Woman who famously flipped off Trump's motorcade wins election in Virginia

Juli Briskman's middle finger launched her political career.

While riding her bike in October 2017, Briskman found herself alongside President Trump's motorcade as it left his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. Briskman raised her hand and flipped the cars off, not knowing that a photographer was behind her, capturing the moment. After the image went viral online, she told her employer, a government contractor, that she was the woman in the photo. Briskman was fired.

Briskman, a Democrat, told The Washington Post that this pushed her into becoming more active in politics, and she volunteered for a congressional candidate and worked at a polling station. She decided earlier this year to run for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, promising to promote more government transparency. The unofficial results of Tuesday's election are in, and Briskman has 52 percent of the vote. She defeated the incumbent, Republican Suzanne Volpe.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"It's feeling fantastic, it's feeling surreal," Briskman told the Post. "The last two years have been quite a ride. Now we're helping to flip Loudoun blue." Her district includes the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, which she finds amusing. "Isn't that sweet justice?" Briskman said.