Another Line Crossed As Virginia Democrat Makes an Astonishing Threat Against a SCOVA Justice

RedState reported on the absolute panic that set in among Democrats in Virginia and in Congress after the state's Supreme Court (SCOVA) ruled earlier this month that the process Democrats in the General Assembly used to put their gerrymander referendum on the ballot violated Virginia's Constitution.

The ruling dashed the Dems' hopes and dreams of being able to implement a 10-1 D/R congressional map they wanted to use for the 2026 midterms. As we also reported, it prompted an emergency meeting at the time that included House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), where one idea that was floated was to have "Democrats in Richmond lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices... from 75 to 54."

It was a plan that, if seen through, would have forced out every justice currently sitting on the state Supreme Court. Afterwards, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly conceivably would have used its power to "then fill vacancies on the court with sympathetic Democratic lawyers."

That plan never came to fruition, surprisingly thanks in part to Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), who shut it down. But some revenge-minded Democrats in Virginia are still plotting ways to get back at the justices who ruled against them.

Among them is Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax), whose plans to run in the infamous "lobster district" (VA-07) were thwarted by the ruling. The district, as RedState's Teri Christoph noted, "was created specifically to hand Helmer a congressional seat, something he's tried – and failed – to obtain two other times." But Helmer has had to back out of running in VA-07 because it's currently represented by Democrat Rep. Eugene Vindman, who would have been moved to VA-01 had the 10-1 map been implemented. Vindman is running for reelection.

Naturally, Helmer was miffed at both the SCOVA ruling and the SCOTUS ruling a week later that left the state's decision in place. But while there's not much he can do about the makeup of the United States Supreme Court, there is something he and his Democrat colleagues in the General Assembly can conceivably do about the SCOVA justices because they are appointed by the General Assembly.

In a recent interview, Helmer openly and brazenly threatened retaliation against one of the justices whose term will be up for renewal in January:

Helmer said the General Assembly will have to reform Virginia’s top court and the judicial appointment process, including term limits, an enforceable ethics code and possibly adding new justices.
“The reality is that we expected the Supreme Court of Virginia to respect the constitution and the will of the people,” Helmer said. “They did not.”
[...]
“We will make sure that Justice Kelsey does not serve anymore come this January,” Helmer said.

Justice Arthur Kelsey wrote the opinion.

Reactions were swift among Virginia Republicans, including the state GOP:

Democrats are attempting to turn the Virginia Supreme Court into a partisan weapon, and they’re not being shy about it.
This egregious assault on judicial independence should be immediately condemned by ANYONE who claims to care about “democracy.”

“We will make sure that Justice Kelsey does not serve anymore come this January."

Democrats are attempting to turn the Virginia Supreme Court into a partisan weapon, and they’re not being shy about it.

This egregious assault on judicial independence should be immediately… https://t.co/jxZLPBUiYt
— VA Senate GOP (@VASenateGOP) May 21, 2026

Del. Wren Williams, a Republican who represents the state's 47th House District, gave some history on Kelsey in a post on X just to demonstrate how insane Helmer's threat was:

That is a threat of retaliation against a Supreme Court justice for his ruling on the redistricting amendment.
Justice D. Arthur Kelsey was appointed to the Court of Appeals of Virginia in 2002 by Democratic Governor Mark Warner. He was elected to a full term by the General Assembly in 2003. Re-elected in 2011.
And in 2015, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of Virginia by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly.
The only thing that has changed since 2015 is that Justice Kelsey authored an opinion the Democrats did not like.
Now think about what that means for every other judge in Virginia. The next time a hard case comes across their bench, the judge will have to include whether they’ll be reappointed. Judges have children in college too. They have mortgages, law school debt, and often give up higher earning opportunities to take the bench.
Now, it’s been made clear, they cannot afford to make the “wrong” decision, and now they know exactly what “wrong” means when Democrats are in charge.
This is how you get leverage over a judge. This is how you bend a court and compromise our third branch of government. With a paycheck. With a pension. With their retirement.
[...]
Democrats would be screaming if a Republican delegate or said this about a justice that ruled in their favor with a majority opinion. I’m interested to see the reaction if any to this threat of retaliation against Justice Kelsey.
Justice Kelsey decided the case in front of him on the law, in the majority with three other justices. Just as has done for twenty-five years.
The Commonwealth does not threaten its judges. We do not purge our courts. We do not measure justices by whether they vote the way the majority caucus needs for power.
This is brandishing power, and it needs to be called out.

And just as a reminder, when the coup against the SCOVA was being floated during that now-infamous meeting, Helmer didn't speak out against it even though he knew that if carried through, it would mean this:

Again - Democrats are considering firing 2 black Virginia Supreme Court justices - including the first black woman to ever serve on the Court…

So that white 3x loser Dan Helmer can have an easier district to run in. https://t.co/0ShErlVXtB pic.twitter.com/AmKpvxWfFZ
— Matt Whitlock (@MattWhitlock) May 10, 2026

Loser indeed.

This is astonishing, not so much because it's surprising but because it's pretty amazing that this guy not only would say this out loud but also thinks it's okay to say/attempt to do.

It's not clear how much support Helmer's idea to punish Kelsey by not having him serve any longer beyond January 2027 actually has, but as recent events have shown us, Virginia Democrats will do literally anything to maintain and expand power, even if it means throwing out the window everything they claim to hold dear (but in reality don't), like "democracy," "diversity," "respect for the rule of law," etc. What a joke.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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