By Olivia Anderson | oanderson@alextimes.com
Alexandria resident Monique Miles, who briefly served as deputy attorney general of government operations and transactions for Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, is suing her former employer’s office for defamation.
Filed last week in Richmond Circuit Court, the complaint alleges that Miyares and four
other colleagues, Charles Slemp III, Darrell Jordan, Klarke Kilgore and Victoria LaCivita,
have harmed her professional career and reputation after telling the media she resigned from her new position and was not transparent during initial interviews.
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages.
“As a result of the defamatory actions of the Defendants, Plaintiff has been damaged in her professional reputation, has lost active clients, and has had to repeatedly attempt to rehabilitate her reputation among both the general public and the judiciary, before whom she practices her profession,” the complaint reads.
Miles founded Old Towne Associates, P.C., a law firm in the city focused on employment law and civil litigation, in 2013.
Earlier this year, Miles separated from the attorney general’s office after the Washington Post uncovered several of Miles’ Facebook posts supporting U.S. capitol rioters on Jan. 6., 2021 and asserting that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
“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,” Miles wrote.
Although the Post reported that she resigned, Miles alleged that she was in fact terminated. According to the complaint, Slemp and Jordan told Miles in a meeting that she was fired and had no other option but to resign.
Miles alleged in the complaint that Slemp later emailed Miles thanking her for resigning, to which she responded that she did not resign.
In a statement to the Post, LaCivita said the office plans to fight the lawsuit and “is confident that our legal position is strong.”
-oanderson@alextimes.com
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Miles alleged in the complaint that Slemp texted her thanking her for the resignation. In fact, the complaint states that he emailed her.