Just when you think Jay Jones has finally hit the end of his scandal streak, another one comes barreling in. At this point, the real question isn’t whether he can handle it—it’s whether there’s any limit to the circus of baggage he’s hauling around in his run for Virginia attorney general.
Jay Jones should have dropped out of the Virginia attorney general race in disgrace already. In 2022, he wrote a string of grotesquely violent texts about then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, whom Jones said deserved to be "shot in the head,” and that his wife should have to watch their children die so that Gilbert might change his views on gun control.
Disqualifying? Absolutely. But he’s a Democrat, and he’s still in it to win it.
He has taken a significant hit the polls, but there’s no guarantee he’s going to lose the election—not even after the recent revelation that he’s under criminal investigation for a reckless driving conviction and skirting the community service arrangement he got for his conviction.
Now, add a new controversy, because what’s a third or fourth scandal in a campaign that’s already on fire? Enter Mavis Jones, Jay’s wife, and her financial support of the Minnesota Freedom Fund during the most volatile moments of the 2020 Minneapolis riots.
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In May 2020, as arson, chaos, and murder spread through the city, Mavis took to Twitter, declaring, “I just donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund,” and encouraging others to follow suit. At the time, the Minnesota Freedom Fund was basking in headlines as they raked in more than $41 million, swearing up and down it would help bail out “peaceful” protesters swept up amid the unrest, and even collecting endorsements from Kamala Harris.
Mavis Jones’s post appeared as rioters torched businesses in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd and just months before she married the then–state delegate.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund — later promoted by then-Sen. Kamala Harris — raised more than $41 million during the unrest, pledging to support protesters jailed during demonstrations.
But a FOX 9 investigation found the fund spent most of its money in 2020 bailing out defendants accused of murder, kidnapping and sexual assault, rather than low-level protest offenses.
Among them was Christopher Boswell, a twice-convicted rapist freed pending new kidnapping and assault charges after the fund posted $350,000 in cash bail.
The group also paid $100,000 to release Darnika Floyd, charged with second-degree murder, and $75,000 for Jaleel Stallings, who allegedly fired at a Minneapolis SWAT team before being acquitted at trial. Stallings has claimed he fired in self-defense.
“The last time we were down there, the clerk said, ‘we hate it when you bail out these sex offenders,’” Greg Lewin, then the fund’s interim executive director, told FOX 9 at the time.
For Jay Jones, the timing couldn’t be worse. One scandal after another, and while plenty of Democrats still defend him, it’s hard not to wonder how many more hits he can survive. The bigger question: how can Virginia Democrats keep backing him? This isn’t a backbench seat—he’s running for the state’s top law enforcement job, for crying out loud. If voters and party leaders can’t hold him accountable now, what does that say about their judgment—and about the future of law and order in Virginia, especially if he somehow manages to win?
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is still ongoing, and polls are now showing Americans are increasingly blaming the Democrats for this mess, but we can’t let them spin their way out of it.
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