'Beyond disqualifying': Jay Jones controversy jolts Virginia's pivotal 2025 elections

[mahatmakanejeeves]

‘Beyond disqualifying’: Jay Jones controversy jolts Virginia’s pivotal 2025 elections

The Democratic attorney general nominee’s 2022 texts about “two bullets to the head” spark bipartisan condemnation, GOP attack ads, and a Trump intervention on behalf of Jason Miyares.

BY: MARKUS SCHMIDT
OCTOBER 5, 2025
2:09 PM

What began as a quiet October Friday in Virginia politics erupted into a full-blown national scandal when screenshots of private, three-year old text messages showing Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children were made public.

The National Review story revealed an August 2022 exchange between Jones — a former Norfolk delegate and one-time assistant attorney general — and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield. In the texts, Jones described a scenario in which Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head,” followed by a wish that the Republican lawmaker’s children “die in their mother’s arms.”

The messages, sent shortly after Gilbert offered public condolences over the death of retired Democratic Del. Joe Johnson of Washington County, stunned political circles across Virginia and beyond. Coyner confirmed the authenticity of the exchange in a statement Friday evening, calling the remarks “disgusting and unbecoming of any public official.”

“On August 8, 2022 I had a text conversation with Jay Jones,” Coyner said. “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 joked about shooting Todd Gilbert.”

In a statement Friday evening, Jones admitted sending the messages and said he takes “full responsibility” for his actions. He apologized directly to Todd Gilbert and his family, and vowed to work to regain Virginians’ trust.

{snip}