Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Re: Getting sued in a state where you do not live.

Yes. You would have to get a Virginia lawyer to represent you. Otherwise, they will get a judgment in Virginia. That judgment, pursuant to the Constitution, would have to be recognized by Michigan courts.

Re: Getting sued in a state where you do not live.

Assmuming you committed the alleged slander in VA or it had something to do with VA, you can be sued here for it. You can't be "forced" to go to VA, but if you don't at least appear through counsel, you will almost certainly have a judgment entered against you that will be enforceable in MI. If you report anything to a VA newspaper, you could also be sued for that -- of course, to prevail the other side has to prove that what you said was false (and some other things as well), but that does not prevent them from suing. You would be well-advised to get a VA lawyer to address the situation now.

Re: Getting sued in a state where you do not live.

The law of defamation comes in two forms: libel

which is written and slander which is spoken.

As a resident of Michigan, you must have sustained certain minimum contacts with Virginia before you can be held answerable to

a suit filed from Virginia. Whatever your contacts are with Virginia, I would cool them for awhile, and don't be too intimidated by the threats---which are probably just that---from a legal perspective.