Nett files Federal lawsuit—alleges political retaliation over reform agenda
By Valerie Cury
Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl Benjamin “Ben” Nett filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, Jan. 28, alleging that town officials and law enforcement leaders violated his constitutional rights and engaged in a coordinated campaign to remove him from his job as a police officer and undermine his political career. Nett is seeking approximately $42.4 million in damages.
The 51-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, stems from events that unfolded while Nett was simultaneously serving as a sworn Purcellville police officer and campaigning for, and later serving on, the Town Council.
Nett alleges that town officials misused internal disciplinary systems, ethics rules, and external investigations for political purposes, ultimately leading to his termination, public stigmatization, and prolonged efforts to block his reinstatement despite a unanimous Grievance Panel ruling in his favor.
The complaint names multiple current town officials and law enforcement leaders, as well as Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney R.D. “Bob” Anderson, as defendants. They include Councilmembers Erin Rayner, Caleb Stought, and Kevin Wright, Interim Police Chief Sara Lombrana, Police Lieutenant Michael Holman, Acting Town Manager Diana Hays, and Human Resources Director LaDonna Snellbaker—each sued in both their individual and official capacities.
Nett joined the Purcellville Police Department in 2022. According to the filing, he graduated first in his class from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy, received the Sheriff’s Meritorious Action Award in 2023, and was named Purcellville Police Officer of the Year in 2024.
In early 2024, Nett announced his candidacy for Town Council in a nonpartisan election. He ran as part of an informal slate with Christopher Bertaut, who sought the mayor’s seat, and Susan Khalil. The slate campaigned on reforming town government, including lowering utility costs, opposing certain commercial and industrial annexations, and streamlining municipal operations.
According to the complaint, the platform also included proposed changes to the Police Department, which Nett and his running mates viewed as top-heavy in command staff while patrol coverage declined. One proposal supported by Nett was eliminating the Deputy Chief of Police position, added in 2017, and redirecting resources toward patrol officers.
The lawsuit describes the 2024 campaign as contentious, alleging that opposition to the reform slate extended beyond political debate and into efforts to discredit Nett and pressure him to withdraw from the race. According to the filing, after announcing his candidacy, Nett became the subject of repeated internal scrutiny within the Police Department.
The complaint alleges that Nett was subjected to multiple disciplinary inquiries tied to routine police activity, including a revived citizen complaint involving a dog-in-a-car call, scrutiny over his presence at an early voting location while responding to a service call, and restrictions on his ability to follow up on that call while on duty. The lawsuit also claims he was ordered to undergo a drug test on the eve of the election.
Nett also alleges that police leadership questioned him about campaign materials, attempted to restrict his participation in community events, and sustained discipline over a body-worn camera issue despite departmental policy granting officers’ discretion under the circumstances. According to the complaint, these actions were intended to intimidate him and chill his political activity.
In November 2024, Nett and his slate won their races, with Bertaut elected mayor. The election produced a new 4-3 majority on the Town Council aligned with the reform platform.
According to the complaint, while Human Resources Director LaDonna Snellbaker was updating the Town’s Employee Handbook—which had not been revised in nearly two decades—a provision was added stating that an individual could not simultaneously serve as a town employee and an elected town official.
After Nett took office, town officials asserted that this provision barred him from serving as both a police officer and councilmember. Nett sought guidance from the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council, whose executive director, Stewart Petoe, issued a formal opinion concluding that Nett’s dual roles were permitted under state law. The handbook provision was removed.
The complaint alleges that despite the state ethics opinion, efforts against Nett continued. In January 2025, Nett attended a routine agenda-planning meeting at Town Hall while on duty as a police officer, an appearance the lawsuit says was made at the direction of the town manager. According to the filing, a citizen complaint was later solicited regarding Nett’s attendance, triggering a new internal investigation.
The lawsuit further alleges that additional scrutiny followed concerning Nett’s planned attendance at the Virginia Municipal League’s Annual Local Government Day in Richmond. Nett had initially registered for the conference but informed his supervisor that he was taking sick leave due to flu-like symptoms and a knee injury.
