Parisa Dehghani-Tafti

Many Virginians’ criminal convictions about to be sealed under ‘Clean Slate’ law

Published June 11, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated June 11, 2026 at 1:47PM

Flags flying in the wind at Arlington County's justice center in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A Virginia law going into effect on July 1 will seal the criminal records of many people convicted of low-level offenses.

The commonwealth’s “Clean Slate” law is expected to automatically seal over 100,000 criminal records of Virginians who were once convicted of misdemeanors such as shoplifting, trespassing and distributing marijuana, but who haven’t reoffended in the past seven years. This will make make housing providers and many employers unable to access such records via criminal background checks.

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Sex offender’s loitering charges head to appeals court, stalling indecent exposure case

By Dan Egitto

Published June 4, 2026 at 9:15AM

Mugshot of Richard Cox, via Arlington County Sheriff's Office, and the W-L High School campus

The Virginia Court of Appeals will review some of the many charges against a convicted sex offender accused of indecent exposure in multiple girls’ locker rooms.

Richard Kenneth Cox, who is accused of entering public changing areas at Arlington Public Schools pools in order to undress and remain there while naked, has successfully challenged indictments on charges of illegal loitering near a school, WJLA reported this week. The rest of Cox’s charges are currently on hold pending an appeal of the Arlington County Circuit Court decision.

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‘Data walks’ offer window into prosecution and diversion programs in Arlington

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 20, 2026 at 8:30AM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and members of her staff (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

A pair of open-house-style events held over the weekend provided local residents an up-close look at the inner workings of the commonwealth’s attorney’s office.

The two Interactive Data Walks on Local Prosecution and Diversion Programs aimed to demystify the work of the prosecutor’s office, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told ARLnow.

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Arlington prosecutor alleges federal overreach in Stephen Miller protester case

By ARLnow.com

Published May 7, 2026 at 8:30AM

Protest flyer distributed near Stephen Miller's home (via court filing)

A new court filing alleges that federal investigators may have violated a court order shielding records from the cellphone of an activist who distributed flyers about Stephen Miller in his Arlington neighborhood last year.

The filing was submitted Tuesday by Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti. At more than 80 pages, it formally closes her office’s investigation of activist Barbara Wien without charges.

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JUST IN: House committee targets Arlington police, sheriff’s office and prosecutors over ‘sanctuary policies’

By Dan Egitto

Published May 4, 2026 at 10:00AM | Updated May 5, 2026 at 1:10PM

Flags flying in the wind at Arlington County's justice center in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The House Judiciary Committee is targeting all three of Arlington’s main criminal justice agencies over local policies that restrict contact with immigration enforcement.

In separate letters to the Arlington County Police Department, Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the committee took issue with the limits that these agencies have placed on their cooperation with immigration officers, arguing that such policies endanger the public.

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County Board candidate criticizes prosecutors over handling of assault case

By Dan Egitto

Published April 29, 2026 at 2:45PM

Audrey Clement gathering signatures outside of Arlington Central Library on Monday, March 9, 2026 (staff photo)

Frequent County Board candidate Audrey Clement has taken issue with the amount of time her assailant was sentenced to serve for attacking her and a bystander outside a library in March.

The man, 47-year-old Jonathan Rogers, pleaded guilty to striking Clement in the back of the head and hitting a bystander in the eye when he intervened in the apparently unprovoked attack. Rogers was released from jail on Sunday after spending just 50 days behind bars — an amount of time that Clement believes is unacceptable.

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Arlington’s top prosecutor seeks better pay for staff, noting increased police salaries

By Jared Serre

Published April 9, 2026 at 2:45PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti speaks (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Arlington’s commonwealth attorney seeking higher pay for prosecutors this budget season, pointing to increased salaries for police officers and potentially better compensation in surrounding localities.

The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget calls for increasing funding for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office by roughly 3%: from about $7.7 million to $7.9 million. But Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti told the Arlington County Board on Tuesday that prosecutors’ starting salary of $82,000 should be higher.

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JUST IN: House committee subpoenas Arlington prosecutor in bias investigation

By Dan Egitto

Published March 20, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated March 23, 2026 at 12:25PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at an anti-ICE rally in Courthouse this month (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney, the latest escalation in a months-long dispute over her handling of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has filed a subpoena seeking to compel Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to release numerous documents related to a case involving the search and seizure of an activist’s cellphone.

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Sex offender again convicted of possessing child pornography, awaits indecent exposure trial

By Dan Egitto

Published February 5, 2026 at 11:45AM

Mugshot of Richard Cox, via Arlington County Sheriff's Office, and the W-L High School campus

A convicted sex offender accused of indecent exposure in multiple girls’ locker rooms in Arlington has been found guilty of possessing child pornography.

Richard Kenneth Cox — who is still awaiting trial for other instances of allegedly claiming to be transgender in order to access girls’ locker rooms at Arlington Public Schools pools and remain there while naked — was found guilty of two counts of possession of child pornography yesterday (Wednesday).

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Coalition including Arlington’s top prosecutor pledges accountability if feds commit crimes

By Jared Serre

Published January 29, 2026 at 3:45PM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at an anti-ICE rally in Courthouse this month (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

A coalition of progressive prosecutors including Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney is promising to share strategies and pursue accountability for any illegal actions by federal agents.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti — alongside Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and prosecutors from Minneapolis, Philadelphia and other jurisdictions — announced the Fight Against Federal Overreach (FAFO) project yesterday (Wednesday). The initiative aims to “rein in unlawful conduct” amid a growing presence of federal immigration and law enforcement in communities across the country.

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House committee threatens to force Arlington prosecutor to send documents in bias investigation

By Dan Egitto

Published January 16, 2026 at 9:15AM

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at an anti-ICE rally in Courthouse this month (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

The House Judiciary Committee is threatening to legally force Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney to send documents related to her handling of an ongoing criminal investigation.

In the latest escalation of a months-long dispute, Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) argued that he has the authority to compel Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti to submit a wide variety of materials related to her requesting limits on the search and seizure of an Arlington activist’s cellphone.

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Hundreds rally in Courthouse to protest ICE shooting of Minneapolis woman

By Dan Egitto

Published January 12, 2026 at 10:00AM

Anti-ICE demonstrators rally in Courthouse on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2025 (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied with Arlington officials in Courthouse yesterday (Sunday) in protest of immigration enforcement killing a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.

“I have dedicated 24 years of my life protecting Arlington because I believe law enforcement is supposed to protect the community by building trusting relationships,” Arlington Sheriff Jose Quiroz told the crowd gathered in Courthouse Plaza. “ICE is doing the opposite. The way they are operating does not keep us safe.”