LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — The election is just days away and Virginia voters have to wade through facts and fiction—even during commercial breaks of a newscast. This ad by Republican candidate Juan Pablo Segura , who is running for a seat in Virginia's senate, and this one by his opponent Democrat Russet Perry both make claims about crime and safety in Loudoun County. But what's the truth?
We took the questions to the experts to verify.
QUESTION ONE:
Is Russet Perry backed by groups that support defunding the police?
QUESTION TWO:
Did Perry’s time in the Commonwealth's Attorney's office correlate with low crime in Loudoun?
THE SOURCES:
THE ANSWER:
Both claims are true, but both candidates elaborate by making or suggesting misleading connections.
WHAT WE FOUND:
Virginia's 31st District includes Loudoun and parts of Fauquier Counties, and the candidates for the Senate seat are GOP political newcomer Juan Pablo Segura, and former Loudoun County Prosecutor Russet Perry, a Democrat.
Both want your vote on or before election day on Nov. 7 and both say, they’re the candidate to keep families safe.
One Segura ad dramatizes a house break-in to suggest crime has increased under Perry, who the ad purports is connected to "Defund the Police" groups. That term, which grew popular after the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, can mean anything from reallocating police resources to invest more in other community programs, to abolishing police departments.
The Verify team confirmed a list of several organizations that have endorsed Perry that have also gone on record advocating to “defund the police," most more than three years ago:
- The Daily Kos - endorsement here
- Sierra Club - endorsement here
- NextGen PAC - endorsement here
- Human Rights Campaign - signed on to a letter pushing police reforms; endorsement here
- Repro Rising VA - endorsement here
- Run For Something - endorsed here
However, her candidate website shows that these claims are misleading. Her platform on crime reads in part: “Russet is a strong believer in fully funding state and local law enforcement agencies to support their ability to recruit, train and retain the absolute best and brightest individuals to ensure the best and safest outcomes for all parties.”
Perry worked two stints at the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, most recently from 2017 to 2021, according to her professional bio.
"I am the only person in this race who has gotten violent criminals like murderers, rapists, and domestic abusers off our streets and put them in jail. I have a long record of keeping our community safe, serving the vast majority of my decade as a prosecutor under a Republican administration, while my opponent has nothing but empty words and outright lies," reads, in part, a statement from her campaign responding to Segura's ads. "I am proud to have seen crime fall year after year while I was a prosecutor and that Loudoun was routinely recognized as one of the safest places in the states to live and raise a family.”
WUSA combed through Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Reports to confirm what she said. During that time, Loudoun County consistently recorded the lowest crime rate in the Northern Virginia, a number that decreased each year until 2022, when Perry was working in private practice.
However, the headline that pops up on a screen in the background of her ad is misleading – it references a Loudoun Now article touting a decrease in crime in the Washington region over the preceding six years. Loudoun did record an increase in 2017, according to COG data. Additionally, Perry wasn’t working in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for two of those years.