About the Attorney General

Jay Jones was sworn in as Virginia’s 49th Attorney General of Virginia on January 17, 2026. Jay is a proud husband to Mavis Jones and father to two young boys, Charles and Zachary. A lifelong resident of Norfolk, Jay’s call to public service was generations in the making.

The descendant of slaves, Jay’s family has been in Norfolk since the early 20th century. 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.

Jay’s father, Jerrauld C. Jones, was one of the few Virginians to serve in all three branches of state government. He was a member of the General Assembly from 1988 – 2002, served as Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice under Governor Mark Warner and was a Circuit Court judge. His mother, Lyn Simmons, is currently a judge on the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court after a long career as a prosecutor and attorney in private practice.

As the 49th Attorney General of Virginia, Jay’s fight is one for families — from crime and violence, corporate price gouging, and politicians with extreme agendas attacking our rights and Virginia workers. Jay’s primary mission is to ensure the Office of the Attorney General serves the people and always puts Virginians first.

Jay previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where he was a member of the Office of Consumer Protection. In this role he took on the gun lobby to keep families safe from violent crime, sued corporate special interests to prevent higher grocery prices, and went after big banks and slumlords preying on consumers.

As a member of the House of Delegates, Jay protected abortion rights, expanded Medicaid, and gave teachers annual pay raises. In Richmond, he championed energy and environmental policies that lowered Virginians’ energy bills and protected our air, water, and land. A tireless legislator, Jay also wrote legislation known as the “Ashanti Alert,” establishing a missing persons alert for adults in the Commonwealth. The “Ashanti Alert” is now used nationwide.

An accomplished litigator, Jay led the fight on behalf of the Virginia NAACP against the Youngkin Administration to protect voting rights. Jay also advocated tirelessly for reproductive healthcare access and abortion rights as a member of the Virginia Planned Parenthood board.