lawsuit | FFXnow

Published June 17, 2026 at 2:45PM

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Washington Field Office in Chantilly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Two state laws sponsored by state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) seeking to restrain federal immigration enforcement agents are being challenged by the Trump administration’s Justice Department.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Richmond Division last Thursday (June 11), challenges Virginia’s incoming ban on law enforcement officers wearing face masks and restrictions on cooperation agreements between federal immigration enforcement and state and local law enforcement agencies.

News

FCPS: State police, Congress close investigations into Centreville HS abortion claims

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 16, 2026 at 3:45PM

Centreville High School (file photo)

A Senate committee and Virginia State Police have concluded their separate investigations into a Centreville High School teacher’s claims that school staff facilitated abortions without parental consent, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said this week.

“Neither investigation found any evidence of wrongdoing or any need for further action,” Reid wrote in a letter to the school’s staff and families. “This situation has had a significant impact on all of those involved, and it reminds us of the responsibility we all share to act thoughtfully, with integrity, and compassionately as a caring, connected community.”

Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools sued over response to Muslim students’ ‘kidnapping’ skit

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 4, 2026 at 3:45PM

Ahmad Kaki, a staff attorney with CAIR, plays the video made by Thomas Jefferson High School students during a press conference June 4. (Screenshot via CAIR's Facebook page)

A Muslim civil rights group is suing Fairfax County Public Schools for suspending several students after they created a “kidnapping” video for social media to promote their chapter of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) last fall.

The video was intended to depict a “playful overreaction” in response to a “specific, viral comedy skit circulating nationwide,” according to a filing submitted by the CAIR Legal Defense Fund today (June 4) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.

Countywide

Lawsuits filed after Fairfax legislators’ assault weapon ban signed by Spanberger

By Emily Leayman

Published May 18, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated May 18, 2026 at 2:16PM

The NRA's headquarters on Waples Mill Road (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

As soon as Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed one of the more polarizing gun safety bills from the 2026 General Assembly session — a ban on assault-style firearms — the Fairfax-based National Rifle Association vowed to fight the ban with a lawsuit.

The pair of bills from state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) and Del. Dan Helmer (D-10), who represent parts of Fairfax County, will ban the sale and manufacture of “assault firearms” and magazines with the capacity of more than 15 rounds. The legislation provides exemptions to guns owned before the law becomes effective on July 1, 2026 but will ban new purchases starting on that date.

News

Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging FCPS retaliated against teacher for abortion claims

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published May 11, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated May 13, 2026 at 10:13AM

Zenaida Perez speaks during a press conference in front of the Fairfax County Courthouse on Oct. 29, 2025 (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A federal judge has dismissed a Centreville High School teacher’s lawsuit alleging retaliation and violations of whistleblower protection laws by Fairfax County Public Schools after she claimed that school staff helped minors obtain abortions.

In his memorandum opinion, issued May 8, Judge Anthony J. Trenga wrote that the teacher, Zenaida Perez, had “failed to plead facts which, when viewed most favorably to her, plausibly give rise to a claim for whistleblower retaliation.”

News

Tysons media company’s merger blocked for now by federal judge

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published April 21, 2026 at 8:30AM

FILE - Chairman, President and CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting Group Perry Sook attends the 24th Annual Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York on Oct. 29, 2014. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

A federal judge has blocked a $6.2 billion merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and Tysons-based rival Tegna until an antitrust lawsuit is resolved.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, made the ruling late Friday (April 17) afternoon, finding that eight attorneys general and DirecTV were likely to prevail in their legal bid to stop the merger. The attorneys general, all Democrats, and DirecTV contend the merger will lead to higher prices for consumers, stifle local journalism and that the deal runs afoul of federal laws designed to protect against monopolies.

News

FCC approves $6.2B takeover of Tysons-based Tegna as Virginia AG sues to block it

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published March 20, 2026 at 8:30AM

Jay Jones is sworn in as Virginia Attorney General by Lyn M. Simmons, chief judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, on Jan. 17, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday (Thursday) that it has approved local television giant Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion takeover of Tysons-based rival Tegna.

Earlier that same day, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and his counterparts in seven other states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, arguing that the merger will illegally reduce competition in journalism and the broadcasting industry while resulting in increased prices and worker layoffs.

News

Amid legal dispute, McDaniel set for return to school board budget committee

By Jared Serre

Published March 19, 2026 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County School Board member Kyle McDaniel (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A former chair of the Fairfax County School Board’s budget committee will return to the panel after a judge tossed out a complaint accusing him of embezzling $175,000 from a company he was a part owner of.

Kyle McDaniel, who served as the budget committee chair for 10 months before stepping down last April, is expected to be appointed vice chair of the committee when the school board meets tonight (Thursday), according to the meeting agenda.

News

Great Falls boater sues over Potomac River sewage spill, while report finds possible leaks

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published March 10, 2026 at 3:00PM

A warning sign at the site of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

The fallout from the January sewer collapse that dumped over 200 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River continues to pile up, bringing a new lawsuit and a report that suggests the river might still be getting contaminated.

A Great Falls resident filed a class action lawsuit against DC Water on Friday (March 6) in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, calling for the utility to compensate himself and other individuals “whose property interests in and use and enjoyment of the Potomac River … have been impaired by [the] Defendant’s conduct.”

News

Fairfax case alleging school-assisted abortions now in federal court

By Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury

Published February 2, 2026 at 11:15AM

Zenaida Perez speaks during a press conference in front of the Fairfax County Courthouse on Oct. 29, 2025 (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A legal challenge alleging that a Fairfax County Public Schools employee helped minors get abortions without their parents’ consent is now in federal court in a case that hinges on a First Amendment free speech claim.

FCPS teacher Zenaida Perez, plaintiff in the case, is seeking to prove that school officials have defamed her and are in violation of the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law. Perez alleged in 2025 that another FCPS staff member assisted minors with seeking abortions. FCPS’ internal probe refuted her claims.