‘There’s no quitting me’: Virginia school board member sentenced for Jan. 6 riots will not resign

FREDERICK COUNTY, Va. ( DC News Now ) — A Frederick County school board member, who was convicted for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot , said he will not resign, despite calls from critics.

“There’s no quitting me,” said Miles Adkins, who represents the Shawnee District. “You have ups and downs in your life. You get knocked down every now and then, but you get back up, come back swinging. There’s no chance that I’m getting out of there.”

Adkins pleaded guilty Monday to two federal misdemeanors and was sentenced to 12 days in jail, to be served over multiple weekends, a fine and restitution.

Among other things, the FBI said once Adkins was in the Capitol, he waved other rioters into the building and helped one person climb into the building through a broken window.

Investigators said Adkins could be seen with a large, canned beverage at one point and that he later acknowledged it was he in a message on social media, “bragging that he drank a Coors Lite beer in the U.S. Capitol building.”

“I do regret going in there and drinking a beer,” Adkins said. “It’s the people’s house. It’s not my house.”

He has other regrets, too.

“I regret that there was violence that day. 100% I regret that. It’s a travesty,” he said. “It’s a scar on our country.”

Still, Adkins said he doesn’t regret attending what he called a “protest” that day.

“I fought for the constitution, I fought for the American people while I was in the Marine Corps fighting over seas. I just wish that Constitution would’ve defended me in my First Amendment rights as well,” he said.

Prior to and following Monday’s sentence, community members have called for Adkins’ resignation.

In April, a group of students attended a school board meeting wearing shirts that spelled out “resign Adkins.”

“The future and current voters are looking for someone who shows integrity,” a student said. “I, alongside my peers, are respectfully asking you, Mr. Adkins, to resign.”

When speaking to DC News Now, Adkins responded by saying, “my advice or my words to them is there’s an election coming up for my seat. If you’ve got somebody better, put them in.”

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