Jay Jones, Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, faces calls to withdraw from the race after prior text messages surfaced where he said a Republican lawmaker would get “two bullets to the head.”
“Here are screenshots of some of the texts that Democrats’ nominee for VA AG Jay Jones sent in 2022 threatening the former House GOP speaker,” National Review stated.
“The private messages offer a disturbing glimpse into how Jones — who is looking to oust incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares this fall — describes his political adversaries in private conversations,” it continued.
The private messages offer a disturbing glimpse into how Jones — who is looking to oust incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares this fall — describes his political adversaries in private conversations. pic.twitter.com/vvbtcn4vIQ
— National Review (@NRO) October 3, 2025
A closer look:
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On August 8, 2022, a Republican state legislator received a disturbing string of early-morning text messages from a former colleague, Jay Jones, this year’s Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general.
ADVERTISEMENTJones, who at the time had recently resigned from the state house after a brief stint representing Norfolk, had strong feelings about how the political class was eulogizing recently deceased former state legislator Joe Johnson Jr., a moderate Democrat with a long tenure in Virginia politics. Republican legislators like House Speaker Todd Gilbert had begun making public statements honoring Johnson’s memory and political legacy, and some of those statements were making the rounds in state legislative group chats.
Around 8 a.m., Jones shared those feelings with his former state legislative colleague, Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner. In a series of text messages obtained by National Review, Jones derided Johnson’s political centrism and scoffed at the “glowing” tributes that were being made in his honor by Republicans in the wake of his death.
“D*** that was for mark,” he wrote to Coyner, suggesting he’d meant to send the texts to someone else. And yet that realization didn’t stop Jones from joking about what “that POS” Gilbert “would say about me if I died.”
Then, the conversation took a dark turn.
“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
“This violent, disgusting rhetoric targeted at an elected official and his children is beyond disqualifying. Jay Jones said that ‘Gilbert gets two bullets to the head’ and then hoped his children would die. Read those words again,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.
“There is no ‘gosh, I’m sorry’ here. Jones doesn’t have the morality or character to drop out of this race, and his running mates Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and every elected Democrat in Virginia don’t have the courage to call on him to step away from this campaign in disgrace,” he added.
This violent, disgusting rhetoric targeted at an elected official and his children is beyond disqualifying.
Jay Jones said that “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head” and then hoped his children would die. Read those words again.
There is no “gosh, I’m sorry” here. Jones… https://t.co/kOJD0cexlh
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) October 4, 2025
Jones also faces accusations of dodging potential jail time from a reckless driving conviction by performing community service for his own Political Action Committee.
The Hill shared further info:
Coyner, in response, told Jones, who at the time did not hold an elected office, to stop. Jones on Friday apologized for the messages, stating he reached out to Gilbert and his family to express regret.
“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,” Jones, who is running to unseat Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) in November, said in a statement to NBC News.
“I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology,” he added.
Coyner confirmed the 2022 text exchange to multiple news outlets and condemned Jones, calling for him to drop out of the attorney general race.
“What he said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office,” Coyner told The Washington Post.
Several Virginia Democrats condemned the messages while GOP state lawmakers called on the attorney general candidate to end his campaign.
