Monique Miles, the Republican deputy attorney general for Virginia, has resigned after facing a firestorm of controversy when photos of her appeared on social media applauding insurrectionists during the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Miles’s office didn’t become aware of the images until Thursday, February 10, a spokesperson said.
The social media posts – prominently displayed on Facebook, have since been deleted.
However, officials confirmed that in one of the missives posted by Miles, she declares:
“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.”
Reportedly, Miles also hit “like” on a tweet that said rioters were members of antifa but disguised as supporters of former President Donald Trump.
NBC News reported that, in the days following the riot, Miles retweeted a number of pro-Trump posts, including one shared a day before the House impeached Trump for inciting the attack.
“Can someone please post the part of President Trump’s speech where he incited violence? I listened to the whole thing and can’t seem to find it,” the outlet quoted one post by conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, in reference to Trump’s speech at the White House Ellipse.
Miles also retweeted posts about audits of the 2020 election and efforts to uncover evidence of voter fraud. The Washington Post reported that Miles had also posted articles on Facebook that supported baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
