LYNCHBURG, Va. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell took to Twitter on Monday to apologize for a recent controversial tweet. Jerry Falwell Jr. - June 8, 2020As Falwells apology states, he has since gone back and deleted the tweet in question. Looking back, on May 27, Falwell tweeted the following:I was adamantly opposed to the mandate from @GovernorVA requiring citizens to wear face masks until I decided to design my own. If I am ordered to wear a mask, I will reluctantly comply, but only if this picture of Governor Blackface himself is on it!#VEXIT#EndLockdownNow pic.twitter.com/twu7r4rWhd Jerry Falwell (@Jerry FalwellJr) May 27, 2020That tweet also included a picture of a mask that featured the picture from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northams medical college yearbook allegedly showing him in blackface, as seen above in this article).

RICHMOND, Va. – During Gov. Ralph Northam’s news conference on Tuesday he was asked about a recent controversial tweet by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.Falwell’s tweet was in regard to his disagreement with the state’s mask mandate, saying he would only wear a mask if it had the controversial blackface photo in Northam’s medical school yearbook. Just so folks outside Virginia unfamiliar with the pic on the mask understand: it is from the personal page of the medical school yearbook of @GovernorVA . Just a way to shine a spotlight on the fact that Democrats are and always have been the real racists in this country. Falwell’s tweet, which he has said he will not apologize for, has also launched other events.

The article’s author, Elizabeth Williamson, is a feature reporter for the New York Times. Our story is based on interviews with Liberty University staff members, students, and regional officials including the mayor of Lynchburg, Va. Monday morning, the New York Times article was updated to say a student had tested positive. Tweedy says her office is still receiving phone calls from the community and students after the New York Times article. We’ve attached below Liberty’s statement regarding the NY Times article and their FAQ sheet:

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. spoke out against gun control measures supported by Virginia Democrats during an interview on a conservative radio show on Monday. During an appearance on Todd Starnes’ conservative podcast, ToddCast, Falwell said he’s never seen people more “energized” over any other issue in Virginia than in the current debate over gun rights. Starnes went on to say that these rights are “under attack" as Virginia Democrats advance with gun control measures in the General Assembly. “I’m pretty sure I’m gonna call for civil disobedience if the Democrats go through with this," Fallwell said. I mean, that’s how the Civil Rights Act got passed, was civil disobedience...