Jones’ soft-on-crime, anti-police stances will undermine public safety in Virginia

by Jacob Grandstaff

Virginia Democrat Attorney General candidate Jay Jones has persistently demonstrated a troubling pattern of leniency toward criminals through his legislative record and statements. Virginians deserve an attorney general who will prioritize public safety and uphold the rule of law—not someone who will make their state a magnet for criminals.

As a House Delegate, Jones developed a pattern of voting for lighter sentences for criminals and expanding their rights. His most dangerous position, however, centers on his leftist contempt for law enforcement. This raises serious concerns, as he is running to serve as Virginia’s top law enforcement officer.

Creating a safe haven for criminals

Since his election as a Virginia Delegate, Jones has consistently supported policies that make Virginia less safe. His record includes multiple examples of promoting leniency toward criminals and undermining deterrence.

In 2019, he opposed a bill, which would have classified distributing controlled substances causing death as felony murder—a critical measure considering Virginia’s high drug overdose death rate and the opioid crisis nationwide. Incidentally, Jones’ Republican opponent, incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), authored the measure.

Jones also voted against the popular HB 1947, which imposed a mandatory minimum sentence of five days for false bomb threats to schools.

He also opposed HB 2042, mandating 60-day sentences for repeat domestic violence convictions.

In 2020, the year crime spiked to its highest level of the century, Jones:

• Voted to raise the felony larceny threshold from $500 to $1,000;
• Voted against establishing aggravated sexual battery for massage therapists who sexually abuse clients without consent; and
• Introduced another bill raising the minimum age to try juveniles as adults from 14 to 16.

He also voted to prohibit driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines—an especially dangerous policy for counties that have large rates of non-citizens unaccustomed to American road rules and illegal aliens who don’t respect American rules at all.

But Jones wasn’t finished making Virginia’s roads safe for illegal drag racing, street takeovers, and MS-13 runners—while making it unsafe for everyone else. In April 2020, he voted to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. 

As the murder rate reached its annual highest since 1995, Jones voted for the automatic expungement of criminal records.

In January 2021, Jones voted to put Virginia college students and faculty in danger. HB 1930 prohibited institutions of higher learning from enquiring about an applicant’s criminal record during the application process or denying applicants admission based on criminal history.

In February 2021, he voted to immediately restore the right of convicted felons to vote upon their release.

Jones’ bail reform stance is particularly alarming. That year, he also supported SB 1266, eliminating presumptions against bail for serious crimes. This enabled defendants previously twice convicted of a violent felony such as murder, rape, or robbery to be released without bond.

A 2022 Richmond Times-Dispatch report noted that over 60 days in Chesterfield County, 48 individuals charged with assaulting family members, six accused of assaulting police, and many violating protective orders were released without bond. Notably, Hector Olguin Lopez, an illegal alien wanted since 2009 for child sexual assault, was released with no bond after being extradited from Maryland where he had been held without bond.

Joes opposes the death penalty and voted for its repeal, calling it “state-sponsored racism.”

These votes don’t reveal Jones as someone who will protect the vulnerable, put away the criminal, and provide equal justice. His votes and beliefs reveal someone who believes America’s criminal justice system is systemically racist and is on a mission to rid his state of this injustice by showing leniency to criminals and reducing deterrents.

A woke tyrant against police

Jones’ radical anti-police views further erode his suitability for Attorney General. The instances when he does occasionally support tougher laws against crime, they’re often aimed at law enforcement.

Although he opposed a mandatory minimum sentence for bomb threats to schools, during the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020, he supported a bill to increase the penalty for filing a false police report from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony.

He didn’t support defunding the police, in 2020, noting he didn’t think most voters would support that. But he did vote to prohibit chokeholds, repeal qualified immunity for police officers, and ban no-knock warrants, all of which restrict law enforcement from protecting themselves and the public from violent criminals.

His animosity against police runs so deep that he even opposes school resource officers, who could potentially save students’ lives if a school shooter shows up, because he’s more afraid of the negative emotional impact seeing a police officer would have on students.

When a Norfolk Police internal affairs officer donated to the defense of Kyle Rittenhouse—the Wisconsin teen who killed two people in self-defense during the 2020 riots and was acquitted of murder—Jones threw a tantrum, calling the officer “utterly disgusting” and demanded his firing.

As a delegate, he supported affirmative action for the Criminal Justice Services Board and empowered the Attorney General to micromanage police practices—which will serve his purposes well if he wins in November.

He has already pledged that, if elected, to investigate police shootings without hesitation. This aggressive approach potentially undermines officer morale and effectiveness in protecting people in violent situations.

Jones’s legislative record reveals a consistent pattern of prioritizing leniency for criminals and restricting law enforcement. His support for lighter sentences, bail reform, and anti-police measures undermines public safety and erodes trust in the justice system. Voters should carefully consider these concerns when they vote on Nov. 4. Virginia needs an Attorney General who will uphold the rule of law and protect law-abiding citizens, not one whose policies risk creating a haven for criminals and illegal aliens.

Jacob Grandstaff is an Investigative Researcher for Restoration News specializing in election integrity and labor policy. This article has been republished with permission from Restoration News.