Jay Jones v. Shannon Taylor; Kyle Coleman is Missing; Facial Recognition Technology
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Race for Virginia Attorney General: Jay Jones vs. Shannon Taylor
Next Tuesday JUNE 17 is primary day in Virginia. There are few races winning attention like the race for Attorney General. Whoever wins the Democratic primary on Tuesday will go on to challenge Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares. Of all three statewide candidates in 2021, Miyares’ race was the closest. He won over the sitting AG, Democrat Mark Herring by 26,536 votes (50.36 to 49.55).
In matters of justice policy and running for high office, the Democratic Party is constantly finding itself on defense when it comes to stating the facts: The U.S. leads the world in the rate of incarceration and locking people up is big business. Saying you’re “tough on crime” is what Republicans do to win votes, even when crime is down. But some Democrats are copying the strategy. Politicians know it’s easy to market at election time by using an individual criminal case and making it sound like a crime epidemic. Marketing to police is the result of strong union activity by law enforcement and a culture of deference that favors cops.
RELATED: One in Five: Disparities in Crime and Policing (Nov. 2023)
For members of the Black community the history of policing has been quite challenging. It’s no accident that MAGA has targeted Black Lives Matter for derision after an endless stream of police brutality videos proliferated after the camera phones became popular.
The more nuances position on justice reform is simply more difficult to market: That punitive policies have caused decades of dysfunction in Black communities where the chief bread-winner in the household was handed a felony on a weed arrest, incarceration in America has never meant equal justice for Black men — who are charged longer sentences for the same crimes as their white counterparts, same with mandatory minimum policies.
But in politics big money talks. That big money has made it more difficult for progressive lawmakers. Money from the billion dollar firm Geo Group and others want more individuals to cycle through the justice system. It makes them millions and billions every year.
RELATED: The Prison Industry: How It Works and Who Profits (April 8, 2025)
SHANNON TAYLOR
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon is emphasizing how she will fight President Trump’s move toward authoritarianism and fascism if she serves as Attorney General.
The script to Taylor’s 30 second TV ad says it all: “To protect our families, their lawlessness has to be stopped. I'm Shannon Taylor. I'm running for attorney general to beat back Musk and Trump. As Henrico’s top prosecutor I took on the NRA, went after neo nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, prosecuted scammers and protected women after we lost our abortion rights. I'm the only Democrat to have prosecuted a criminal case, and win a Republican seat. Now, I'm coming for Trump.”
Last week Taylor launched an attack ad on Jones that focused on resume after Clean Virginia, an anti-Dominion advocacy group supporting Jones, launched an attack ad on Taylor regarding whether she could be impartial on Dominion Energy as AG. Dominion has donated $650,000 to Taylor’s campaign according to by WRIC yesterday.
But Taylor has focused most of her campaign on Trump and many endorsers, such as Eileen Filler Corn and former Virginia AG Mark Herring have focused on her service as Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney.
But issues of equal justice, race and the Black Lives Matter agenda against police brutality and over-policing are never far away.
Taylor once said in 2014 that, "I do believe that the reality is that the resources we have... could be best served to some of our young people if they were brought to the juvenile justice system versus a school trying to handle something internally," Taylor said.
Below: Taylor speaks to VPM’s Jahd Khalil on her views on the office of AG and justice reform.
JAY JONES
Former House of Delegates member Jay Jones is challenging Taylor. This is Jones’ second run for attorney general after an impressive outing against sitting AG Mark Herring in 2021. The Jones family legacy and lived experience as related to civl rights is also impressive.
“His grandfather, Hilary H. Jones, Sr., was a pioneering Civil Rights attorney in Norfolk and became the first Black member of the Norfolk School Board. In 1969, he was appointed to the State Board of Education, the first Black person to be named to the board in the history of Virginia,” Jones’ campaign website points out.
