spencer in Charlottesville.

Davis claimed the issue is deeper than just the monuments, but the fact that “people are still racist”.  

“Is the problem that there are people out there that feel this way, or is the problem the monuments?,” he said. “Why not go and work and resolve that issue? Not get rid of some symbol that they want to have behind them when they throw a rally.”

Davis seems genuinely supportive of bringing people together, but this is at noticeable odds with his support for a President, who, as of June 1, refused to recognize Pride Month for the LGBTQ community. Davis claimed to be unaware of this decision, but said he would be attending Pride Fest in Hampton Roads.

“From a Republican standpoint, we need to be an inclusive party,” he said. “That doesn’t define you as a Republican or Democrat, and everyone needs to feel welcomed.”

As we wrapped up, Davis hung out with us for about 30 minutes just chatting about life, politics, and social issues on the street next to Mellow Yellow.

When asked as to how we move away from this old-fashioned era of politics, Davis gave a simple answer, “The voter box.” Pulling on emotional strings and catering to special interest groups are not what gets good policy passed, he explained. Additionally, attention to detail is key. “That’s where you make a difference. Soundbites don’t make a difference. But a lot of people still vote on soundbites,” said Davis.  

Whatever the case may be, Davis still has to work around the current political climate and the way the campaign game is played on the Republican side. But here’s to hoping that he might be the one to change the game and bring the Republican party into the new millennium.   

 

Richmond joins over 150 cities in ‘March for Truth’

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“We want a leader! Not a creepy tweeter!” more than 200 demonstrators chanted as they marched through downtown Richmond, demanding an investigation into President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.

Indivisible Richmond, whose mission is to “resist the Trump agenda,” organized the “March for Truth” rally at the Virginia Capitol. Similar events were held in over 150 cities nationwide on Saturday.

At the local rally, U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin of Richmond and other speakers called for an independent commission to conduct a transparent investigation into the Trump campaign’s purported connections with Russia and Russia’s supposed meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

“There is the truth that needs to be told. What is behind a president, a commander-in-chief, who can’t even acknowledge an attack on our sovereignty?” said McEachin, a Democrat who was elected last fall to represent Virginia’s 4th Congressional District. “What is that truth?”

McEachin urged the demonstrators to pressure Congress to conduct an independent investigation of the matter.

The role that Russia may have played in the 2016 election came under scrutiny when Trump fired James Comey as FBI director after Comey asked for more resources to investigate Russia’s influence in America’s electoral politics.

Congress appointed House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., to conduct an investigation into the claims. However, it was later revealed that Nunes had been corresponding with associates within the White House about the investigation. The FBI has appointed Robert Muller as special counsel to lead the investigation.

Trump and many Republicans say the investigation has no basis. The president has called it a witch hunt launched by Democrats who are angry about losing the election.

Kasey Landrum, co-chair of Indivisible Richmond, told the rally on the state Capitol grounds that Americans want government accountability.

“We’d like to hold our president of the United States and his administration accountable for their behaviors that aren’t appropriate in our democracy,” Landrum said.

Another speaker at the “March for Truth” was Rachna Heizer, a member of Lawyers for Good Government. The organization was created after the 2016 election and now has 130,000 members.

“We are a government of people, by the people and for the people,” Heizer said. “It is our government, and it is time that we take it back. It is time for us to remind our elected officials that they work for us!”

Fred Douglas, a protester who came out with two homemade “Russiagate” posters, accused the White House of a lack of transparency.

“We are looking for the truth. We are looking for the whole truth, no matter where it takes us,” Douglas said. “Our democracy cannot stand the uncertainty that this administration has created.”

Other speakers at the event included Corinna Lain, a University of Richmond law professor; Carolina O. (@RVAwonk), famous on Twitter for confronting Republican political strategist Roger Stone; and Jen Lawhorne, representing Progress Virginia.

Carolina O. is a behavioral scientist who has done research into the spread of information on social media and how it frames human perspective. In her speech, she addressed how she became involved in politics.

“Science rests on the principle of accountability, of transparency, of free flow of information – and so does democracy,” she said. “Both of them fail when those principles fail.”