Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones faced new political fallout Friday after a report revealed his wife had donated to theMinnesota Freedom Fund, a controversial bail organization that used millions to spring violent offenders, including accused rapists and murderers, from jail.
In May 2020, during unrest in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death,Mavis Jones postedon what was then Twitter: "I just donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund," linking to the group’s donation page and urging others to do the same. The account has since been made private.
The revelation, first reported by theWashington Free Beacon, comes as Jones, a Democrat, trails Republican incumbentJason Miyaresin a tightening race for Virginia’s top law enforcement post. The state’s attorney general oversees state-level prosecutions and police oversight.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund, promoted at the time by several progressive figures including then-Sen.Kamala Harris, raised more than $41 million during the 2020 protests, pledging to support demonstrators arrested during clashes with police. But aFOX 9 investigationlater found the group spent most of its money bailing out defendants accused of serious violent crimes rather than low-level protest offenses.
JAY JONES TEXT SCANDAL SPARKS DONATION SURGE AS GOP GROUP POURS MILLIONS MORE INTO VA RACE
Among those bailed out was Christopher Boswell, a twice-convicted rapist facing new kidnapping and assault charges, who was freed 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.
Greg Lewin, then the fund’s interim executive director, told FOX 9 that same year, "The last time we were down there, the clerk said, ‘We hate it when you bail out these sex offenders.’ I often don’t even look at a charge when I bail someone out."
In one case, the fund posted bail for George Howard, a career criminal later charged with fatally shooting a man in a Minneapolis road-rage incident just weeks after his release.
The news adds to a string of controversies for Jones, 35, who has already apologized for violent text messages directed at Republican leaders. In one exchange, he wrote that then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert gets "two bullets to the head" and that Gilbert’s wife Jennifer should "watch her children die."
Court records also show Jones was convicted ofreckless driving in 2022for traveling 116 mph on a Virginia highway. He was fined $1,500 and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service, but a state ethics review is examining whether hours spent volunteering for his own political committee should count toward the sentence.
The latest controversy gives Miyares and Republicans new fodder in the closing weeks of the campaign. ATrafalgar Group pollreleased Oct. 17 found Miyares leading 49.5% to 44.6%, a reversal from earlier surveys that had Jones up six points before the text scandal broke.
As of Friday, Mavis Jones has set her X account to private.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund and the Jay Jones campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
