ROANOKE, Va – Christopher Todd Gilbert was sworn in July 14, 2025 as United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Appointed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, U.S. Attorney Gilbert took the oath of office administered by United States District Judge Thomas T. Cullen.
“I am honored to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia,” Mr. Gilbert said today. “In my heart, I have always been a prosecutor and to return to that role now is the opportunity of a lifetime. My wife and I have spent our lives in the Western District and to play a part in keeping it safe is a privilege. I look forward to working with all our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners to make the Western District of Virginia safer for all its residents.”
As the United States Attorney, Mr. Gilbert serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Western District of Virginia, responsible for representing the United States in all civil and criminal litigation. U.S. Attorney Gilbert leads an office of nearly 30 federal prosecutors and support staff.
The Western District of Virginia comprises approximately sixty percent of the land area in the Commonwealth of Virginia and approximately 2.2 million of its citizens. The district covers a large geographic area. While the northern corner is less than fifty miles from Washington D.C., Lee County, the western tip of the district, is farther west than Detroit and is closer to six other state capitols than it is to Richmond.
Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Mr. Gilbert was a state prosecutor with nearly fifteen years’ experience in four different Commonwealth’s Attorneys offices, all located within the Western District of Virginia- Lynchburg, Shenandoah, Warren and Frederick. U.S Attorney Gilbert has significant experience prosecuting violent crimes, including homicides, as well as robberies, drug conspiracies, sex crimes, gun crimes, and fraud. He has also taught the art of trial advocacy to young prosecutors.
In addition, U.S. Attorney Gilbert served nearly twenty years in the Virginia legislature as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, serving as the 57th Speaker of the House from 2022-2024. A core focus of Mr. Gilbert’s legislative experience was in the area of public safety. He served as a member of the Virginia State Crime Commission, the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, the Criminal Justice Services Board, and The Commission on VASAP (Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program) as well as Chairman of the Criminal Subcommittee of the Courts of Justice Committee. He was named Legislator of the Year by the Virginia Sheriff’s Association, the Virginia State Police Association and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.
U.S. Attorney Gilbert and his family have deep ties to the Western District of Virginia. He was raised in the Shenandoah Valley and graduated from the University of Virginia and the Southern Methodist University School of Law where he served as president of the Student Bar Association (student body) and won the school’s annual mock trial competition. He and his wife Jennifer live on a small farm in the Shenandoah Valley with their two young boys. Jennifer Wishon Gilbert is a native of Bedford County, Virginia, attended Virginia Tech and worked as a broadcast journalist for WDBJ in Roanoke.
