Report: Virginia Democrat AG Nominee Once Sent Texts About Killing a Former GOP Colleague
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”
The Virginia Attorney General race was rocked on Friday after texts surfaced that revealed the Democratic nominee, Jay Jones, once talked about a scenario involving him killing a former GOP colleague.
As first reported by National Review Online, the texts were sent in August 2022 by Jones amid the eulogizing of a former Democratic state lawmaker who had recently passed away:
Jones, 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.
The report noted that Jones mistakenly sent the texts to a former Republican colleague, House Delegate Carrie Coyner, realized it, and yet continued with the messages:
“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…
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.https://t.co/RHs2BnpD9d
— National Review (@NRO) October 3, 2025
Read ALL the texts. He not only says he wants to kill them and piss on their graves.
He then explains his reasoning, saying the only way to move people on policy is with violence. AND says that his political opponents “breed” little fascists. @SpanbergerForVA? https://t.co/3zqBhZHSl1
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 4, 2025
Not surprisingly, the Republican Attorneys General Association is demanding Jones drop out of the race:
RAGA's official statement on Jay Jones' text messages: pic.twitter.com/LeRQTp3c2V
— RAGA (@RepublicanAGs) October 3, 2025
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee for governor, called Jones’s comments “disqualifying”:
This is horrible to read and should be wholly disqualifying of someone running for an office that protects the people of Virginia.
Jay Jones’ horrific comments are a symptom of the entire Democratic Party and his running mate, Abigail Spanberger, needs to call on him to drop out.
Attorney General Jason Miyares has served the people of Virginia with honor and dignity, and will continue to do so come November.
Jay Jones can never be Attorney General of Virginia.
She has since called for him to exit the race:
My message to Virginians:
We need leaders at all levels with moral clarity, who can see the difference between right and wrong, not just when it’s pointed out to them.
Jay Jones needs to drop out. Point blank. pic.twitter.com/WwDd1O5unC
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) October 4, 2025
Her Democrat opponent, former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, put out a statement condemning the language but not calling for Jones to drop out:
Jay Jones wished death on children and fantasized about killing people.
Abigail Spanberger’s response was empty—she condemned the rhetoric but stopped short of saying what any serious leader would: Jay Jones must drop out.
Her response is simply not good enough. pic.twitter.com/7QPTjV3D8l
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) October 3, 2025
Incredibly, the initial statement issued by Jones referred to this as a “smear” campaign coordinated by Republican AG Jason Miyares, his opponent. He also characterized NRO, which has frequently been critical of President Trump, as a “Trump-controlled media organization.” Jones also didn’t include an apology:
Here is a statement from Jay Jones in response to this story: https://t.co/Qx89kg1ih4 pic.twitter.com/FOQkPR5dLI
— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) October 3, 2025
Someone must have talked to him about that statement (which says it all about who Jones really is, IMO), because several hours later, he put out another, profusely apologizing to Gilbert but stopping short of saying he’d bow out:
“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.
“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.”
New statement from Jay Jones ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UsWLKC3feE
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) October 4, 2025
In an interview done Friday night, Jones again apologized, saying, “Well, again, I am so deeply, deeply sorry for what I said, and I wish that it hadn’t happened, and I would take it back if I could.”
WATCH: 8 News grills Virginia Democrat AG candidate Jay Jones who wrote that he wanted to put "two bullets to the head" of the GOP leader: "A lot of politics is about trust. I can think of nothing more horrific than a mother having to hold her dying child. How can Virginians… pic.twitter.com/zZh1NNtAhG
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 4, 2025
Current Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin also condemned the remarks:
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
As of this writing, Miyares has yet to comment.
Election Day in Virginia is November 4th, just one month away
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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Comments
Democrats: Wishing death on their opponents since 1865.
Give it your best shot, chump.
We return fire with deadly accuracy down here.
Hoping my fellow Virginians don’t elect this entitled POS.
Additionally he was convicted of reckless driving, clocked at 116 mph, in 2022. Avoided jail time and sentenced to “community service” and a cushy fine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-dem-logged-pac-hours-skirt-possible-jail-time-reckless-driving-docs-show
While all politicians try to do it, Democrat officials [especially those working in the criminal justice system] claim and get freedom of consequences for crimes they are caught committing.
Subotai Bahadur
His “community service” turned out to be campaigning
No, it didn’t. At least not entirely. He did half of it with a genuine charitable organization (the NAACP).
The question is about the other half, which he did with his own organization which apparently “recruits and trains minority Democratic candidates”. That’s not exactly campaigning, but on the other hand it’s not recognized by Virginia as a charitable organization, and its activities don’t seem to benefit the public in any way. Nor is it clear what exactly he did for it. So it’s questionable why the New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the judge both accepted this as part-fulfillment of his obligation.
