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A newly surfaced batch of private text messages from Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, shows him fantasizing about extreme political violence — including hypothetical scenarios in which then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert would be shot “two bullets to the head” and language wishing harm on members of the speaker’s family. The texts, first reported by National Review and carried by major outlets, are not crude jokes; they are the sort of dehumanizing, violent rhetoric that has no place in public life and that should disqualify someone seeking to be the commonwealth’s top law enforcement official.
The reaction has been fast and bipartisan: Republicans are rightly outraged and even some Democrats have publicly condemned the language, but notable Democrats stopped short of demanding Jones quit the ticket. That equivocation matters — when party leaders condemn with caveats instead of decisive action, they normalize poisonous rhetoric and protect the very behavior voters claim to reject.
Jones has issued an apology and says he takes responsibility, but he intends to remain in the race, a decision that raises real questions about judgment and accountability. An apology released after voters and reporters confronted the messages looks reactive and insufficient — especially for a candidate who would be charged with upholding the law and protecting Virginians.
Republicans have wasted no time turning this into a campaign issue, launching an aggressive ad buy and forcing the national conversation back to Democrats’ tolerance for extremism in their ranks. That political reality is predictable: when a party rewards or shields candidates who entertain violence in private, opposing campaigns will and should make voters aware of the risk to public safety and civic norms.
This episode is more than a scandal about one man’s terrible texts; it’s a symptom of a broader cultural rot where combative, lawless rhetoric is excused by partisanship. Leaders on both sides must insist on higher standards, and those who want to enforce the law should be beyond reproach — not people who joke about murder in private messages. The people of Virginia deserve lawyers and prosecutors who respect the rule of law and the sanctity of human life, not candidates who flirt with violent fantasies and expect forgiveness when exposed.
