RICHMOND — He’s been on the radio and TV. He’s returned to Twitter. And on Monday, Robert F. McDonnell finally entered full, unfettered, ex-governor mode.

Just a month after federal prosecutors opted against retrying the former Virginia governor on corruption charges, the Republican popped up at the sort of ceremonial gathering that should have been old hat for someone who left the Executive Mansion nearly three years ago.

But McDonnell has spent all that time consumed by a legal battle that took him all the way to U.S. Supreme Court. Finally free from the prospect of prison, he took part in a ceremony on the site of a jail, of all things.

[Prosecutors will drop case against former Va. governor Robert McDonnell]

McDonnell and other dignitaries had gathered to celebrate plans to develop a historic site on the buried remains of Lumpkin’s Jail, which for decades was the center of Richmond’s slave trade. The history of the place, just a few blocks from Capitol Square, was nearly forgotten until archeologists started poking around in 2005.

[As Richmond mulls a slavery heritage site, supporters of stalled museum speaks up]

As governor, McDonnell provided $11 million toward the project. So he was asked to attend the event, help plant a tree and say a few words.

“For so long this place has been a testament of man’s capacity for evil, man’s capacity to and visit inhumanity upon his fellow man,” McDonnell told the crowd. “And today we celebrate the transformation of this place as a beacon of hope and opportunity and memory of what occurred here.”

The city-sponsored event ran long — 2 1/2 hours, not 60 minutes as advertised. At one point, everyone was asked to bend over and touch their feet for several minutes while a woman on stage performed a ceremony that involved pouring water on a fern. McDonnell and Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) gamely complied.

“You gotta go with the flow,” McDonnell told The Washington Post afterward, noting that he enjoyed “getting out of retirement a little.”

Supporters flocked to shake McDonnell’s hand. He thanked many of them for praying for him during his long legal ordeal.

“He’s had a rough ride,” said state Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance (D-Petersburg). “He’s been a supporter of this from the beginning, and today is a good day.”

