Moore Capito sworn in as US Attorney for Southern District of WV

Capito was an attorney with the Babst Calland in Charleston. He previously served in the state House of Delegates.

Friday, Judge Frank W. Volk, chief judge of the Southern District of West Virginia, swore in Capito, who was accompanied by his wife Liberty and children Eliza, 10; Arch, 7; and Holt, 5 months.

Parent speeches

Shelley Moore Capito, her husband Charles Capito Jr. and Moore Capito all spoke.

Shelley Moore Capito said Moore Capito’s office is not a “family title or an inheritance” but “a public trust.”

“As a parent, I could not be more proud. As a senator, I could not be more confident. And as a West Virginian, I could not feel more secure,” she said.

Charles Capito Jr. highlighted Moore Capito’s determination, optimism and compassion.

“There’s something tattooed dead center on Moore’s soul that compels him to see the bright side and to move forward, believing without a doubt that the best is yet to come from him, for our family, for his community and for his state,” Charles Capito said.

Moore Capito remarks

Moore Capito said everything in his professional career has been informed by one factor: “How can I positively impact the future of a state that I love?”

Moore Capito started his new position in the middle of last fall’s government shutdown. He leads a staff of 37 attorneys and 40 non-attorney personnel in a district that covers 23 counties from Wood County to Greenbrier County and everything west.

“There was a silver lining to starting in the middle of the shutdown, and that was to see the dedication, professionalism and sacrifice that every single person in our office was willing to make for the greater good,” he said.

A “substantial portion” of Moore Capito’s time will be spent in the communities of the district meeting with law enforcement, leaders and concerned citizens, he said.

“My vision for this office is to be more transparent and more accessible, and I will work every day to make sure that West Virginians know that we are not here to hurt anyone. We’re here to help you,” he said.

'Take back America'

Moore Capito said he had a “mandate” to carry out Trump’s mission to “take back America.”

“That means attacking the drug crisis with toughness, protecting the most vulnerable among us, that being our children and our seniors and [ensuring] that those who prey on them never find comfortable shelter until they’re in our custody,” he said. “Through interdiction and education, we will engage our citizens collectively, and we will make it hard for bad people to business in West Virginia so that good people can.”

Moore Capito said that “at its core,” the prosecutor’s office is about winning and losing. He shared some advice his son Arch gave him after he lost the 2024 Republican primary for West Virginia governor.

“Remember, Dad, never give up,” Arch said.

" We will make mistakes and we will learn from those mistakes, but we will not spend our time looking in the rear-view mirror. We will always look forward and ultimately it will be those losses that help us win,” Moore Capito said.

Both Moore Capito and his mother quoted a 1940 speech called “The Federal Prosecutor,” delivered by Robert Jackson, then-attorney general of the United States and later a Supreme Court justice.

“The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty and reputation than any other person in America,” Moore Capito quoted. “While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.”