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Final charge dropped against fired LCPS superintendent; says Va. AG probe was ‘politically motivated’

Fired Loudoun County public schools superintendent Scott Ziegler said he “was subjected to politically motivated prosecution, one that disregarded the facts,” shortly after attorneys in Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’s office asked a judge to drop the final charge against Ziegler.

Ziegler was convicted in September 2023 on one count of violating the state’s conflict of interest law for not renewing the contract of the special education teacher after she made the report.

In March 2024, Circuit Court Judge Douglas Fleming set aside Ziegler’s conviction, finding that while there was “ample evidence” to support a jury’s conclusion that Ziegler knowingly retaliated against the special education teacher, Erin Brooks, faulty jury instructions rendered the conviction illegitimate. The judge then ordered a new trial, which was scheduled to begin Feb. 3.

Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Theo Stamos and Senior Assistant Attorney General Brandon Wrobleski asked Fleming to drop the final charge.

From the bench, Fleming agreed to drop the case, and said he would enter an order.

Ziegler had been indicted by a special grand jury, convened by newly elected Miyares, which was tasked with investigating the school system’s handling of two in-school sexual assaults by the same high school student in 2021. The case played out amid a debate over policies for transgender students and received national attention, in part because the teen boy who was convicted in both attacks wore a skirt during one of them.

“This ordeal should never have happened,” Ziegler said.

In a statement, released Thursday by attorney Erin Harrigan, Ziegler said he wanted “to express my deepest gratitude to those who stood by my side throughout this incredibly challenging time.”

While not mentioning Miyares or Governor Glenn Youngkin by name, Ziegler said: “It is deeply troubling that I was subjected to a politically motivated prosecution, one that disregarded the facts and sought to undermine my dedication and service to public education.”

During the 2021 gubernatorial election, Youngkin campaigned on a “parents first” platform — and won. The day he was sworn in, he issued an executive order authorizing an investigation into Loudoun County schools, saying, “School administrators withheld key details and knowingly lied to parents about the assaults.”

Miyares added, “Loudoun County Public Schools covered up a sexual assault on school grounds for political gain.”

Contacted for comment Ƶapp after dropping the final charge, Miyares issued a statement: “Sometimes it takes the courage of one person to stand firm to create change,” said Miyares. “Today, the entire national narrative has changed thanks to Erin’s resilience. Erin’s demand to be respected was upheld by a jury of her own peers. Public school administrators are now on notice knowing that this attorney general will defend and protect the rights of teachers and parents without hesitation.”

In December 2022, LCPS spokesman Wayde Byard was indicted on a felony perjury charge and former superintendent Ziegler was indicted on three misdemeanors. Ziegler, who was fired after the release of the special grand jury report.

A jury found Byard not guilty. With Thursday’s dropping of the retaliatory firing case, and the earlier dropping of a charge of giving false information to a publication, the Miyares investigation netted no convictions.

“I call upon the people and Legislature of Virginia to examine and reflect on the circumstances that led to this misuse of executive power and to the unprecedented waste of taxpayer money. At its core, this effort was designed to sway voters in Northern Virginia, prioritizing political gain over truth and justice,” wrote Ziegler.

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Neal Augenstein

Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with Ƶapp since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.

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