A deputy attorney general for Virginia has resigned after social media posts surfaced in which she reportedly praised Capitol rioters on Jan. 6, 2021 and falsely claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
Monique Miles was Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares' deputy attorney general for government operations and transactions.
On the afternoon of Jan. 6, Miles wrote on Facebook the Capitol attack was being carried out by “patriots," according to The Washington Post, which first reported the news of Miles' resignation.
The office for the Republican attorney general said it didn't know about about Miles' posts until the Post shared screenshots on Thursday morning.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
“News Flash: Patriots have stormed the Capitol. No surprise. The deep state has awoken the sleeping giant,” Miles wrote, according to the Post. “Patriots are not taking this lying down. We are awake, ready and will fight for our rights by any means necessary.”
News4 has not yet viewed or independently verified the social media posts.
"This information was unknown to the Office of the Attorney General prior to this morning. Ms. Miles has resigned from her position at the Office of the Attorney General," Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Jason Miyares, told News4 in a statement.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Miles' posts in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election claim election interference and voter fraud and Miles declared that Trump was the true winner, according to the Post.
"The Attorney General has been very clear - Joe Biden won the election and he has condemned the January 6th attack," LaCivita said.
The Post, which reported it obtained screengrabs of Miles' controversial social media posts, said Miles later edited her Facebook post about the Capitol insurrection to say the rioters were “antifa dressed as Patriots,” and also shifted some of the blame for the riot to Black Lives Matter activists. “Patriots are peace loving, Antifa and BLM are not," she allegedly wrote.
In comments, Miles allegedly referred to the riot as a "peaceful protest" and said “Don’t believe the MSM,” MSM meaning mainstream media.
Miyares announced Miles was one of his deputy attorneys general when he released his picks for his top aides and staff in early January.
Miles is the founder and managing partner of Old Towne Associates, P.C., an employment and labor law firm in Alexandria and the magazine Virginia Business named her one of the state’s top lawyers in 2021.
