As protests erupt again in Los Angeles over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and President Donald Trump’s deployment of U.S. Marines to back up the National Guard, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares isn’t blinking.

“It’s not unprecedented,” Miyares, who is seeking a second term as Virginia’s top law enforcement official, said of Trump’s decision to send troops to the streets. “President George H.W. Bush did it in 1992 during the LA riots. Twice the number of Marines were deployed then.”

In a wide-ranging interview at his office in Richmond earlier this week, Miyares, the son of a Cuban refugee and the first Hispanic Virginian elected statewide, insisted that what’s happening in California is the result of leadership failure.

“This is about protecting facilities and backing up law enforcement — not policing,” he said, emphasizing that peaceful protest is a hallmark of democracy, but violence is not. “When you cross the line … that is not protest, that is violence.”

In the interview, Miyares defended the use of force in Los Angeles, spoke at length about his office’s crime-fighting initiatives and touted settlements with corporate polluters and opioid makers. He also fielded questions on civil rights enforcement, voting access, utility regulation and his complex views on criminal justice reform.

Democrats, not surprisingly, remain deeply skeptical of Miyares’ record.

Carolyn Fiddler, spokeswoman for the Democratic Attorneys General Association, dismissed his claims of prioritizing public safety.

“Throughout his time as AG, MAGA Miyares continuously put politics before people,” Fiddler said in an email. “While he touts his ‘tough on crime’ stance, he’s failed to call out Donald Trump and Elon Musk for blatant violations of the law — including those actions with devastating impacts on the commonwealth. Virginians deserve better than Miyares, and we will take back the seat this year.”

And while critics accuse him of being more focused on punishment than reform, Miyares says his approach is guided by listening, law enforcement feedback, and a “victim-first” mindset.

From Virginia Beach to the statewide stage

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina and raised in Virginia Beach, Miyares, 49, earned his law degree from the College of William & Mary and worked as a prosecutor before running for office.

In 2015, he became the first Cuban American elected to Virginia’s General Assembly. Six years later, he unseated Democratic incumbent Mark Herring to become attorney general, winning on a platform centered around public safety.

Now, as he runs for reelection, Miyares is highlighting what he calls some of the biggest public safety and civil litigation wins in Virginia history. But he’s also navigating internal GOP rifts, pressure from both the right and the center, and a polarized electorate that’s increasingly skeptical of tough-on-crime rhetoric.

“I think one of the most important things for a leader to do is just listen,” Miyares said.

Since taking office in 2022, Miyares has zeroed in on violent crime. He calls Operation Ceasefire, a grant-driven program launched in 13 Virginia cities, one of his proudest achievements. The initiative funds a mix of prevention, intervention, and prosecution strategies aimed at repeat violent offenders.

“We saw a 66% drop in the murder rate across the 13 cities,” Miyares said. “Virginia’s statewide murder rate fell by a third. We also saw a decline in overdose deaths — because we’re getting fentanyl dealers off the street.”

The program, he insists, is based on listening tours he conducted with police and community leaders around the state. “Roughly 5% of felons commit over 50% of violent crimes. If you want to lower crime, you go after that small subset.”

Still, sustaining the initiative may prove difficult amid budget fights. “I wish we could expand Operation Ceasefire to more cities,” Miyares acknowledged, hinting that local buy-in has been mixed. “I wish more commonwealth’s attorneys would heed my call to listen to victims. Too many haven’t.”

When asked whether his office has done enough to address police misconduct, Miyares pointed to his 2023 settlement with the Town of Windsor, where officers had unlawfully stopped and threatened a Black Army lieutenant.

“You can be pro-law enforcement and still demand accountability,” he said. “They’re the only ones with a monopoly on violence in our society — they should be held to a higher standard.”

He added that oversight takes time. “We want to be thorough and systematic. And yes, if any other department crosses that boundary, we’ll get involved.”

That approach hasn’t stopped critics from accusing Miyares of being too soft on departments that violate civil rights — an accusation he flatly rejects. “The facts don’t support that claim,” he said.

Still, Miyares makes clear that his office prioritizes public safety above political fashion. “I will not support a criminal-first, victim-last mindset,” he said. “We’ve heard a lot about reform, but rarely do you hear the word ‘victim’ in those debates. That ends with me.”

Taking on corporations

Miyares has also overseen a wave of settlements that he says bring real change to communities.

“We’ve secured over $1.3 billion from opioid manufacturers and distributors,” he said. Some of that money, he said, helped open a new inpatient treatment center in Abingdon — “the first of its kind within a 100-mile radius.”

