(LifeSiteNews) — Virginia governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has appointed Stanley Meador the next Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the state.
While serving as Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Richmond Field Office, Meador oversaw a since-redacted memo that targeted traditional Catholics.
In a December 4 announcement, Spanberger’s office cited Meador’s decades of service with the FBI and said he had the expertise to make Virginia a place where “every Virginian can safely thrive.”
“Today, I am proud to announce the appointment of Stanley M. Meador to serve as our next Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security,” Governor-elect Spanberger stated. “I know Mr. Meador’s decades of service to our country and our Commonwealth will bring the expertise necessary to protect our citizens, support the brave men and women of law enforcement, and make sure Virginia is a place where every Virginian can safely thrive — no matter their zip code.”
“I am deeply honored and humbled to be nominated as Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security. I’m grateful for the trust placed in me by Governor-elect Spanberger,” Meador said in the announcement.
“Throughout my career, I have been committed to protecting our communities and strengthening the partnerships that keep them safe. As a native Virginian, I look forward to supporting Governor-elect Spanberger’s vision with the same dedication, integrity, and commitment that have guided my service for nearly three decades. Together, we will work to serve and protect all the members of our great Commonwealth,” he added.
However, just under three years ago, a leaked memo revealed that the FBI Richmond Field Office, under Meador’s leadership, had targeted “radical traditionalist Catholics” who prefer to attend the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) allegedly because of concerns that many of these faithful are “violent extremists” and “white nationalists.”
RELATED: FBI official who oversaw memo targeting traditional Catholics testifies before Congress
The eight-page memo was leaked by former FBI agent turned whistleblower Kyle Seraphin in 2023. It showed that Meador’s Richmond Field Office had identified “Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology” as a magnet for “violent extremists” and alleged that “white nationalists” were increasingly making common cause online with attendees of the Latin Mass. It specifically targeted traditional Catholics.
In a December 6 X post reacting to Meador’s appointment, Seraphin noted that “the left always takes care of its own,” and asked why another FBI whistleblower, Steven Friend, still hasn’t been reinstated into the Bureau.
The Left always takes care of their own. Meanwhile, Steve Friend STILL hasn’t been reinstated, and the FBI has fought my lawsuit tooth and nail (especially “this FBI”) since we filed years ago. https://t.co/lZvra9cSPC
— Kyle Seraphin (@KyleSeraphin) December 6, 2025
The memo Seraphic leaked, written by a Richmond FBI analyst, directly cites a defamatory study conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on the subject “Radical Traditional Catholicism.” The SPLC had long been rejected as a legitimate resource for the FBI, Seraphin said, but in this instance, it was relied upon as a primary source to justify its efforts. The document also references three anti-Catholic smear articles (here, here, and here) published by left-wing website Salon and The Atlantic to defend its monitoring.
READ: Is the influence of the SPLC and ADL finally coming to an end?
The memo further asserted that “increasingly observed interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVE) in Radical Traditionalist Catholic (RTC) Ideology almost certainly presents new opportunities for threat mitigation” via “tripwire and source development.”
Here, the document called for spying on and infiltrating traditional Roman Catholic groups, in particular, churches served by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).
The memo’s leak prompted a widespread outcry from both Catholics and Protestants across the country, who said the document violated the First Amendment by targeting Americans as “threats” due to particular religious beliefs. The outrage prompted the FBI to quickly retract the memo and pledge to investigate why it was written.
In Virginia, outgoing Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin quickly condemned the memo after the leak and called upon the FBI to show “full transparency” in its review of the document’s creation and release.
The leak also prompted an investigation by the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee, which revealed that the FBI’s Richmond field office coordinated with two other offices across the country to spy on traditional Catholics.
During a September 2025 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, FBI Director Kash Patel assured Senator Josh Hawley that the bureau officials who were involved in the targeting of traditional Catholics had been fired.
RELATED: Kash Patel says FBI officials have been fired for role in targeting Latin Mass Catholics
Governor-elect Spanberger’s office did not respond to LifeSite’s request for comment by publication time.
