Democratic Virginia Attorney General nominee Jay Jones is facing a special prosecutor investigation over the 1,000 hours of community service he claims to have completed to avoid jail time after law enforcement caught him speeding at 116 mph.
Jones faced criticism in the press after it was revealed that he completed his community service requirement by spending 500 hours working for Meet Our Moment, his own political action committee, and an additional 500 hours working for the Virginia chapter of the NAACP, spending his time at both organizations engaged in political behavior. Jones’s activities at the nonprofit organizations where he logged community service time included appearing on podcasts, attending catered events, and socializing with fellow Democrats.
These reports have attracted scrutiny from the courts, with a New Kent County Circuit Court judge appointing a special prosecutor on Wednesday to investigate whether Jones’s political work fulfilled his community service obligation. The New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney told local news outlet WJLA that Jones’s court documents did not disclose that Meet Our Moment was a PAC or that it was his organization.
“It’s supposed to be something where you’re giving back to the community,” the prosecutor said.
Skepticism over Jones’s community service hours has been brewing for some time in New Kent County.
“In order to receive a non-jail outcome, community service is unpaid service for any nonpolitical, charitable, nonprofit,” New Kent County prosecutor Randy Del Rossi, who works in the county where law enforcement caught Jones speeding, told Restoration News on October 6.
CORPORATE DONORS STAND BY VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE JAY JONES
Jones also faces a higher-profile controversy stemming from texts he sent a Republican colleague during his time as a state lawmaker, wherein he wished death on GOP lawmakers and their children. The Democrat has since faced calls from Republicans to drop out of the state attorney general race, though many Democrats and his corporate donors have not retracted their support.
“I actually think there may be real, real calls for a legal investigation,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) told 7News, a local outlet. “What that means to me is he’s got to drop out. He’s got to drop out of this race in disgrace.”
