The Democratic candidate for Attorney General in Virginia is still getting the support of most party officials and candidates, despite the release of text messages from just three years ago where he said Republican Delegate Todd Gilbert should get "two bullets to the head" as well as wishing harm to Gilbert's two children.
Jay Jones, a former delegate himself, sent the text messages to Del. Carrie Coyner, and National Review obtained and published the series of deeply disturbing texts a few days ago . The conversation between Jones and the lawmaker took place after former state legislator Joe Johnson, Jr. passed away in August, 2022. Jones was apparently upset that Gilbert and other Republicans were honoring Johnson, who was widely seen as a moderate Democrat.
“If those guys die before me,” Jones wrote, referencing the Republican colleagues who were publicly honoring the deceased Johnson’s memory, “I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves” to “send them out awash in something.”
Jones then suggested that, presented with a hypothetical situation in which he had only two bullets and was faced with the choice of murdering then-Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert or two dictators, he’d shoot Gilbert “every time,” prompting pushback from his former colleague:
Jones:Three people, two bullets
Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot
Gilbert gets two bullets to the head
Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time
Coyner: Jay Please stop
Jones: Lol Ok, ok
Coyner: It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on themIt isn’t okNo matter who they are
That's bad enough, but it gets even worse. According to NR, Jones then called Coyner to try to explain his comments, and at one point argued that the only way to enact public policy changes is when lawmakers "feel pain themselves."
Then at one point, the source said, he suggested he wished Gilbert’s wife could watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views, prompting Coyner to hang up the phone in disgust.
Afterward, Jones continued his barrage of text messages, saying he was just asking questions. Coyner dismissed his excuse via text and chastised Jones for “hopping [sic] Jennifer Gilbert’s children would die.”
Rather than deny that he had wished death on the children, Jones responded by saying, “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
Faced with more pushback from his frazzled former colleague, Jones somehow took the conversation a step further: “I mean do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil? And that they’re breeding little fascists? Yes,” he wrote, referring to Gilbert’s wife and two young children.
Despite all of the calls we've heard from Democratic politicians about the need to dial down political rhetoric since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, most Democratic candidates in Virginia haven't demanded that Jones step down after the disgusting views were unveiled. They've condemned what Jones had to say, but point to his apology as reason enough to continue backing his campaign to serve as the state's top law enforcement official.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, and I want to issue my deepest apology to Speaker Gilbert and his family. Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry."
The statement continues, “I have reached out to Speaker Gilbert to apologize directly to him, his wife Jennifer, and their children. I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology. Virginians deserve honest leaders who admit when they are wrong and own up to their mistakes. This was a grave mistake and I will work every day to prove to the people of Virginia that I will fight for them as Attorney General.”
Jones, however, also told Richmond television station WTVR shortly after releasing that statement taking "full responsibility" for the texts that he's the victim of a "smear" by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares and "Trump-controlled media organizations."
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger said she expressed her "disgust" to Jones after learning about the echange with Coyner, but didn't call on him to drop out of the race. In fact, only one Democratic candidate that I'm aware of has said she wants nothing to do with Jones after his comments became public knowledge.
Rise Hayes, Democratic nominee in HD 52, says that she will not be attending a fundraiser with Jay Jones on Monday and that she would rather her “campaign struggle to pay for things than to have blood money.” pic.twitter.com/jdcKBK980C
— Miyares Will Win (@DaysYoungkin) October 4, 2025
Good for Hayes, though given the makeup of the House district where she's running, she's an underdog even without Jones' comments potentially serving as a drag on Democratic candidates.
Jones, it should be noted, was a staunch champion of gun control during his time in the Virginia Assembly and has been endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety, which has yet to make any statement about one of their "gunsense" candidates hoping for the death of a Republican lawmaker's children.
To say that these comments demonstrate that Jones lacks the character and temperament to serve as Attorney General is an understatement. This wasn't a "mistake" by Jones. He had multiple opportunities at the time he sent those messages to think and reflect on what he was saying. Instead of being embarrassed, ashamed, or sorry, he doubled down. He apparently never apologized to Gilbert at any point in the three years since he made those comments, though he had to have known they would get back to the lawmaker and his family. Only when these abhorrent comments were made did he decide it was time to apologize for, among other things, wanting one or both of the Gilbert's children to die in their mom's arms so that maybe her husband would vote for a gun control bill in the future.
I've seen some folks suggest that Jones' comments would be enough to get the supporter of "red flag" laws served with an Extreme Risk Protection Order of his own, but I don't think that's the case. Jones never said that he himself wanted to harm Gilbert or his kids, even while wishing for their death. I don't believe those statements prove that Jones is too dangerous to own a gun, but I definitely believe that they show he's too dangerous to serve in public office, especially in the role of Attorney General.
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