Virginia Democratic AG Candidate Apologizes for 2022 Texts Depicting Political Violence

Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate in Virginia’s attorney general race, has apologized for text messages he sent in 2022 in which he suggested that a prominent Republican receive “two bullets to the head.”

Jones is now on the defensive in a race where early voting is underway in Virginia weeks ahead of next month’s general election.

The Democratic candidate’s campaign did not dispute the validity of the texts, and Jones offered a public apology to Republican former House Delegate Todd Gilbert, who was targeted in the messages and was the speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates when the messages were sent.

Jones, who is challenging Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, said he was taking “full responsibility” for his actions and has faced bipartisan backlash since The National Review first reported on the messages.

Miyares criticized Jones and questioned whether his challenger was fit for the job.

“You have to be coming from an incredibly dark place to say what [he] said,” Miyares told reporters. “Not by a stranger. By a colleague. Somebody you had served with. Someone you have worked with.”

In one of the messages, Jones describes Gilbert’s children dying in the arms of their mother, Jennifer.

“I have been a prosecutor, and I have been obviously serving as attorney general,” Miyares said. “I have met quietly one-on-one with victims. There is no cry like the cry of a mother that lost her child. None.”

Gilbert, who had stepped down from the legislature earlier this year to become a federal prosecutor before resigning a month later, is not commenting on the text messages, according to a spokesperson for the Virginia House Republican caucus.

The reporting on the text messages comes as both parties are closely watching the current statewide races in hopes of seeing trends ahead of next year’s midterm elections, where control of Congress is up for grabs. Simultaneously, there’s more attention on the threat of political violence, following the shooting deaths of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband.

Several other Democrats running for statewide offices in Virginia had sharp words for Jones after hearing about the messages.

Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who is running for governor of Virginia, promised to “always condemn violent language in our politics,” noting: “I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted. I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words.”

Ghazala Hashmi, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor, said: “Political violence has no place in our country and I condemn it at every turn.

“We must demand better of our leaders and of each other.”

Virginia’s elections for governor and lieutenant governor run separately.

The Republican Attorneys General Association called on Jones to withdraw from the race for his “abhorrent” text messages, with the group’s chairman, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, saying the remarks are unacceptable “from someone who wants to represent law enforcement.”

“There is no place for political violence, including joking about it—especially from an elected official,” Kobach said.

While Jones had previously served in Virginia’s state legislature, he had stepped down in 2021 before sending the messages to Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner, who is seeking reelection.

In the text messages, Jones told Coyner, “Three people two bullets … Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot … Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

Pol Pot was the communist leader of Cambodia’s murderous Khmer Rouge regime, which held power during the late 1970s and oversaw a genocide.

Coyner responded by telling Jones, “Jay … Please stop.”

Jones replied, “Lol … Ok, ok.”

Coyner also told Jones, “It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them.”

In another message, after Coyner called out Jones for wishing death on Gilbert’s children, Jones said: “Yes, I’ve told you this before.

“Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

In a statement shared on Oct. 3, Jones said: “Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry.

“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.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.