In a 2022 text exchange between Democratic candidate for attorney general Jay Jones and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chester, Jones said that in a hypothetical scenario with former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, Adolph Hitler and Pol Pot he would shoot Gilbert twice.
“Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones said, according to reporting from the National Review.
“It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them,” Coyner said in response.
Coyner said the texts are authentic.
“On August 8, 2022 I had a text conversation with Jay Jones,” she said in a statement. “What he said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office.”
At the time, Jones had recently stepped down from his position as a state delegate representing Norfolk. Jones himself did not deny the texts’ authenticity.
“Like all people, I’ve sent text messages that I regret and I believe that violent rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Jones wrote in a statement. “Let’s be clear about what is happening in the Attorney General race right now: (Republican incumbent) Jason Miyares is dropping smears through Trump-controlled media organizations to assault my character and rescue his desperate campaign.”
At other points in the exchange, Jones apparently suggested that Republican politicians needed to experience their children dying to change their views on policy.
“You were talking about hopping (sic) jennifer Gilbert’s children would die,” Coyner wrote.
“Yes, I’ve told you this before,” Jones responded. “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
Jones also described Gilbert and his wife as “evil” and “breeding little fascists.”
The National Review report came on the heels of reporting that found Jones had been pulled over the same year for driving 116 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881, kate.seltzer@virginiamedia.com