Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones condemned flyers with Jim Crow-era images discouraging voters from supporting redistricting in the state.

The mailers, which Jones told WTOP he first learned about last weekend, featured pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement. One such mailer said, “Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”

The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort.

A group, Justice for Democracy, has been sending out mailers and texts with some clear dog whistles, using varying disclaimers in Virginia (“Democracy and Justice PAC” and “Justice for Democracy PAC”).

Its treasurer is listed as Christopher Woodfin and its address is the same … pic.twitter.com/JvetyKGnbw

— Matt Royer (@royermattw) March 7, 2026

Early voting is underway, as Democrats in the state push for changes to congressional districts that are expected to give them more of an advantage in Congress. They said it’s in response to President Donald Trump encouraging redistricting in Republican-led states such as Texas. Republicans, though, have been critical.

In an interview with WTOP, Jones, Virginia’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers are disturbing, shocking, offensive and deceptive.

“It’s very clear a MAGA-linked group that opposes the referendum is sending these mailers to Black voters, and they’re misusing very, very hurtful imagery from the Civil Rights Movement, even invoking Jim Crow, to weaponize one of the darkest chapters in our history, to scare people into voting no and help Republicans maintain a rigged map for 2026 so they can keep control of Congress,” Jones said.

In a statement, the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the flyers falsely compare redistricting to Jim Crow.

“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia.

The purpose of the mailers, Jones said, is to “suppress the vote. It’s to make sure that people don’t go make their voices heard during this election.”

The flyers said they’re paid for by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC. Former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Republican, is listed as the chairman, according to Virginia Board of Elections documents.

“I couldn’t see why they say it’s insulting,” Cordoza told WTOP. “I’m a Black man. I don’t want my Black vote to be taken away.”

The proposed new map, Cordoza said, “ripped apart majority-minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from Northern Virginia.”

Cordoza said he didn’t know how many homes the mailers had been sent to or how much the PAC spent on them.

“I want people to do their research and see exactly what’s happening,” Cordoza said. “We, as Virginians, voted for a bipartisan redistricting commission for a reason.”

Jones, though, said he sits “across the dinner table from people who have had their right to vote denied because of the color of their skin. It’s 2026. I would hope that we’d be past tactics like this, but clearly we aren’t.”

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger met with public safety leaders from across the commonwealth Monday as part of a “unified readiness” coordination effort.

The governor met with police and fire chiefs, sheriffs, emergency managers and private sector members — including Dominion Energy — to discuss Virginia’s commitment to public safety, intelligence sharing and interagency collaboration.

“As global tensions continue to evolve, I want to be very clear: there are no known threats specific to Virginia at this time,” Spanberger said. “Today’s briefing was about making sure that information can be shared quickly and we remain at the ready.”

The meeting relates to Spanberger’s Executive Order 12, which she says reaffirms Virginia’s commitment to public safety, community trust, and readiness.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.

📲: CONNECT WITH US

Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.

The brothers of the late Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre joined demonstrators outside Epstein’s former ranch in New Mexico on Sunday to demand more transparency. 

The protest, pegged to International Women’s Day, was attended by what the Santa Fe New Mexican estimated to be hundreds of demonstrators, including activists and lawmakers, outside the estate formerly known as Zorro Ranch.

Sky Roberts said it was the first time he had visited the ranch, and demonstrators’ presence was important as a show of “force” that they’re not “going away,” as some people, including the president, try to direct attention away from the Epstein scandal. During his remarks, he rebuked the government for what he called a cover-up and demanded the Justice Department release documents that show who visited the ranch, among other things.

“All those names are in the files, and right now the government is covering those up,” he said, according to Reuters.

Epstein reportedly talked about using the ranch (now owned by Don Huffines, the GOP candidate for Texas state comptroller) for a eugenics-inspired plan to impregnate several women to “seed” the human race with his DNA (there’s no evidence he carried out such a plan). Giuffre’s posthumously released memoir includes allegations about meeting politicians and CEOs at Zorro Ranch, which was also recently linked to an unverified claim in the Epstein files alleging the deceased sex criminal had the bodies of two women buried near the property. After that allegation surfaced among the recently released Epstein files, New Mexico’s state legislature formed a truth commission to investigate Epstein’s activities at the ranch; the state DOJ has opened a probe of its own.