YORKTOWN – Attorney General Jay Jones visited the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown on Wednesday to tour its exhibits and the “Give Me Liberty: Virginia and the Forging of a Nation” exhibition.
The exhibition, which continues through Jan. 31, 2027, commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and highlights Virginia’s leading role in the American Revolution. It includes a rare 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence.
The attorney general, who grew up in Norfolk, said the museum is “a really special place.”
“I think this exhibit – this place, really – really does highlight Virginia’s place in that story and in our journey,” Jones said. “I think coming here will certainly highlight the importance of Yorktown, the importance of how we continue to fight and protect and defend the ideals of this nation.”
The theme resurfaced when Jones was asked about his office’s recent challenges to the Trump administration.
On July 27, Jones said he was joining a lawsuit challenging new Trump administration grant conditions that would require states to provide voter lists to the Department of Homeland Security, assist with immigration enforcement, transition to paper ballots and verify the citizenship of voters and election workers. States that refuse could lose at least 20% of their counterterrorism and Homeland Security grant funding.
Jones said the commonwealth has lost an “innumerable” number of millions of dollars in federal funding since Trump took office in January 2025.
“Since I took over, we have been fighting this administration, fighting against the overreach, protecting people’s pocketbooks here,” Jones said. “I look forward to working with the administration if there’s something that’s in the best interest of Virginia, but right now, they keep trying to take things from us that we are owed, and we’re gonna fight to protect that every single day.”
The visit included a tour of the museum’s American Revolution exhibits led by Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation’s Director of Visitor Experience Homer Lanier and Curator of Black History and Culture Harvey Bakari. Lanier discussed King George III, key figures and battles, while Bakari highlighted notable free and enslaved African Americans before leading Jones through the exhibition.
The exhibition is presented by the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission and produced by the JYF and Virginia Museum of History & Culture. It is included with museum admission, which ranges from $11 to $21.
