Democratic Virginia Attorney General nominee Jay Jones has faced sharp backlash after saying he wanted a Republican murdered and wished death on the Republican’s children. Critics note the disturbing irony of a candidate for the state’s top law enforcement position promoting violence. While several Democrats had “disgust” for Jones’s remarks, none have called on him to withdraw from the race.
A Washington Post editorial highlighted his attempt to excuse the comments as merely a “joke” about shooting a colleague, and while the Post condemned the rhetoric, it concluded: “Jones has a month to convince voters that his hateful rhetoric does not reflect how he’d behave if elected as attorney general.”
But the problem runs much deeper than violent rhetoric: Jones’s outburst appears triggered by Republicans — including House Speaker Todd Gilbert — offering glowing eulogies and tributes for deceased Democratic state delegate Joe Johnson Jr. How can nice words about a fellow Democrat at his memorial generate such outrage?
Everyone has already noted Jones told Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot,” then added, “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.”
It's already bizarre that Jones ranked a Virginia legislator ahead of mass murderers like Hitler and Pol Pot — saying the legislator “deserves two bullets” so none would be left for those monsters. But even more troubling is that Jones’s outburst was apparently triggered by Republicans praising fellow Democrat Joe Johnson Jr. If Jones wants a Republican murdered (and even wishes his children to die in their mother’s arms) because that Republican spoke kindly about a colleague, how would Jones react during a heated policy debate? His anger against all the Republicans who offered condolences was blunt: “If those guys die before me I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves.”
New comments from Jay Jones have now surfaced. Republican lawmaker Carrie Coyner says Jones reportedly remarked after the unrest following George Floyd’s death, “Well, maybe if a few of them [police] died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people.” Jones denies ever making that statement. However, his denial is difficult to accept given that he also initially denied sending his violent texts to Delegate Coyner. Fortunately, Coyner kept the messages, which confirmed what he said.
Jay Jones is no stranger to reckless behavior. Police once caught him speeding at 116 miles per hour — 46 miles over the limit. Even more outrageous, he satisfied his court-ordered community service by working for his own political action committee, essentially turning his punishment into personal campaign work.
Nor is Jones the only candidate to inject inflammatory language in the Virginia election. Democrat gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger has contributed to the aggressive political climate by urging Democrats to “let your rage fuel you.”
Other prominent Democrats, such as Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, tell fellow Democrats not to be “distracted” by such unimportant things as Jones’s text messages.
While Democrat politicians remain solidly behind Jones, and influential media in Northern Virginia, such as The Washington Post, have refused to call for him dropping out of the race, some cracks in support are arising. Joe Scarbough said on his MSNBC morning show “that he should probably be forced to withdraw from the race.”
If Republicans’ kind words about a Democrat can drive Jay Jones into a written tirade against Republican legislators, how can he be trusted to enforce the law impartially? How can someone with such poor judgment and temperament serve as Virginia’s top law enforcement officer? And if Democratic leaders don’t view this behavior as disqualifying, their continued support calls their own judgment into question.
Lott is the author of “The War on Guns” and numerous other books.
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