Mavis Jones, wife of Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones (D.), is facing scrutiny for donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a controversial bail group that freed violent offenders—including rapists and murderers—from jail. The controversy adds another layer to a campaign already dogged by questions over Jay Jones’s judgment and commitment to law and order.
“I just donated to the Minnesota freedom fund,” Mavis Jones posted on X in May 2020, at the height of the George Floyd riots. She urged followers to “please consider doing the same or donating to any of the legitimate organizations supporting protesters.” The Minnesota Freedom Fund—also promoted by then–Vice President Kamala Harris—raised $41 million in 2020 but spent most of it bailing out violent criminals rather than protesters.
Among those released was Christopher Boswell, a twice-convicted rapist charged with kidnapping and sexual assault. The fund also freed George Howard, accused of killing 38-year-old Luis Martinez Ortiz in a road rage attack, and Timothy Wayne Columbus, who allegedly raped an 8-year-old girl.
The revelation about Mavis Jones’s donation comes as her husband faces his own scandals, including texts about putting “two bullets to the head” of a GOP lawmaker and serving community service hours for his own political committee. His once-comfortable lead in the attorney general race has evaporated as polls now show him trailing incumbent Jason Miyares (R.).