And putting his face out in front with the NAACP wasn’t campaigning? Surely, Milhouse, you are not that naïve. Doing charitable work with a politically unaligned organization could even be campaigning, depending on the organization. But the NAACP is certainly very much aligned with Democrats, their causes, and their agenda.
What “putting his face out front”? What information do you have that he did that?
“He did half of it with a genuine charitable organization (the NAACP).”
Did what exactly? Given that the other half of service was dubious, I’d like to see specifics of what he did.
I’d also like to know what he did, but at least whatever he did was legitimate, in the sense that the NAACP is recognized by the State of Virginia as a charity, and as an organization with which community service hours may be fulfilled. “Meet Our Moment” is not.
This will not cost Jones one single vote with his Communist Party base. Add to that total the brain-dead voters who “vote for the person and not the party” (read: they do whatever the media tells them to) and he is still has a good chance to be the next Virginia AG.
This will not end well. That queasy feeling that the country is rushing madly towards genocide and civil war is not a feeling: it is really happening. When Communists tell you they want to kill you it is a good idea to believe them.
I agree
“He also characterized NRO, which has frequently been critical of President Trump, as a “Trump-controlled media organization.””
The folks over at National Review were some of the original “Never Trump” screamers. They had a whole 2016 issue of NR devoted to smearing Trump.
From Ballard of a Thin Man”
“But something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?”
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
“And says, “How does it feel
To be such a freak?”
And you say, “Impossible”
As he hands you a bone
And something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?”
Almost all politicians are sociopaths. It is almost impossible to get elected if you are not one.
Possibly true. I’ve always considered anyone who went into politics, especially running for POTUS, to have something wrong with them in their heads.
An apology isn’t enough. His thought processes revealed by his texts are entirely incompatible with democracy, and he should never be allowed anywhere near the reigns of government power.
“Election Day in Virginia is November 4th, just one month away”
Texts from August 2022.
Released October Surprise 4th.
Well done, Republicans.
Let’s be honest here. The only regret he has is that his statements became public.
From Grok:
The “two bullets” joke trope—featuring a gun, a pair of infamous tyrants (typically Hitler and Stalin), and a third figure deemed even more despised, with the punchline being to shoot the third person twice—first gained widespread circulation in 1958 as a direct backlash to Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley’s controversial decision to relocate the team to Los Angeles. Angered Brooklyn fans, feeling betrayed by the loss of their beloved “Bums,” popularized the quip: “If you were in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and O’Malley, and had a gun with only two bullets, who would you shoot? O’Malley—twice!”
By the 1960s–1980s, the format had evolved into a generic meme template, often targeting politicians, celebrities, or personal annoyances, before resurfacing in pop culture via The Office, in a 2009 episode of the TV show (Season 6, Episode 4: “Niagara”). In that scene, the character Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) says: “If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice.” Toby Flenderson is Michael’s despised HR representative on the show.
Yes, it is a very well-known meme, and if that had been his only offense it could be dismissed, but he also expressed these wishes in other ways. There’s no common joke about hoping a mother has to hold her dying children. That wasn’t a meme, that was him.
And just because it was a well-known meme doesn’t make it OK to say out loud about a political opponent. We use the word “opponent” for a political rival, and avoid the word “enemy.” One should, at least, never shooting anyone except an actual enemy, someone who threatens your life, family, property, or way of life. “Opponents” are had in contests & games, “enemies” are had in war.
When a political rival promises to steal any of my wealth or destroy any of my rights, he gets promoted to enemy right damn there.
It was a private communication to a personal acquaintance. Who was distressed by it, and asked him to stop, but he wouldn’t.
I agree with this. It’s counterproductive to lead off an article with the tamest charge when there are meatier offenses to discuss. I just wanted to focus our future debate on the strongest offenses lest we make fools of ourselves objecting loudly to a cliche joke.
Marxists sure want a Civil War II
In Portland we are currently seeing the few remaining police protect the antifa protestors. I really don’t think that the Left can see far enough into the future to a world without police. That. of course, is consistent with their economic model which relies on other peoples money. Bill maher hasn’t had a change of heart. He can just see a bit further than the rest of them. I like to average people out, and those who were hard core lefties for 30 years and suddenly saw the light are still lefties. I welcome them, but it will be 31 years before I start to trust them.
This is normal for the left. This is how they think and talk amongst themselves.
The vile, stupid and evil Dhimmi-crats have been the party of terrorists, criminals, anarchists and nihilists since the party’s key role in founding and supporting the KKK, in the 19th century.
How many election cycles of Virginians being willing to vote Republican does it take before Virginians lose the vote Democrat by default instinct?
If Winsome Sears wins because of the nutcases she is running against that is a long period of Republican recovery and potentially the start of Virginia turning.
I’m not saying it is winnable in presidential elections in the near future but the more Republicans who win in Virginia the more Virginians are losing the Democrat by default instinct.