Jay Jones campaign faces scrutiny over wife’s bail fund donation

Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones faced new political fallout Friday when his wife made a donation. Minnesota Freedom FundA controversial bail agency that used millions to bail violent criminals out of prison, including accused rapists and murderers.

In May 2020, during the unrest in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, Posted by Mavis Jones So what happens on Twitter: “I just donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund,” linking to the group’s donation page and urging others to do the same. This account has since been made private.

Disclosure, first reported by Washington Free BeaconJones, a Democrat, holds the position held by a Republican Jason Miares In a tight race for Virginia’s top law enforcement post. The state’s attorney general oversees statewide prosecutions and police oversight.

The Minnesota Freedom Fund, campaigned by many progressives including then-Sen. Kamala HarrisRaised more than $41 million during the 2020 protests, pledging support for protesters arrested during clashes with police. But A Fox 9 Investigates It was later discovered that the group spent most of its money bailing out defendants charged with serious violent crimes rather than low-level protest offenses.

Jay Jones text scandal boosts donations as GOP group pours millions more into VA race

Jay Jones addresses supporters after winning the Democratic nomination for Virginia Attorney General as wife Mavis Jones is seen on June 17, 2025 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Among those granted bail was Christopher Boswell, a rapist convicted twice of fresh kidnapping and assault charges, who was released after the fund posted $350,000 cash bail.

The group also paid $100,000 to release Darnica Floyd, charged with second-degree murder, and $75,000 for Jaleel Stallings, who fired on a Minneapolis SWAT team before being acquitted at trial.

Greg Levine, the fund’s interim executive director, told Fox 9 that same year, “The last time we were there, the clerk said, ‘We don’t like it when you give bail to these sex offenders.’ When I bail someone, I often don’t even look at the charge.”

Jones and Miare clash over the text of the murder

Darnica Floyd, charged with second-degree murder, was released in 2020 after the Minnesota Freedom Fund posted $100,000 bail. (Minnesota Department of Corrections)

In one case, the fund posted bail for George Howard, a career criminal accused of fatally shooting a man in a Minneapolis road-rage incident just weeks after his release.

The news has sparked controversy 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 “had two bullets in the head” and that Gilbert’s wife, Jennifer, “had to watch her kids die.”

Mavis Jones, wife of scandal-plagued Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones (D-Va.), posted in 2020 about her support for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which bailed out accused murderers and rapists. (X by Jay Jones)

Court records also show Jones was convicted Reckless driving in 2022 to travel 116 miles per hour 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.

Click here to download the Fox News app

The latest controversy gives Miares and Republicans fresh fodder in the final weeks of the campaign. A Polling by the Trafalgar Group A poll released on October 17 found Miares leading 49.5% to 44.6%, a reversal from earlier polls that had Jones ahead by 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.