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An elected Virginia prosecutor whose campaigns received big sums from groups tied to Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros downplayed violent rhetoric from Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones as “fake outrage.”
Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti – whose office was previously embroiled in controversy over how it prosecuted a shopkeeper for shooting at burglars – slammed the media’s coverage of Jones’ texts envisioning the murder of a former top Republican official.
Dehghani-Tafti criticized Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, arguing he should act independently of the governor’s office and voicing her support for Jones instead.
Her message came in response to a post on the social media platform Bluesky by the left-leaning Virginia politics blog Blue Virginia.
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Referring to Hampton Roads’ paper-of-record, Blue Virginia had written that the Virginian-Pilot’s lead story and top op-ed were wrongly centered on Jones.
“Nothing on the government shutdown or decimation of CDC or a million other important stories,” she wrote, before adding, “Your [quotes sic] ‘liberal media’ at work.”
Dehghani-Tafti wrote that re-electing Miyares would place him “in the position to obstruct and block [Abigail] Spanberger’s agenda” – further suggesting Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ loss is fait accompli.
“If we fall for the false outrage and get frightened into abandoning Jay, Miyares as AG will remain Trump’s right hand in Richmond,” she warned.
Dehghani-Tafti’s campaigns since 2019 have received $325,000 from Soros-funded political action committee Democracy PAC II and $190,000 from another related organization called Justice and Public Safety PAC.
The next-highest donor over that period was Alexandria attorney Christopher R.K. Leibig, who gave $10,900, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Soros Fund Management and Democracy PAC (separate from Democracy PAC II) are top multi-million-dollar donors to Justice and Public Safety PAC, according to OpenSecrets.
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While Arlington County has won praise for choosing to prosecute serial sex offender Richard Kenneth Cox – a key figure in the election-centric transgender bathroom and crime wave controversies – versus how Fairfax County’s liberal leadership has reacted – Dehghani-Tafti had her own controversies boil up over the years as well.
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In 2020, Dehghani-Tafti faced backlash for prosecuting a Shirlington smoke shop employee who fired at burglars after being awakened in the store’s back room. Hamzeh Abushariah shot one intruder in the back as several young people broke in around 4:50 a.m., according to reports.
Shop owner Jowan Zuber defended Abushariah, telling WMAL Radio that CCTV footage showed a suspect “lunged toward Hamzeh when he opened the door… what would you do?” Prosecutors argued the “castle doctrine” didn’t apply because the store wasn’t his home and charged Abushariah with malicious wounding and a gun offense.
The prosecution argued Abushariah had other options, such as running away or barricading himself, according to reports. A judge initially denied bond at prosecutors’ request, but a jury later acquitted him. Dehghani-Tafti told ABC’s Washington affiliate she “cannot ethically discuss an ongoing investigation,” adding there was evidence supporting the charges and urging the public “not to rush to judgment.”
Arlington County police later charged two juveniles in the burglary.
Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II collectively poured more than $42 million into the 2022 races alone, according to FactCheck.org.
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