Hold onto your hats, folks—Virginia’s race for attorney general just took a sharp turn into controversy as Democrat Jay Jones grapples with revelations about his wife’s donation to a questionable bail fund.
According to the New York Post, reports surfaced on Oct. 24, 2025, exposing a political storm around Jones, a 35-year-old Norfolk candidate, whose campaign is now reeling from multiple scandals while his poll numbers slide against Republican opponent Jason Miyares.
Let’s rewind to May 2020, when Mavis Jones, who would later marry the then-state delegate Jay Jones, publicly announced her support for the Minnesota Freedom Fund during the chaotic unrest in Minneapolis following George Floyd’s death.
Posting on what was then Twitter, Mavis urged others to contribute to the fund, which raised a staggering $41 million amid the riots, where businesses were torched.
While the fund claimed to help jailed protesters, a FOX 9 investigation revealed most of its 2020 cash went to freeing individuals accused of heinous crimes like murder and sexual assault, not minor protest offenses.
Among those released were Christopher Boswell, a repeat rapist, on $350,000 bail for new charges, and Darnika Floyd, accused of second-degree murder, on $100,000 bail—hardly the image of supporting peaceful demonstrators.
The fund also posted $75,000 to free Jaleel Stallings, who allegedly shot at a Minneapolis SWAT team before being acquitted, claiming self-defense, and bailed out George Howard, who later faced charges for a fatal road rage shooting shortly after his release.
Critics argue that this organization, once backed by then-Sen. Kamala Harris hides behind social justice slogans while potentially enabling dangerous offenders to walk free—a bitter pill for those prioritizing public safety.
As the Washington Free Beacon first reported, Mavis Jones’s contribution has reignited debate over whether the couple’s views align with the tough-on-crime stance expected of Virginia’s top law enforcement officer.
Jay Jones’s team stayed silent when asked for comment on this donation debacle, leaving voters to wonder where he stands on criminal justice policies.
But this isn’t the only shadow over his campaign—earlier in October 2025, shocking text messages emerged where Jones wrote that then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert “deserved to be shot in the head” and expressed vile wishes about Gilbert’s family. Though Jones apologized, admitting he was “ashamed,” his refusal to exit the race raises questions about accountability—sorry might not cut it when you’re vying to oversee state prosecutions.
Adding fuel to the fire, a Trafalgar Group poll from Oct. 17, 2025, shows Jones trailing Miyares 49.5% to 44.6%, a stark flip from earlier leads before the text scandal broke.
Then there’s the 2022 reckless driving conviction—Jones was caught speeding at 116 mph on a Virginia highway, slapped with a $1,500 fine and 1,000 hours of community service, though an ethics review now probes if half those hours, served with his own political action committee, even count.
With Miyares calling out a “pattern of contempt for law enforcement and victims,” Jones’s bid for attorney general looks more like a high-speed crash than a victory lap, leaving conservatives to wonder if Virginia deserves a steadier hand at the wheel.