Virginia, long known for civility and good government, has been rocked by a seismic political scandal, making national headlines when a Democrat expressed his wish to see a Republican leader get “two bullets to the head.”
The campaigns for statewide office took a shock on Friday night when text messages from 2022 surfaced. In them, Jay Jones, the current Democrat nominee for attorney general, texted to a Republican member of the House of Delegates his wishes about killing then-Speaker of the House of Delegates, Republican Todd Gilbert, and his two young sons.
National Review first broke the story on October 3, citing texts from August 8, 2022. Jones is now running against incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), the first Hispanic to hold statewide office in the Old Dominion.
On August 4, 2022, a former Democrat who served in the House of Delegates from 1990 to 2014, Joe Johnson Jr., died. Johnson, a Baptist and political moderate, represented a district in deep Southwest Virginia and harkened back to a now-lost era in Virginia when many rural areas voted Democrat and members of that party were socially moderate and faith-friendly.
Because of his mindset and roots in the Southern Appalachians, Johnson often voted with Republicans and worked across the aisle.
After his passing, a number of his former colleagues from both parties were praising Johnson for his legacy, especially since bipartisanship and moderate Democrats from rural areas had become increasingly rare.
Eulogies are normal and courteous, but they seemed to upset Jones, who had earlier been in the House of Delegates representing Norfolk but who had resigned his seat about eight months before.
So around 8:00 a.m. on August 8, Jones began texting one of his former colleagues, Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner. Coyner, who represents a district on the south side of Richmond, is currently locked in one of the most competitive House seat races in the state.
It appears Jones first thought he was texting someone else, because when he found out it was Coyner, he wrote “[Expletive] that was for Mark.” However, even after he realized he was accidentally in contact with a Republican, Jones continued his exchange. He referred to then-Speaker of the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert as “a POS” and criticized those Republicans lauding Johnson, a Democrat.
“If those guys die before me, I will go to their funerals to [urinate] on their graves” to “send them out awash in something.”
Jones then expressed fantasies about having only three bullets but the opportunity to kill three people: Speaker Gilbert, Adolph Hitler, and the former Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, who oversaw the slaughter of about one-third of his nation’s population in the 1970s.
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 them
It isn’t ok
No matter who they are
Coyner confirmed with The Washington Post that she had been in this text exchange and later made this statement: “What he said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office.”
After the initial text exchange, Jones then called Coyner seeking to explain his reasoning.
Coyner indicated that during the call, Jones wished to see Gilbert’s two young sons die in the arms of their mother, Jennifer. Jones implied that only when people suffer harm will they change their political views, and specifically, someone has to see loved ones die from bullets before they would support gun control.
After the call ended, the texting continued.
Coyner: “You weren’t trying to understand. You were talking about hoping [sic] Jennifer Gilbert’s children would die.”
Jones: “Yes, I’ve told you this before, Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
Many find Jones’ “yes” remark the most vile and despicable because, even after being challenged, Jones seemingly doubled down on his belief that violence is justified if it can force people to change their political views and votes.
These recent revelations are only the latest Public Relations disaster for Jones, for it was recently revealed that in January 2022, about eight months before his vile text-fantasizing murders, he was clocked driving 116 miles per hour, nearly twice the speed limit, on I-64 in New Kent County between Richmond and Tidewater.
He was charged with reckless driving, which can carry a jail sentence of up to one year, but his lawyers struck a deal reducing the penalty to only a $1,500 fine and 1,000 hours of community service.
He completed 500 hours with the NAACP Virginia State Conference, but the other half was with “Meet Our Moment,” a political action committee (PAC) that Jones is associated with, so now a new controversy has erupted, asking how Jones could perform “community service” by helping a political group that would advance his own agenda?
Jones’s first apology for the violent texts was widely condemned as inadequate and insincere, as it mentioned President Trump three times but never said “Sorry, Todd Gilbert.” Moreover, it tried to portray Jones as a kind of victim.
Tidewater commentator Kerry Doughtery posted to Twitter/X: “I’ve sent text messages that I regret. Never. Not once did I fantasize about shooting anyone. Sorry, Jay Jones, your judgment is as reckless as your driving.”
Jones’ Democrat ticket mates Abigail Spanberger and Ghazala Hashmi condemned Jones’ choice of words but, notably, have not called on him to resign his candidacy.
In fact, Spanberger has recently been telling audiences across the state to “let your rage fuel you,” which many point out only increases tensions and the likelihood of political violence, rather than calming things down.
Jones’s comments are seen as particularly reprehensible after the September 10 assassination of free-speech advocate and Gen X figure Charlie Kirk by a leftist student. Adding to the shock, many across the nation publicly posted their support of the murder, including a LewisGale lactation nurse and a Roanoke City animal control officer. Since Kirk’s murder, two unhinged people have made death threats against two sitting Republicans in the House of Delegates, and a billboard in Culpeper honoring Kirk’s legacy was burned recently.
The Roanoke Star has requested statements from Democrats Del. Salam “Sam” Rasoul, Delegate-candidate Lily Franklin, Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb, and the Roanoke City Democratic Committee about Jones’ violent texts and if they believe Jones should end or continue his campaign. Those requests were sent outside normal work hours, and no responses have been received yet.
Early voting began in September, and the last day is Nov. 4.
– Scott Dreyer