He emphasized that the money is managed by Virginia’s Opioid Abatement Authority, not his office, to ensure transparency and local tailoring. “What works in Fairfax may not work in Galax. But this is the largest influx of treatment funding in state history.”

On environmental enforcement, Miyares points to an $80 million settlement with Monsanto over PCB pollution and multiple other actions, including prosecuting illegal landfills and forcing remediation of oil spills and raw sewage discharges. “Our environmental law section has been incredibly active,” he said. “We’re thorough, we’re relentless, and we’re the people’s protector.”

That populist posture extends to corporations. Miyares boasts of taking on utility giants and the Washington Commanders alike. “We got a bigger settlement from the Commanders than D.C. and Maryland combined,” he said, referring to the $1.3 million paid over unlawfully withheld ticket deposits.

And in 2023, his office negotiated changes to Dominion Energy’s offshore wind plan. “We got them to share $3 billion of the risk, instead of placing it all on the ratepayers,” he said. “Before us, Virginians were on the hook for 100% of that cost.”

But his critics say his record on housing and regulation is mixed. Miyares counters that protecting property rights doesn’t preclude enforcing civil rights.

“I don’t think those are mutually exclusive,” he said. “We secured the largest housing discrimination verdict in Virginia’s history — $750,000 to two families evicted because one member was Black. And we’re making sure bad actors are held accountable, without choking off affordable housing through overregulation.”

Elections, energy and political calculations

Early into his tenure, Miyares established an Election Integrity Unit, which he said ensures voter rolls are accurate. Launched in September 2022 with no new funding, the unit is tasked with investigating election-law violations and safeguarding voting integrity. It successfully issued a cease‑and‑desist against misleading mailers sent by Look Ahead America — an action upheld by a federal appeals court.

While Miyares touts the unit as crucial to preventing fraud, no actual voter fraud has been identified, leading watchdogs like the NAACP to criticize the unit as more reflective of political signaling than prosecutorial gain.

“I can cite several Virginia elections decided by a handful of votes. It should be easy to vote, hard to cheat,” he said, rejecting the notion that voter ID laws are a means of suppression. “I cannot get a library card without an ID. Voter ID is not controversial.”

In the interview, Miyares wouldn’t commit to refraining from prosecuting voters accidentally registered in error, noting that knowingly voting as a non-citizen could still result in legal action. “They’d have to fear prosecution if they go knowing they’re a non-citizen,” he said.

Miyares, along with Youngkin, has repeatedly challenged Virginia’s ties to California’s environmental standards, particularly on electric vehicles.

“Tying ourselves to California is a fool’s errand,” he said. “Their regulations are being dictated by an unelected air board. The average EV costs $68,000. That’s a tax on working-class Virginians.”

He said Virginia needs to expand its baseload energy capacity, not rely on intermittent sources like wind and solar. “I want electric bills to go down. Tying ourselves to California ensures they go up.”

Despite this skepticism, Miyares defended his record on climate enforcement, including recent court victories over solar and wind energy permits. “We are enforcing the law — just not surrendering to mandates that hurt working people.”

Miyares has also made “second chances” a talking point, holding job fairs for formerly incarcerated Virginians. But he remains skeptical of broader criminal justice reforms, including eliminating mandatory minimums.

“They’re an effective tool,” he said. “They help us go after repeat violent offenders and keep them off the streets.”

He argued that justice reform must be victim-centered.

“Too many of these conversations leave out the victims entirely. They’ve been through trauma, they’ve testified under oath in a courtroom full of strangers, and they deserve to know the system protects them.”

When asked if he supports GOP lieutenant governor nominee John Reid, whose campaign was embroiled in scandal earlier this spring, Miyares replied simply, “I support Republicans.” Despite Youngkin’s attempts to nudge Reid from the race, Miyares said he respects the governor’s judgment — but “John Reid is our nominee.”

Looking to the 2025 election, Miyares said he’s proudest of the state’s drop in fentanyl death — 46%, more than double the national average. “There are Virginians alive today because of our work,” he said.

If reelected, he said, he’d expand Operation Ceasefire and continue pressing commonwealth’s attorneys to prioritize victims.

“I have said before, I will not support a criminal first, victim last mindset. And I find it amazing that whenever we have these great discussions about criminal justice reform, the one word that you never hear is victims,” Miyares said.

“Denying the voice of victims is not something I’ll ever find acceptable.”