New Virginian President Valentinus resigns amidst racism scandal; Chairwoman Hewitt becomes Acting President

The messages sent by Sertor Valentinus which have been decried as racist.

Sertor Valentinus has resigned the Presidency of the Commonwealth of New Virginia following backlash he received due to leaked screenshots that show him using an anti-Romani racial slur to describe his hatred of "travelers".

In the screenshot, which was leaked from the private micronational social club known as "the Fun Gang" on the 24th of June, Valentinus says that he "fucking hates g*psies." In the past, numerous people in the New Virginian sector and elsewhere have confronted him regarding his usage of the slur, to which he has universally claimed that his use of the word is innocuous and not racially-motivated.  

The news of Valentinus's resignation follows sharp diplomatic pressure from the New Richmond Republic and the Republic of Nordale - two nations which belong to the New Virginian sector and were once integral parts of the Commonwealth - and numerous calls for impeachment from New Virginian statesmen and citizens.

In a diplomatic channel where a treaty between New Virginia and the NRR was set to be negotiated, Chairwoman Brooklyn Hewitt - in her capacities as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Republic - expressed that she would not sign a treaty with New Virginia so long as Valentinus remained as President. The Chairwoman told ex-President Valentinus that "it would run counter to the fundamental principals of [the New Richmond Republic] to have our principal state representatives sign a treaty alongside someone who harbors genuine racist sympathies."

James Bornstein, the Speaker of the New Virginian Parliament's lower house, publicly announced his intent to file for Valentinus's impeachment and removal from office. "Mr. Valentinus should be ashamed of himself. We demand he do the right thing and encourage him to take the first step in holding himself accountable by resigning this office and apologizing for his statements of this nature," said Bornstein. "I, as Speaker [of the House of Burgesses] stand with Charwoman Hewitt... in her demand that he resign. I support her refusal to codify formal relations [with the Commonwealth] until he has left office."

William Wilson filed articles of impeachment against Sertor Valentinus on the 26th of June, and Valentinus resigned the Presidency soon thereafter to the jubilation of foreign and domestic observers. Though he has left office, impeachment procedures are continuing so that the Senate can determine whether to prevent him from seeking office in the future and to possibly revoke his title of President Emeritus.

Chairwoman Hewitt - who has served as the President of the New Virginian Senate as a result of post-revolutionary conciliatory efforts - has succeeded him to the office of Acting President. She has since used the Presidency's emergency powers to proclaim an upcoming presidential election which will determine a permanent successor.