According to the complaint, Nett later attended the conference after another councilmember offered to drive him, allowing him to participate without making the trip himself.
While at the conference, Councilmember Erin Rayner observed Nett and later reported to police leadership that Nett did not appear to be sick, describing the encounter as a “gotcha,” according to the complaint. The filing alleges that Rayner urged police leadership to pursue disciplinary action based on the incident.
In the weeks that followed, Nett was notified that he was the subject of multiple disciplinary investigations. He was placed under confidentiality orders restricting his ability to discuss the matters and was later placed on administrative leave for alleged insubordination related to sick leave documentation.
The lawsuit says Nett continued to face politically motivated scrutiny. One example, the complaint states, involved an outside investigation that the Fairfax County Police Department declined, calling it too political.
When Prince William County Police took it up, the lawsuit claims the investigation relied solely on statements from Nett’s political opponent, Erin Rayner, and did not interview other officials who attended the Virginia Municipal League event with him.
On Feb. 21, 2025, Nett received two notices proposing his termination. The notices cited his attendance at the agenda-planning meeting, his conference attendance while on sick leave, and alleged noncooperation with the investigation. The lawsuit alleges these actions were taken without proper authorization or consultation with town legal counsel.
The complaint further alleges that Lombrana reported Nett to Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Anderson as having been dishonest. On Feb. 24, 2025, Anderson placed Nett on the Brady/Giglio list, a designation that generally prevents a law enforcement officer from testifying in court and effectively ends the officer’s career.
According to the lawsuit, Anderson acted on disputed allegations that Nett was actively contesting through the town’s grievance process and placed him on the Brady/Giglio list before he was ever interviewed by Prince William County Police.
Nett was formally terminated on April 4, 2025, and filed a grievance under the town’s established grievance procedure. A full evidentiary hearing was held before a three-member panel on June 25, 2025.
On June 28, 2025, the Grievance Panel issued a unanimous 21-page decision overturning Nett’s termination in its entirety. The Panel rejected all five grounds cited by the town, including allegations related to the agenda-planning meeting, sick leave, conference attendance, cooperation with the outside investigation, and placement on the Brady/Giglio list.
The Panel concluded that the town lacked clear policies governing Nett’s dual role as a police officer and councilmember, found that sick leave requirements had been misapplied, and determined that the outside investigation relied on incomplete and flawed information. The Panel ordered Nett’s reinstatement with back pay and benefits and directed the town to pay his attorneys’ fees.
According to the complaint, the Grievance Panel process was properly conducted under attorney Robert Sproul’s oversight. Yet when it came time to implement the decision, town officials repeatedly stalled, bouncing the case from Interim Town Manager Diana Hays—who held it for nearly three weeks—to Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney Anderson, and then to Special Prosecutor Eric L. Olsen, who ruled on a completely unrelated matter.
The case finally landed with a new lawyer who refused to act, and at no point did officials formally sign off “that the relief granted by the Panel Decision was consistent with the Town’s Grievance Policy.”
During this period, the lawsuit alleges that Anderson issued additional advisory opinions asserting that Nett’s participation in certain council discussions and police-related matters violated state ethics law—positions the complaint says conflicted with prior guidance from the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council and Purcellville’s Town Attorney.
One opinion warned that Nett could face criminal prosecution if he failed to remove himself entirely from the council chamber during specific discussions—contrary to the Town Attorney’s opinion.
Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services moved forward with decertifying Nett as a police officer. DCJS later stayed the decertification after receiving the Grievance Panel’s decision, pending resolution of Nett’s due process claims.
In the lawsuit’s closing section, Nett asks the court to overturn his termination and require the town to carry out the Grievance Panel’s unanimous decision, including reinstatement and restoration of his employment rights.
He also seeks a declaration that the grievance process was improperly halted and an order directing town officials to complete and enforce it as required by policy and state law. In addition, the filing requests relief for alleged violations of constitutional rights, harm to his professional reputation, and interference with his ability to continue his law-enforcement career. Nett has also asked for a jury trial on all claims eligible for one.
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Valerie you fail to mention that Nett and the skate was backed by you and The Blue Ridge Leader.