President Donald Trump tore into Virginia Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones on Sunday after violent text messages from 2022 surfaced showing him fantasizing about assassinating a Republican state legislator.
Trump used Truth Social to blast Jones and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger, who refused to call for Jones to drop out of the race.
“It has just come out that the Radical Left Lunatic, Jay Jones, who is running against Jason Miyares, the GREAT Attorney General in Virginia, made SICK and DEMENTED jokes,” Trump wrote. “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.”
The texts, sent to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner in August 2022, showed Jones writing about then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert. (RELATED: Democrat AG Candidate Reportedly Said He’d Put Two Bullets In Republican State Rep’s Head, ‘Piss On’ His Grave)
“Three people, two bullets,” one message read. “Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot.”
“Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones continued, according to texts obtained by the New York Post.
During a phone call with Coyner, Jones fantasized about Gilbert’s wife watching her children die and called them “little fascists.”
Jones initially refused to apologize before claiming he reached out to Gilbert to express regret for his “grave mistake.”
Spanberger condemned the messages but stopped short of demanding Jones exit the race.
“Abigail Spanberger, who is running for Governor, is weak and ineffective, and refuses to acknowledge what this Lunatic has done,” Trump said. “Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the Race, IMMEDIATELY.”
Top Virginia Democrats, including the Virginia Beach Democratic Party, stood by Jones. Spanberger leads her Republican opponent by 8.3 points, according to RealClearPolitics.