In one day, Jennifer Boykin of Isle of Wight County and Dawn Jones of Suffolk will be back in court to resolve Jones’ nearly 20-month-old assault and battery charge against Boykin, which stems from a Republican Party meeting last year to select the method of nominating a GOP candidate for the state’s 17th Senate District election.

On Aug. 22, Judge Nicole Belote recused herself and rescheduled the case for Nov. 7 after disclosing she’s a close friend and appointee of then-delegate and now state Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Isle of Wight.

Jordan defeated Hermie Sadler in a primary election in 2023 for the GOP nomination that’s at the heart of Boykin’s alleged dispute with Jones, and in November that year went on to win her senate seat in a general election against former Del. Clinton Jenkins, D-Suffolk.

Jones in March 2023 had filed a lawsuit alleging “certain high-ranking Republican Party officials” including Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ offices had been “working to support” one candidate over the other by allegedly pressuring the Virginia Department of Elections to change the nominating method from a primary election to a convention. Despite testimony in that civil case never delving into exactly how Youngkin’s or Miyares’ representatives had allegedly pressured the change, a Richmond judge ordered a primary be held, which Jordan won. 

State Republican Party Chairman Rich Anderson, in correspondence The Smithfield Times obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request to the Virginia Department of Elections last year, had written to Department of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals on March 7 and again on March 9 in 2023 contending “internal party dysfunction” had “manifested within the Suffolk Republican Committee” and that on Feb. 25 of that year the party had “disbanded” the Suffolk GOP, removed Jones as its chair and installed Steve Trent – who’d contributed money to Jordan’s campaign – in her place. Anderson, in a written statement entered as evidence at the March 27 hearing, contended Jones acted beyond her authority when she – not Trent – cast Suffolk’s vote at the Legislative District Committee in favor of holding a primary rather than a convention, and then, as the chairwoman of the LDC, certified that vote to the state.

During the brief testimony Belote had allowed before realizing the case concerned Jordan and recusing herself, Jones had testified under questioning by Sussex County Commonwealth’s Attorney Regina Sykes, whom the court had named as special prosecutor, that Boykin had grabbed Jones’ arm as the two were leaving the Ruritan clubhouse in Walters where the Legislative District Committee meeting was held, and shouted “you’re a farce you’ve been disbanded” at Jones.

Court records list three witnesses – Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Anthony Patten, Deputy S.A. James, and Rod Thompson  – as testifying on behalf of Boykin, who maintains her innocence and is being represented by attorney Fred Taylor.

Thompson was one of two candidates seeking the GOP nomination in 2023 for the 84th House of Delegates District race, which was also changed from a convention to a primary as a result of Jones’ lawsuit. Thompson lost that primary to challenger Mike Dillender, who then lost the general election that November to Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk.

On the prosecution’s witness list is Jones and her husband, Jerry, Richard Shoemaker of Suffolk and Carey Allen, an adviser to Sadler’s campaign.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Carey Allen’s first name.