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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general facing pressure
over resurfaced text messages
By Eva McKend, CNN
Updated:
2:53 PM EDT, Sat October 4, 2025
Source: CNN
Virginia’s Democratic candidate for attorney general Jay Jones is
facing widespread criticism for text messages he sent in 2022
suggesting a colleague should be shot.
In a private exchange between Jones and Republican Virginia Delegate
Carrie Coyner, Jones griped about how the then Republican speaker of
the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert was paying tribute to a former
moderate Democratic lawmaker who died, according to screenshots of text
messages obtained by CNN.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot. Gilbert
gets two bullets to the head,” the text reads in part, referring to
Gilbert and the two dictators.
The National Review first reported the news and reported that Jones
tried to call Coyner after she objected to his language. He went on to
say in the text messages that Gilbert and his wife are “breeding
little fascists” in reference to Gilbert’s children, the Review
reported.
In a statement to CNN, Jones apologized to Gilbert and voiced regret
for the text messages.
“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,” he said.
“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,” the statement reads.
He reiterated those apologies in a local television interview with WRIC
and told the outlet he would remain in the contest.
Coyner condemned Jones’ messages in a statement to CNN on Saturday.
“What he said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone
who wants to seek public office. Jay Jones wished violence on the
children of a colleague and talked about shooting Todd Gilbert. It’s
disgusting and unbecoming of any public official,” Coyner said.
Jones was objecting to tributes of deceased former state legislator Joe
Johnson Jr., who was a longtime moderate Democrat, the Review reported.
Jones was no longer a member of the Virginia House of Delegates at the
time of the messages.
The Republican Attorneys General Association is calling for Jones to
drop out of the race against incumbent Republican Attorney General
Jason Miyares and created a website, ‘,’ with screenshots of the
messages. And a host of top state Republicans including Gov. Glenn
Youngkin and Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for
governor, denounced Jones. He’s also facing intense criticism over
the texts from fellow Democrats.
In a late night social media post Democratic US Sen. Mark Warner wrote
in part that, “the comments attributed to Jay Jones are appalling,
unacceptable, and inconsistent with the person I’ve known.”
And Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger is also
distancing herself from Jones in a statement that reads in part,
“After learning of these comments earlier today, 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,” she said.
There is heightened sensitivity towards language that leans into
political violence in the wake of the assignation of Republican
activist Charlie Kirk and the politically motivated execution of
Democratic Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her
husband, Mark Hortman in their home earlier this year.
Polling indicated a tight race before the text messages surfaced. Jones
lead Miyares by six points, 51 percent to 45 percent, among likely
voters, according to polling from the . That’s not statistically
significant since the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4
percentage points.
Early voting for Virginia’s statewide races in November is underway.
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