(TJV NEWS) A bombshell report from National Review has revealed disturbing private text messages from Virginia Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones, in which he fantasized about violence against Republican colleagues and even mocked the deaths of their children.

According to messages obtained by National Review, the exchange occurred on August 8, 2022, when Jones, then a recently resigned legislator from Norfolk, texted Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner. The texts began with Jones deriding glowing tributes to the late Joe Johnson Jr., a respected Democratic moderate. Jones mocked Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert, joking about what “that POS” Gilbert might say about him if he died.

As National Review reported, the conversation soon escalated. Jones wrote that if certain Republican lawmakers died before him, he would “go to their funerals to piss on their graves.” In another text, he fantasized about a scenario in which he had “three people, two bullets — Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot.” His conclusion: Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head … every time.”

Coyner pushed back, telling Jones to stop, warning that such rhetoric was unacceptable. But Jones doubled down. In follow-up calls and texts, National Review reported, Jones allegedly suggested that Gilbert’s wife should “watch her own child die in her arms” so that Gilbert might change his political stance on gun violence. Jones also described Gilbert and his wife as “evil” and accused them of “breeding little fascists.”

Coyner later condemned the comments, telling National Review that Jones’s behavior was “disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office.” She immediately forwarded screenshots of the texts to Speaker Gilbert.

Jones’s campaign initially ignored repeated requests for comment from National Review. After publication, Jones attempted to defend himself, claiming he regretted the texts but insisting that “violent rhetoric has no place in our politics.” He accused incumbent Republican AG Jason Miyares of weaponizing “Trump-controlled media organizations” to smear him.

But National Review further reported that the controversy comes on top of other scandals dogging Jones’s campaign — including a reckless driving conviction in 2022 for speeding 116 mph, a punishment that critics said was unusually lenient, and accusations that he exaggerated his legal record while overstating his role in Washington, D.C.’s ghost gun litigation.

With Virginia’s election just weeks away, National Review emphasized that the revelations have rocked the race, raising serious questions about Jones’s judgment, character, and fitness to serve as the state’s top law enforcement officer.