politics
March 19, 2026
Old Dominion attack the result of multiple layers of policy madness
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TL;DR
- An Islamic extremist murdered Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, leader of Old Dominion University's ROTC program.
- The attacker was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone with a prior conviction for attempting to join the Islamic State group.
- The article attributes the attack to a series of policy failures, including a lenient sentence, the illegal acquisition of a firearm, and the university's inability to consider criminal history in admissions.
- Prosecutors had sought 20 years in prison, but the judge imposed a sentence of just over half that, leading to the attacker's early release.
- The attacker illegally purchased a firearm, allegedly from an individual who had previously faced charges for straw purchasing guns but was not prosecuted by the Biden DOJ.
- Virginia law prevents public colleges from questioning applicants about their criminal histories or denying admission based on them.
- The article calls for legislation to allow denaturalization for citizens convicted of terrorism offenses and criticizes lax enforcement of existing gun laws.
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