Virginia GOP delegates stripped of committees for claiming election fraud demand to be reinstated Gregory S. Schneider and Laura Vozzella, The Washington Post Jan. 19, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Virginia Del. Dave LaRock, a Republican, works in the House of Delegates in February 2019.Washington Post photo by Bill O'Leary RICHMOND, Va. - The state Senate took action Tuesday to sanction a Republican member who praised the U.S. Capitol rioters as "patriots," and two GOP members of the House of Delegates complained that their punishment for seeking to "nullify" the state's slate of presidential electors amounted to stifling free speech. A day before President-elect Joe Biden was to take office in Washington, the impact of President Donald Trump's attempt to hold on to power and his followers' attack on the U.S. Capitol this month continued to reverberate a two-hour drive down the road in Richmond.