Del. Matt Fariss, the former Republican lawmaker who in November lost his reelection bid as an independent candidate, was arrested in Campbell County on Saturday evening on charges of possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics and violation of a protective order.
He was booked at the Blue Ridge Regional Jail facility in Amherst County at 12:03 a.m. Sunday, online records show, and he was being held there as of Sunday afternoon.
It’s not clear when or where the arrest took place, or which drug or drugs Fariss is accused of possessing. Lt. Jarrett Rea with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest during a brief phone interview on Sunday, but he did not provide additional information, citing the ongoing investigation. The department’s public information officer was not available Sunday.
Fariss is due to appear in Campbell County General District Court on Monday.
Fariss’ arrest comes less than three weeks after he was acquitted of two felony charges in a March 2023 incident that injured Julie Miles, a woman he was seeing romantically, and led her to obtain a protective order against him. But he was found guilty of a misdemeanor reckless driving charge stemming from the same incident, and the jury ordered him to pay a $500 fine.
It was also not clear Sunday whether the alleged protective order violation from this weekend relates to Miles. Reached by phone, Miles declined to comment, citing her ongoing civil case against Fariss.
After his arrest last March, Fariss, who had represented the 59th House District since 2012, missed the filing deadline for the Republican nomination and filed his paperwork to run as an independent in June. He was defeated in the general election on Nov. 8 by Eric Zehr, the GOP nominee, in a three-way contest that also included Democrat Kimberly Moran.
According to the biography on his website, which is no longer online, Fariss is married, and he cited his wife, Crystal, and their three children as the reason he was running for office. His website also described him as “first and foremost a Christian family man committed to serving his family and community.”
Fariss has operated a country store, managed real estate and farms, raised cattle and operated numerous businesses. He is co-owner and vice president of the Lynchburg Livestock Market, the largest livestock market center in Virginia, the website said.