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Now that Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman is on his way out of office, a Republican committee in Virginia has seen fit to censure him for actions they say mean he "betrayed" the party.
The Appomattox County Republican Committee just voted unanimously to approve a resolution denouncing Riggleman for 4 instances of "betrayal," starting with his officiating a same-sex wedding in 2019.
"Whereas, in July 2019, Denver Riggleman officiated a same sex wedding which in turn goes against the values and principles of the Republican Party betraying and disregarding the concerns for the many Conservative and Christian voters in the 5th district who elected Denver Riggleman to the United States House of Representatives."
At the time, a separate Republican committee, the 5th Congressional District Republican Committee, tried to censure Riggleman for the wedding, but were unable to gather enough votes to pass the resolution.
In a statement after the first censure attempt, Riggleman said:
"My real belief is that government shouldn't be involved in marriage at all, but if it is, everybody has to be treated equally before the law. And that is part of our Republican creed."
"And it also comes down to love is love. I'm happy to join two people together who obviously love each other."
The couple whose wedding Riggleman officiated were personal friends of his and former campaign volunteers.
In response to the censure, Congressman Riggleman accused the Virginia GOP of rigging the primary election against him.
Glad the @VA_GOP finally admits they rig a convention because of the wedding. We already knew this, but here's your… https://t.co/xOsJtZr9WJ— Congressman Denver Riggleman (@Congressman Denver Riggleman) 1607905851.0
Several people congratulated Riggleman on Twitter for standing up for what he believes in.
@RepRiggleman @VA_GOP I am sure there is a long list of policy issues I disagree with you on, but it’s refreshing t… https://t.co/LwykjyuLAc— Sandra 🇪🇺🇩🇪🇺🇸 (@Sandra 🇪🇺🇩🇪🇺🇸) 1607907322.0
@fionawoods46 @RepRiggleman @VA_GOP And if that's a bridge too far for you, just declare that you're henceforth ind… https://t.co/cq0Pi5ylP0— Mary Hackett Graham (@Mary Hackett Graham) 1607907660.0
@RepRiggleman @VA_GOP I’m always proud of you for being on the right side of history for that. We love you Denver.— Meredith Minto (@Meredith Minto) 1607914615.0
Other apparent shortcomings mentioned in the statement include daring to consider supporting anyone other than President Trump and criticizing Trump's refusal to denounce QAnon.
"Whereas, on October 19th, 2020, during his appearance with Cable News Network (CNN), Denver Riggleman made claims that he would consider voting for former Vice President Joe Biden for President of the United States stating in that very interview that the actions of President Donald J. Trump as irresponsible and dangerous as well as for refusal to denounce QAnon"
It would seem that valid criticism of one's elected leaders goes against the Virginia GOP code of ethics.