Virginia passes legislation prohibiting schools from teaching falsehoods about Jan. 6 riot

Source: CBS News

Updated on: March 6, 2026 / 3:09 PM EST


Virginia's legislature has passed a bill prohibiting schools from teaching what it considers to be falsehoods about the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, including portraying it "as peaceful protest."

The General Assembly approved the measure Thursday, as a first-of-its-kind legislation to combat false statements by supporters of President Trump. The bill says that school instruction must "Not describe, portray, or present as credible a description or portrayal of the actions precipitating or involved in the events of the January 6, 2021, insurrection as peaceful protest."

Schools may also not "state, suggest, or present as credible a statement or suggestion that there was extensive election fraud that could have changed or actually changed the results of the 2020 presidential election."

Instead, the measure says that school instruction must "Describe the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol as an unprecedented, violent attack on United States democratic institutions, infrastructure, and representatives for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/virginia-legislation-prohibiting-schools-jan-6-falsehoods/