This guy is unqualified. He’s running to be the top law enforcement official in the state, and he wants his political rivals and their families to be assassinated, and for police officers to die. You are already aware of the former allegations involving Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general candidate in Virginia.
In 2022, Jones, a then-state lawmaker, texted a Republican colleague about hoping that then-Speaker of the House of Delegates Todd Gilbert would die. He also said that maybe if his children were shot and killed, he’d change his mind on gun control. Jones apologized, but this isn’t a small thing. The man has political bloodlust, and that’s likely unabated even after these texts have been released. Now, in 2020, he reportedly hoped that police officers would die regarding discussions about ending qualified immunity for law enforcement. Jones stated in these texts that nothing will change until other people feel personal pain. That sentiment links the Gilbert texts and the alleged pro-cop-killing phone call (via Virginia Scope) [emphasis mine]:
Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, sat down with Virginia Scope on Monday morning to discuss the controversy surrounding text messages sent to her in 2022 by Virginia’s Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones. In the conversation with Virginia Scope, Coyner talked about what actions she took when she received the texts and why it took years for them to become public. She also discussed previous conversations with Jones in which she said that he told her in 2020 that if a few police officers died, then maybe they would stop killing people. Jones denies he said this.
[…]
When asked what Jones was referencing when he said “I’ve told you this before,” Coyner said it goes back to a heated phone call in 2020 about removing qualified immunity protections for law enforcement. (Qualified immunity protects police officers from civil lawsuits.)
[…]
Coyner said Monday morning: “We had a pretty heated conversation about public policy and pain involving qualified immunity. I served on the Courts Committee for a short period of time. A bill to remove qualified immunity for police officers, which protects police officers from personal liability in their line of duty and their line of work, and he believed that they should not have qualified immunity, and he was trying to convince me to agree with that, and I said, ‘No, police officers have to make a split second decision about whether or not to shoot a gun to protect themselves or protect others. And if they’re having to think about, will this strip my whole family of everything … are they going to be able to make that split-second decision?’ And I said, ‘I believe that people will get killed. Police officers will get killed.’ And he said, ‘Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people.’ And I said, ‘that’s insane.’ But he firmly believed that if you removed qualified immunity, that police officers would act differently, and I firmly believe that it would not result in good public policy, and it would put police officers and the public’s lives at risk if they have to second-guess themselves on a decision they’re making in a moment where someone is doing something violent.”
Jones was a sponsor of legislation to remove qualified immunity when he was a member of the House of Delegates.
“I did not say this,” Jones said in a statement to Virginia Scope Monday afternoon. “I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period. Every single day, police officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities, and I am deeply grateful for their service and sacrifice. As Attorney General, I will work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to support their work.”
Yeah, sorry, pal. No dice. You wanted Gilbert’s family to be annihilated, but no harm should befall cops. It’s over, man. Just own the fact that you want people with whom you disagree to die. It’s apparent that you do, and you even admitted it. Hence, the apology.
Jay Jones for AG: I want everyone I hate to die, die die—that’s where we’re at with this clown.