VA Deputy Attorney General Quits After Praise For Jan. 6 Rioters Revealed

RICHMOND, VA — A top deputy in Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares' office resigned Thursday after the office became aware of social media posts where the deputy attorney general praised rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and claimed President Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

Deputy Attorney General Monique Miles, who oversaw election issues for the office, also promoted theories about voter fraud and election interference in more than a dozen Facebook comments that spanned months, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

A Miyares spokeswoman said the attorney general's office was unaware of Miles' Facebook posts before the Post, which obtained screenshots of the posts, shared them Thursday morning.

“News Flash: Patriots have stormed the Capitol. No surprise. The deep state has awoken the sleeping giant,” Miles wrote, according to a screenshot. “Patriots are not taking this lying down. We are awake, ready and will fight for our rights by any means necessary.”

The Miyares spokeswoman said Miles turned in her state government ID and equipment on Thursday and that it was the office’s “understanding that she resigned at that time," The New York Times reported.

According to the Post, Miles edited the original post to blame the violence at the Capitol on “antifa dressed as Patriots,” saying the supposed false flag operation was “Typical antifa and BLM intimidation tactics.”

Miles was the deputy attorney general for government operations and transactions, whose duties included representing the state in election-related litigation and giving legal advice to the state Department of Elections and its governing body, the state Board of Elections.

Miles' acquaintances told the Post that Miles made the postings on a personal account, one of three the Post found for her on Facebook. The account handle for most of the postings was “Monique Miglia,” but it was later changed to “Myb Monique.”

Miles told the Post that revealing the Facebook posts represents “character assassination to stir up controversy.”

“Some liberals have their daggers out for black conservative females,” she said.

Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D), who represents the northern suburbs of Richmond, tweeted Thursday, “This is very troubling. And a disturbing sign for the next four years. All eyes should be on who the AG picks next."