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A Democrat staffer allegedly threatened to “put a knot” on the head of his boss’s Black GOP opponent, leading a Virginia magistrate to grant a protective order for the Republican, Del. A.C. Cordoza.
The order, signed Tuesday by Magistrate Judge Gregory Kaliris, found that “Mr. Cordoza was attempting to speak to a voter at the registrar’s office. Ms. Sanders approached him and told him to ‘back off’ as he was walking away,” before warning, “This is the last time I’m going to tell you” and “I’ll put a knot on your head.”
Cordoza, who represents Poquoson and parts of Hampton, told Fox News Digital the encounter underscores a broader rise in political hostility.
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Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, R-Poquoson, addresses residents at an event in Hampton, Virginia. (A.C. Cordoza for Delegate via Fox News Digital)
Local media reports said the camp of Democratic challenger Virgil Thornton Sr. suggested the roles were reversed and that Cordoza was the aggressor, but the lawmaker pointed out the court ultimately only granted him a protection order.
“I was engaging with voters at the poll; talking about my record … and one of my opponent’s campaign workers got upset and decided it was a great idea to threaten me — and in today’s day and age with the left’s political violence and just where we are in this climate, I wasn’t going to take any chances,” Cordoza said.
He then called Hampton police, which responded and investigated. Cordoza said an officer suggested he file a protection order, which Kaliris later granted.
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Thornton, whose campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment, released a statement claiming Cordoza had “surrounded” his niece — the staffer involved — and “used his size to intimidate her.” Thornton noted that police did not file charges against either party.
Cordoza said that recollection was false, and that Thornton had previously tried to paint him as a violent person in the campaign — pointing to an attack ad that local news station WAVY did a comprehensive “truth tracker” on and poked holes in several key aspects of it.
In one example where the ad claimed Cordoza brandished a firearm on a police officer, Cordoza recounted the man being in plainclothes and aggressively approaching his vehicle while the two were stuck in traffic — and he told WAVY the man had broken his door handle off.
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Cordoza said he never held up a gun but only gestured to the man that he had one in a side holster for self-defense.
Another claim in the ad accused Cordoza of chasing a young woman when he was 18, but omitted that police determined he had committed no crime. A WAVY “truth tracker” report found Cordoza had been the victim of a robbery in that incident and that the woman involved changed her story multiple times.
“I can tell you one of the craziest parts about this is I’m the third member of the General Assembly that has been threatened this year, just in this political cycle.
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He pointed to Del. Kim Taylor, R-Petersburg, who was subjected to a texted death threat. The suspect was quickly arrested and sent to a jail in Dinwiddie County.
Cordoza also cited Del. Geary Higgins, R-Lovettsville, who received a similar threat. Higgins told Fox News Digital earlier this month that a man allegedly threatened to shoot him at his next rally, after he defended Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears against invective over her position on transgender people in sports and school bathrooms.
“It’s incredible that this is continuing to happen, and it’s spiraling,” he said.
Just across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel from Cordoza, former Norfolk lawmaker Jay Jones, is embroiled in scandal over texts he sent envisioning the murder of a Republican leader.
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Cordoza blasted Democrats for failing to call on Jones to exit the attorney general’s race, saying political violence has become “normalized.”
“We’re approaching an area where we can’t turn back as a nation,” he said.
Cordoza, who often partners with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears — the only Black Republican in statewide office — said he has not heard from House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, since the incident.
“So, me and Lieutenant Governor Sears have a great relationship, and we often have to lean on each other for this very difficult role we find ourselves in,” he said.
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Cordoza said he continues to try to get the Virginia Safety and Service Act through the legislature, to protect lawmakers and others in public view from threats and violence.
He also authored and successfully implemented the CODI Alert — or Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative — which is designed to inform the public about a missing child whose disappearance poses a credible threat. All 14 CODI children have since been found.
