After the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals announced a 2028 relocation to a site in Virginia Wednesday, the state’s attorney general took to social media to call out District leaders over crime in the nation’s capital.

“As D.C. politicians pretend they don’t have a public safety issue … and carjackings, violent crime, and robberies worsen, Virginia residents are less likely to spend their time (and their money) in the District. We welcome the [Capitals and Wizards], Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and this tremendous development to a safer Virginia,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote on X

Mr. Miyares, a Republican, has previously said D.C. suffers from a “spirit of lawlessness” and “criminal first, victim last” prosecutors.

The two teams are both owned by Ted Leonsis. His Monumental Sports and Entertainment company airs their games and operates their current home, Capital One Arena in D.C.’s Chinatown.

At an event Wednesday, Mr. Leonsis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, announced the teams would have a new home in Virginia starting in 2028 at Potomac Yard in Alexandria.

The new planned 20,000-seat arena is adjacent to the Potomac Yard Metro station on the Blue and Yellow lines. Officials estimate the complex as a whole will bring 30,000 jobs and host over 220 events yearly. 

D.C. continues to grapple with crime rates that have spiked over the past year. As of Nov. 29, violent crime had risen 40% in the past year. Carjackings increased by 107%, robberies by 69% and homicides by 32%. 

High-profile crimes have included the carjacking of an FBI agent last month as well as a break-in into an unoccupied Secret Service car outside the district home of Naomi Biden, the president’s granddaughter.

A Forbes adviser survey last month also found that D.C. had the most retail theft per capita last year at 2,829 incidents per 100,000 residents.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.