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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said state Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones should abandon his campaign “in disgrace” after he once remarked on shooting a former Virginia House speaker in texts with another lawmaker.
Texts obtained by Fox News Digital on Friday showed an August 2022 conversation involving Jones — then a recently departed delegate from Norfolk — and Delegate Carrie Coyner, R-Chester. At one point, Jones, referencing then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, wrote: “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”
“This violent, disgusting rhetoric targeted at an elected official and his children is beyond disqualifying,” Youngkin wrote in an X post Saturday. “Jay Jones said that ‘Gilbert gets two bullets to the head’ and then hoped his children would die. Read those words again.”
“There is no ‘gosh, I’m sorry’ here. Jones doesn’t have the morality or character to drop out of this race, and his running mates, Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and every elected Democrat in Virginia don’t have the courage to call on him to step away from this campaign in disgrace,” he added.
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Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones, left, and former Virginia House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert, right. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Coyner’s campaign confirmed the veracity of the texts first reported by National Review, saying they were “disturbing and 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. It’s disgusting and unbecoming of any public official,” the spokesperson said.
Jones is running against incumbent Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican.
The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) also called on Jones to “immediately withdraw” from the race following “his abhorrent text messages.”
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Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones, left, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“There is no place for political violence, including joking about it — especially from an elected official. Jay Jones should drop out of the Attorney General’s race. His comments are not acceptable from someone who wants to represent law enforcement,” RAGA Chairman Kris Kobach said.
In a statement released to the media, Jones said, “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. 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,” Jones continued.
A text message from Jay Jones to Del. Carrie Coyner. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
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“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,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.