Jones’ campaign has to exist in the moment where his father, Jerrauld C. Jones, who was also a former Delegate and Judge in Norfolk, died 11 days ago on May 31. The timing of his dad’s death has no doubt been difficult for Jones’ campaign — Jerrauld C. Jones’ funeral took place last week. But the moment was also a reminder of the long legacy or race in the south, in Virginia, and how racial discrimination as mandated by law is not in a distant past. It involves real people and impacts individual lives.
Jay Jones is now running for Attorney General of Virginia at time when the issues his grandfather and father fought against are back again. As the Trump Administration refashions racism to make American segregated again and take with pride against diversity and inclusion — all the precepts of segregation policy in the South. When Jay Jones served in the Virginia House of Delegates he focused on several issues that won him death threats and the opposition of his own party’s leadership — from focusing on qualified immunity to policy alternatives to prison.
Because any attempt to be thoughtful on justice policy is defined as “soft on crime” it’s noteworthy that any elected official would dare continue to make the case. As President Trump incessantly mentions crime as a justification for violating the Constitution, many Democrats are scared to push back.
Jay Jones, who served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, has been endorsed by Congressman Bobby Scott and former Governors Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe.
When Jay Jones ran for Delegate in 2017, his policy focus included:
🏛️ Reducing mass incarceration through alternatives to prison
🏛️ Raising the felony theft threshold
🏛️ Reinstating parole for non-violent offenders
🏛️ Restoring voting rights to returning citizens
Former Delegate Jay Jones’ work in the Virginia House on justice reform included:
● HB 2325 (2021): Co-patroned a bill to create an independent ombudsman for Virginia’s prison system
● HB 1437 (2020): Reduced juvenile confinement for contempt violations
● HB 2113 (2021): Supported automatic expungement of criminal records
● HB 1991 (2021): Created a process for early release of juvenile offenders
● HB 1532 (2020): Expanded good-time credits for incarcerated individuals in rehabilitation programs
Jones recently did an interview with VPM
A Disappearance in Tysons: Searching for Morehouse Student Kyle Coleman
KYLE COLEMAN IS MISSING. Fox5 News reporting body found: Coleman, a Morehouse College student, was out with friends in the Tysons area on Friday night, June 6. At 11:20 p.m., his iPhone sent an automatic crash detection alert to 911, indicating his car had hit a tree. The dispatcher reported hearing screaming in the background. When first responders arrived, the vehicle was empty. For three days, Fairfax County deployed detectives, officers, helicopters, drones, forensic teams, K-9 units, and search and rescue teams to locate Coleman. — Fox News
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$45 Million: No Kings Day Guidance as Trump Pretends He’s Kim Jong Il
The US Army 250th Anniversary Parade to take place in Washington on June 14, better known as the '“Trump's military parade," is estimated to cost $45 million. This cost includes $16 million for street repairs, and the overall price tag could increase further due to potential cleanup costs and increased police and other security. Large black gates provided by Trump donor ULINE (billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein) are already being put in place. The parade just happens to land on President Trump's 79th birthday.
Counter demonstrations are planned all across the U.S. and many are advising protesters of the law — even though the Trump Administration is violating the law on a regular basis. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles posted guidance for pubic demonstrations. Below: Virginia Senator L. Louise Lucas does the same.
Feds React to Virginia Lawmakers’ Privacy Concerns on Facial Recognition Technology
By Nathaniel Cline ✈️ Identification screening technology that launched during the pandemic to reduce airport check-in times has helped improve security and travelers’ experiences, but carries a privacy concern stemming from the capture and storage of passengers’ photos.
Virginia lawmakers, privacy advocates and others have questioned how images of citizens are used and stored, and how peoples’ rights are being protected.
The Transportation Security Administration said in a Thursday announcement that the images captured on the airport screening technology known as Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2) “are never stored” or “used for any other purpose than immediate identification.”
House Communication, Technology and Innovation Committee Chair Cliff Hayes, D-Chesapeake, said tools like CAT-2 are helpful, but safeguards are important to protect civil liberties and privacy as the technology advances.
“Travelers deserve both speed and security when it comes to travel, but it’s not at the expense of their privacy,” Hayes told the Mercury. Read entire
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