Republican Delegates Chad Green and Amanda Batten have condemned Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones after violent text messages he sent in 2022 surfaced, revealing threats against former House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.
Both lawmakers, who face competitive races that could tip control of the House, have condemned Jones’ rhetoric, while their Democratic opponents have largely remained silent as the Nov. 4 election approaches.
The controversy began when private 2022 text messages from Jay Jones, exchanged with Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, surfaced, revealing violent rhetoric. In these texts, Jones joked about executing former House Speaker Todd Gilbert and wished death on his children.
Green said the messages reveal a troubling pattern.
“Voters deserve two things: one, an attorney general that will protect them and their children, and two, to know where all of the candidates in this race stand on his candidacy,” Green told the Williamsburg Sun. “I will be abundantly clear: Jay Jones has shown himself to be unfit for office.”
The leaked texts included Jones writing, “Three people, two bullets Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot. 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.”
Another read, “If those guys die before me I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves.”
When Coyner, the recipient of the texts, pushed back, saying, “It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them,” Jones responded, “Lol / Ok, ok,” but later justified his rhetoric by saying, “I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
He also said of Gilbert and his wife, “Do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil? And that they’re breeding little fascists? Yes.”
Additional remarks from Jones surfaced, including a comment during a 2020 policy conversation in which he allegedly said police might reconsider their treatment of citizens should more officers be killed.
“Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people,” Jones allegedly said.
Jones denied making those comments, according to the New York Post.
“Jay Jones’ comments about the murder of children, wishing suffering on his colleagues’ families, and condoning the murder of police officers is unconscionable,” Green said. “We pride ourselves as legislators to follow ‘the Virginia Way’—talking to our colleagues in a bipartisan and effective manner. His comments show who he really is and shed a light on a pattern of disturbing behavior.”
Jones has apologized publicly, calling the messages “a grave mistake” and saying he is “embarrassed, ashamed and sorry.” He claims to have reached out to Gilbert’s family directly to apologize.
Republican leaders said Jones’ apology is not enough.
“There is no ‘Gosh, I’m sorry’ here. Jones doesn’t have the morality or character to drop out of this race,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote in a social media post.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to replace Youngkin, said Jones is “consumed with hate,” accusing him of promoting a culture of “rage politics.”
Attorney General Jason Miyares, who Jones is challenging, addressed the issue in an open letter to Virginians.
“Jay Jones wished for the violent death of a political opponent and then fantasized about that opponent’s children dying in their mother’s arms,” Miyares said. “When confronted, he doubled down, saying that kind of grief and pain would be a good thing if it advanced his politics. And politics aside, one has to be coming from a dark place to advocate the murder of a colleague and their family. This conduct is disqualifying.”
President Donald Trump criticized Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears’ opponent, Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger, for refusing to publicly disavow Jones after the violent texts resurfaced.
“Radical Left Lunatic, Jay Jones, who is running against Jason Miyares, the GREAT Attorney General in Virginia, made SICK and DEMENTED jokes, if they were jokes at all, which were not funny, and that he wrote down and sent around to people, concerning the murdering of a Republican Legislator, his wife, and their children,” Trump said on Truth Social.“Abigail Spanberger, who is running for Governor, is weak and ineffective, and refuses to acknowledge what this Lunatic has done.”
Republicans cited a series of recent attacks as part of a concerning trend, including the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, and an attack that left two Israeli embassy staff dead.
Multiple ICE facilities have also been attacked, with one incident resulting in two deaths and another in which an ICE agent was shot in the neck.
Green, representing Newport News’ 69th District, is campaigning for re-election against Democrat Mark Downey and independent Valerie Beverley in a swing district pivotal for the balance of power in Richmond.
Green’s platform focuses on affordability, public safety, education and supporting Youngkin’s economic agenda.
“I would openly welcome my opponents to condemn Jay Jones’ comments,” he said. “With both of my opponents, we see a dangerous pattern of silence.”
One day before the scandal involving Jay Jones surfaced, Downey hosted a campaign event featuring Jones to launch a volunteer canvass in Toano.
Green condemned Jones’ remarks and called for transparency from all candidates.
“Jay Jones’ text messages is just a chasm in a larger pattern of violence in our political discourse,” he said. “We saw earlier this year, a racist sign held up by a protester against Winsome Sears. We saw a Chesterfield County school board member celebrate the assassination of a husband and father, and now, Jay Jones’ own scandal. The one constant in that is that neither of my opponents have called to tamp down the rhetoric coming from the left or even condemn the words of Jay Jones. In politics, silence is complacency.”
Delegate Amanda Batten (R-James City), who faces Democrat Jessica Anderson in the 71st District, has also spoken out.
Batten’s campaign focuses on affordability, education reform to address learning loss from prolonged school closures, and energy policy reform targeting data center growth. She has criticized the 2020 Clean Economy Act and emphasized her legislative experience.
“Firstly, (Jones’) comments may have violated Virginia’s law against threats of death or bodily harm to a person or members of their family,” Batten told the Williamsburg Sun. “That is a felony. Secondly, even if it is not deemed a felony, no one expressing those shocking violent fantasies should be in any law enforcement role, much less the top law enforcement role in the Commonwealth. Jones is shameless for thinking he can talk about killing others and still believe he should be on the ballot for attorney general. If I were him, I would withdraw. Unfortunately, if you have judgment as poor as Jay Jones has demonstrated with his violent fantasies, maybe you also do not have the judgment to do the right thing and withdraw.”
Batten said normalizing such rhetoric poses a broader threat to public officials and democratic institutions.
“When there are no repercussions and no shared agreement that violent fantasies are disqualifying behavior, violent language is normalized in the public’s perspective,” she said. “That reality can place public officials in greater danger for simply doing their job, putting democracy at risk and normalizing political violence.”
She said Jones’ remarks are part of a growing culture of political extremism.
“Jay Jones’ clear propensity for violent ideologies is an example of how this behavior is increasingly normalized in our politics. His words are another example of violent rhetoric, just as political violence itself becomes more frequent in America. We must find ways to halt this disturbing and dangerous trend.”
Batten criticized Anderson and other Democrats for remaining silent on the issue.
“Jay Jones’ actions have a direct impact on the race for delegate in the 71st District,” Batten said.
“My opponent is hypocritically calling herself an advocate of gun safety, yet, to the best of my knowledge, she has been silent on what Jones said. How can a candidate claim to support gun safety while enthusiastically running on a ticket with someone who fantasized about murdering the then-House Speaker Gilbert and his children? If my opponent is serious about gun safety, why, to the best of my knowledge, has she not condemned the rhetoric and demanded that Jay Jones withdraw from the race? This is yet another example of my opponent seeking attention while being blind to the serious issues facing the district.”
