Special prosecutor to probe Virginia Democrat AG candidate Jay Jones's reckless driving sentencing

A special prosecutor was named Wednesday to investigate how Jay Jones, the Virginia Democratic candidate for attorney general, cleared his 1,000 hours of court-ordered community service after a reckless driving conviction in 2022, according to the New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Court records show Jones presented two letters to the court certifying he had completed 500 hours of service at an organization called “Meet our Moment,” and another 500 hours at the NAACP, according to ABC 7News.

The issue involves the fact that Jones’ community service documentation failed to make clear that "Meet Our Moment" was a political action committee (PAC), which was in fact Jones’ own PAC.

The New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told 7News that this matter has now been assigned to Special Prosecutor Nathan Green. 

In October, texts surfaced from 2022 in which Jones fantasized about shooting then-GOP House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children.

Political scientist Larry Sabato told the news outlet he thinks the “October Surprise” – the political term that often refers to opposition research released on a candidate late in the race – is entirely Jones's fault.

“He knew that he had that reckless driving conviction on his record, 116 miles an hour on an interstate,” Sabato said. “He knew about all the texts that he had sent, and obviously, he sent them to a Republican. Whatever the background was is almost irrelevant at this point, but he knew all those things were there, and he decided to run anyway. It's called egotism.”