A member of the Blacksburg Town Council has been arrested on four indictments charging him with election and voter fraud.
Liam Watson, 24, surrendered to the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office on Wednesday. He has since been released on bond, according to state police.
State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said in a statement that the investigation into Watson was initiated in March at the direction of the Virginia attorney general’s office and that the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation was assisted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
On Tuesday, a Montgomery County grand jury handed down indictments against the town council member on three felony counts of election fraud and one felony count of illegally voting in an election.
“The investigation remains ongoing,” Geller said.
Watson, a former press secretary for the Democratic Party of Virginia, was elected to Blacksburg’s town council for the first time in November after mounting a write-in campaign as a Democratic candidate. He unsuccessfully ran for the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors in 2021.
John Fishwick, Watson’s attorney, said in a statement that his client has “served the citizens of Montgomery County in various roles” for a number of years. “He is 24 years old, with a heart for public service, and has worked diligently for the citizens who elected him. We look forward to appearing in court.”
According to the indictment, Watson on Aug. 7 of last year “feloniously and willfully made a false material statement or entry in a statement, form or report” on a voter registration application.
Three weeks later, Watson allegedly made a “false material statement or entry” in a statement of organization, which each candidate running for public office is required to file with the Department of Elections. He is also accused of having done the same with a Declaration of Candidacy form on Nov. 16.
The indictment alleges that on or about Aug. 7 and Nov. 7, Watson voted in an election “that he was not qualified to vote where and when the vote was given.”
The first three charges are Class 5 felonies punishable with up to 10 years in prison and up to a $2,500 fine. The fourth charge is a Class 6 felony punishable with up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Indictments of elected officials for election fraud are rare in Virginia.
In May 2022, a member of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors, was charged with election fraud and embezzlement after a special grand jury handed down 82 felony indictments against him.
Trey Adkins, who was first elected to the board in 2011 as a Democrat, is charged with 34 counts of making a false statement, 11 counts of violating absentee voting procedures, 11 counts of forging public records and eight counts of embezzling public money.
Despite the charges, Adkins still made the ballot last year and won reelection, this time as a Republican. The investigation is ongoing.
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said that cases like these are “really quite unusual.”
While someone is always innocent until convicted, “most people in public life understand that trying to manipulate an election is a really bad idea,” Farnsworth said.
“These are the kinds of crimes that are very easy to catch, and it’s an area where there is an immense amount of public scrutiny going on right now. It’s stupid to engage in election fraud, but unfortunately people in all parties are tempted.”
In a presidential election year, Rich Anderson, the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, did not hesitate to congratulate Attorney General Jason Miyares for his agency’s role in Watson’s indictment.
“THIS is why the @VA_GOP has an energized election integrity operation — and an AG @JasonMiyaresVA who protects your right to vote,” Anderson wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Virginia did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.
