Virginia deputy attorney general resigns over praise for Capitol rioters

Monique Miles had referred to the rioters who stormed Capitol on 6 January 2021 as ‘patriots’

Protesters at the Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021 (AP)

Virginia’s deputy attorney general Monique Miles has resigned from her position after Facebook posts surfaced showing that she had referred to last year’s January 6 Capitol Hill rioters as “patriots”.

During the riots, Ms Miles had reportedly posted on Facebook: “News Flash: Patriots have stormed the Capitol. No surprise. The deep state has awoken the sleeping giant.”

“Patriots are not taking this lying down. We are awake, ready and will fight for our rights by any means necessary,” she said, according to The Washington Post.

Ms Miles later allegedly edited the Facebook post, claiming that the mob was “Antifa dressed as patriots” and “patriots are peace loving, Antifa and BLM (Black Lives Matter) are not.” She also referred to the riot as a “peaceful protest” and told commenters that they should not believe the mainstream media.

In a statement, the office of the attorney general said they had been unaware of her Facebook posts. “This information was unknown to the Office of the Attorney General prior to this morning,” said Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson for Virginia attorney general Jason S Miyares.

“Ms Miles has resigned from her position at the Office of the Attorney General,” Ms LaCivita added. “The attorney general has been very clear: Joe Biden won the election and he has condemned the January 6 attack.”

Ms Miles, who was sworn in last month, said she was asked to resign. “I haven’t resigned. They’ve asked for it,” she told Newsmax.

She added that she had been summoned to two meetings on Thursday with senior officials in the attorney general’s office, including chief deputy attorney general Chuck Slemp. Ms Miles said that she was told the topic of the 2020 elections was “too controversial”.

“The January 6 topic is too nuclear. They didn’t want any bad press for the office or for Jason [Miyares],” she said.

“The posts were made at a time when the news was still developing re: the facts around the election, the court cases, the Rally on the Ellipse and what happened at the capitol,” Ms Miles said in a statement to The Washington Post. “That was before all the audits occurred.”

“What we know now about the election today is very different from what we knew on Election Day 2020 or even what we knew on the day that President Biden was inaugurated in January 2021. I believe he is our president as he was certified as such,” she added.

More than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the 6 January riots, while a House Select Committee is also probing the insurrection.