Christopher R. Kavanaugh sworn in as United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia

ROANOKE, Va. – In a ceremony Thursday evening, Christopher Robert Kavanaugh was sworn in as United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. The Honorable Lisa O. Monaco, Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice, administered the oath of office at a private ceremony at the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.

Christopher R. Kavanaugh

President Joseph R. Biden nominated Mr. Kavanaugh to be the United States Attorney on August 10, 2021.  The United States Senate confirmed his nomination on October 5, 2021.

“It is the honor of my life to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.  I know that the federal prosecutors here tirelessly serve the citizens of the Western District of Virginia in their pursuit of justice, and I am grateful for the opportunity to lead such a talented and dedicated team of public servants,” U.S. Attorney Kavanaugh said today. “I look forward to working closely with our law enforcement partners, defense counsel, and the court in serving the District.”

U.S. Attorney Kavanaugh, 41, of Charlottesville, is a career federal prosecutor, having served as an Assistant United States Attorney for both the United States Attorney’s Office in Charlottesville as well as the District of Columbia.  During his career, Mr. Kavanaugh directed numerous multi-agency investigations and prosecutions, including the hate crimes prosecution of James Fields for the August 12, 2017 car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Mr. Kavanaugh also served as the District’s chief national security prosecutor and spent time supervising and training fellow prosecutors while serving as the Counsel to the U.S. Attorney and Senior Litigation Counsel.  Most recently, Mr. Kavanaugh was Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Kavanaugh graduated summa cum laude from Georgia Tech, where received his Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.